About D3ZO
D3ZO is a very high potency vitamin D3 supplement with zinc orotate — a combination that takes advantage of synergistic effects
of these two supplements.
What is vitamin D3?
Vitamin D is a family of fat-soluble substances that are involved in the regulation of calcium usage, cell specialization,
immunity, insulin secretion, blood pressure, and related processes.
The most powerful form of vitamin D, in terms of the dosage required to fulfill the body’s needs, is vitamin D3 (aka. cholecalciferol).
But regardless of which form one consumes, the vitamin is converted in the body to a substance that affects the activity of
certain genes. Although the mechanism is complex, the consequences are easy to understand:
- calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood are raised because vitamin D increases their absorption from food and decreases
the elimination of calcium by the kidneys;
- bone formation and mineralization are enhanced;
- the parathyroid gland secretes more parathyroid hormone;
- overactivity of the immune system is suppressed, while certain immune functions are promoted — such as anti-tumor activity.
Vitamin D3 is not made by plants. It is made in the skin of animals in response to ultraviolet light at wavelengths between
270–290 nm (UVB). For this reason, people who receive no sun exposure and who take no vitamin D supplements are at great risk
of becoming vitamin D deficient — with grave consequences.
What we can’t tell you
In the U.S. and some other industrialized countries, government agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have adopted
censorship as a method for intensifying their control over supplement users and their suppliers. Thus, FDA regulations prohibit
us from telling you that any of our products are effective as medical treatments, even if they are, in fact, effective.
Accordingly, we will limit our discussion of D3ZO to a brief summary of relevant research, and let you draw your own conclusions
about what medical conditions it may be effective in treating.
Vitamin D deficiency
Severe Vitamin D deficiency causes several bone diseases including:
- rickets — defective growth of the long bones;
- osteoporosis — reduced bone mineral density which leads to fragile bones;
- osteomalacia — another bone-softening disorder that also causes muscle weakness.
Intake of less than 200 i.u. (5 mcg) per day of vitamin D2 carries a high risk of leading to bone diseases like those listed
above. Dosages of 200 to 600 i.u. are officially recommended as supplements for adults for bone maintenance, but much higher doses are increasingly being viewed as desirable both for optimum bone health and for other purposes, such
as preventing cancer.
Vitamin D deficiencies may also be responsible for the severity of flu epidemics. A research group in the U.S. and New Zealand
has found that some of the unexplained features of flu epidemics can be neatly accounted for by low vitamin D levels in the
affected populations. The implications for public and individual health are enormous: the huge toll taken by influenza on society and on individuals
may be avoidable if people simply start supplementing with higher doses of vitamin D.
Preventing osteoporosis
There is abundant statistical evidence indicating that in many parts of the world today the incidence of osteoporosis could
be significantly reduced if people would consume an adequate amount of vitamin D. For example, an international study of vitamin
D deficiency in osteoporosis patients in 18 countries showed that 64% of the patients had low vitamin D levels. A Japanese study in 2006 showed that the prevalence of insufficient vitamin D among frail, inactive elderly people in Japan
was 50% greater than in independent community-dwelling elderly.
Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of vitamin D supplemention in strengthening bones and preventing falls
and fractures. These studies have shown that vitamin D3 is more effective than D2, and that daily dosages of at least 800
i.u. per day are needed to reduce fracture incidence by 65%.
Preventing cancer
In a study published in 2007, daily supplementation with 1000 i.u. vitamin D was shown to reduce the colon cancer risk by
50%, and breast and ovarian cancer risks by 30%. It was estimated that reductions in overall cancer mortality rates could
be 7% for males and 9% for females in the US and 14% for males and 20% for females in Western European countries below 59
degrees north latitude.
A beneficial effect of high blood levels of the vitamin D metabolite calcitriol on patients with advanced prostate cancer has been shown.
The Creighton Study, published in June 2007, reported a 77% reduction in new cancers in subjects given 1100 i.u. (27.5 mcg)
per day of vitamin D3.
Preventing influenza and other respiratory infections
No one knows the optimum dosage of vitamin D for preventing or ameliorating infections such as influenza. In view of this
vitamin's impressive safety record, even at huge doses of hundreds of thousands of i.u./day, it seems reasonable to choose
a fairly high dose, such as LifeLink's 25 thousand i.u. D3ZO capsules.
LifeLink does not subscribe to the idea that flu vaccines should be avoided. But we believe that vitamin D may offer a second
line of defense when innoculations fail to provide adequate protection — which happens when rapidly mutating viral strains
are involved, as they are, for example with Swine Flu.
Zinc orotate: an anti-aging osteo-enhancer
Zinc deficiency is believed to play a role in osteoporosis. The mechanism through which zinc enhances bone strength is not understood, but is likely to be independent of the mechanism through which vitamin D3 acts on bone. In such situations synergistic benefits are likely to occur when substances are used in combination.
There is a gene called ‘klotho’ that plays a central role both in the body’s calcium regulation and in aging. When this gene has low activity or is defective, the aging process is accelerated; when the gene is highly active, the aging
process is slowed. Many people have less-than-optimal klotho gene activity, and high vitamin D levels can exacerbate this condition. Judging from mouse experiments, this problem is especially acute in females. But Japanese researchers reported in 2001 that supplementation with zinc orotate provides a ‘rescue’ from the consequences
of low klotho activity, even in females.
D3ZO therefore includes zinc orotate as a second active ingredient. LifeLink’s monograph on zinc orotate describes this supplement in more detail.
Cautionary note
This is a very high potency vitamin D3 supplement. Since vitamin D3 enhances the absorption of calcium and decreases its elimination
by the kidneys, it is important not to use high-dose calcium supplements in combination with this product. Too much calcium
in the blood can result in a condition called “hypercalcemia”, typical symptoms of which are weakness, loss of appetite, nausea,
confusion, and lethargy. D3ZO is intended to enable users to get the bone benefits of mega-dose calcium supplements without
having to take mega-doses of calcium.
Conclusion
Is D3ZO useful for the conditions and purposes mentioned above? We aren’t allowed to tell you, so you should take a look at
some of the references cited here, and then decide for yourself.