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Power of Vitamin D 

Sarfraz Zaidi, MD
Outskirts Press, Inc. (2010)
ISBN 9781432748104
Reviewed by Andrey Bilko for RebeccasReads (07/10)


This book is devoted solely to discussing the benefits of Vitamin D and results of its deficiency. The author, Dr. Zaidi, is an expert in the field of Vitamin D, who likes to check the Vitamin D levels of his patients as a sign of precaution. As it turns out, with a simple blood test, Dr. Zaidi is able to diagnose Vitamin D deficiency, which is more prevalent among relatively healthy Americans than he thought. Vitamin D deficiency goes undiagnosed very often, since many physicians do not even think about checking for Vitamin D levels in a patient. Vitamin D is not very commercial, which is why drug companies do not invest into it, and some physicians are not sufficiently instructed about it.  The crucial role of Vitamin D in the human body does not get much attention further than being an essential facilitating agent of calcium absorption. However, according to many recent studies, Vitamin D has been continuously shown to play beneficial role in almost every bodily function. And Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to many conditions and diseases. In some patients, body aches, pain, and fatigue are shown to be caused by Vitamin D deficiency. As Dr. Zaidi describes it, many patients run between specialists, undergo expensive and extensive tests, all without definitive diagnoses and treatments until Vitamin D deficiency is found.

The book also describes links of the deficiency to heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, steroid use, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and other medical conditions. All of these connections are newly discovered and very promising. It seems that most people should get plenty of Vitamin D during the day if their skin sees the sun, they drink Vitamin D-fortified milk, etc. However, it is not that easy to obtain an adequate amount of Vitamin D without supplements. The suggested daily dose of Vitamin D is very outdated, causing us to be misguided into believing that an adequate amount of Vitamin D is consumed.

Dr. Zaidi treats the deficiency by mostly prescribing his patients a supplement of the vitamin, closely monitoring their progress in pushing up their levels. In most cases, as the level of Vitamin D increases, the painful side effects disappear within a couple of months.

The text is very interesting, written in easy to understand language (no hardcore science lingo). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in recent scientific and medical research, focusing on the deficiency of the so-thought omnipresent vitamin.