If YOU Take Vitamin D, You NEED To Stop!

0:00 I'm very curious about Madeline and Natalie still. >> Great. >> What happened to Madeline and Natalie? >> Okay. For 2 years, I'm talking to Walter on the phone, and I start giving vitamin D to my my patients, and I learned that every single person needs a unique amount. Very scary. I mean, everybody else is saying, "Oh, take 5,000. Take 10,000. Take 20,000." I take 100,000 once a month, okay? And I find out also that if you get past about a level of 60, that's when they come back and say, "You know what? My sleep is better." Now, importantly, I still was operating under the false belief that there's only one variable, okay? I came up in medicine using drugs. That means you match the drug to the complaint. Oh, that one

0:46 didn't work, and then we do this one, and then we do this one, okay? I'm ashamed that I looked at it that way, but that was my training. So, I thought vitamin D was going to fix everything. Within the next 6 months, my patients start to come back and say horrible things like, "My joints ache all over, and my doctor's about to send me to the rheumatologist who does autoimmune diseases." >> Like arthritis? >> Exactly. Then the next person comes in and says, "I've got this terrible burning in my hands and feet." And another woman comes in the same month with burning in her hands and feet. Two women, same month, they have nothing in common except they both have headaches, and they've been doing vitamin D with me for 2 years. And they say they want to know, "Is this related

1:31 to that vitamin D that I've been taking with you?" And now I'm very freaked out because I'm afraid that what I've been doing, even though their sleep is better and we're all happy about that, headaches were better, now they're a little worse again, is I've put them in a situation where they are now using more of whatever these building blocks are, and they I've I've actually forced them into another deficiency state. I'm making them make more repairs, and now they're deficient in something else, and I don't know what. Now, a patient walks in with a book. This is why I'm telling you that my patients are the ones that taught me all this stuff. And I'm telling you these embarrassing stories because they come in and they say, "Did you do this to me?" That's very uncomfortable.

2:17 And I don't know, but I feel a commitment that I better find out. And a woman walks in with a book that's called the pain-free promise of pantothenic acid. God forbid, it's another vitamin. So, I happen to have developed over the same time period this weird buttock pain. I can't sit down to talk to my patients at the end of the day because my butt hurts. So, I feel like I have the same thing. So, I read this book. It says pantothenic acid is a chemical that makes this thing called coenzyme A. Coenzyme A is responsible for making cortisol. I think, I don't think that's causing this burning, but this is something I need to know about. And cortisol is big in

3:04 sleep. We talk about cortisol all the time, the timing of it. And it's huge in inflammation. I go to the vitamin store, I find pantothenic acid. The book says 400 mg is the right dose. So, I pick up the 400 mg, and I go to the B complex. I find something called B100, which means there's each one has got 100 mg or 100 mcg. I go home with these two things. I start taking them. And I give recommendations to the anyone who comes in in that one week where I have a sleep study, they have a new complaint. I give a recommendation of B100 and B5. What the book did was it sent me to the references. The articles that she references are from the 1950s

3:52 in this creepy lab next to the Iowa State Prison where they're doing these creepy experiments on prisoners before it becomes illegal. They publish this article saying if you block pantothenic acid for 2 weeks, you see four things. They can't sleep, they have belly complaints, bloating and all sorts of things, they have a funny puppet-like gait, and they have burning in their hands and feet. And I go, "This is wonderful." So, that was one of the motivations. So, the cortisol link to pain and the burning in the hands and feet. Now, I've got it in my head that I've made them use more of the B vitamins. >> So, let's just pause there. So, you're saying that by asking your patients to

4:38 take more vitamin D, you're saying that the body has also started to use more B vitamins, which means that by taking more vitamin D then I'm deficient in B vitamins. >> Yes. >> And so, you know, when you use vitamin D, you also use more B vitamins. >> There's another point that I'm about to make, but [clears throat] you summarized it perfectly. So, the next question would be, "Okay, I'm taking 400 mg cuz that's what it says in the book, and that's the only dose that was on the shelf in the vitamin store." I get to the end of the week and I realize I have restless legs and my restless legs has been much worse this week. This is probably too big a dose, and I stopped the 400 mg and everything goes away. My butt pain goes away like in a day. >> 400 mg of >> B5.

5:24 >> Okay. >> So, pantothenic acid is called B5. All the patients who come back say, "Were you trying to kill me? This 400 mg here, I got so agitated, I stopped it after 2 days. I felt like I was crawling out of my skin and I couldn't sleep at all. If you block B5, you get insomnia. That means it has power and sleep. D has power in sleep. But it turns out if it has power in sleep, your body has a very specific amount that it wants. If you give it too much, it's not happy. If you give it too little, it's not happy. And it turns out that instead of giving you one thing when it's low and another thing when it's high, which is what I would have

6:10 anticipated, it goes back to the same thing. When it's not happy, it just stops sleeping. Now, a couple of them come back and say, "You know, I stopped the 400 mg because I was so agitated I couldn't sleep at all, but I stayed on B100, I feel great. My sleep is perfect, my pain is gone." And I said, "That's what happened to me." It's just like too weird. This chemical is doing something and it's acting what I would say to my patients is, be very careful with this because I don't really know what dose you'll need. If it's too much, it'll act like caffeine, it'll keep you up at night, okay? Then, the next thing that happens is a gal comes in and says, "You know, you gave me that B100 and I ached all over. I would get up in the morning and I'd go

6:56 And she said, "You know what, I broke it in half and I'm taking that and I feel great." What you'll see here is B50, which is 50 mg of each but all eight Bs has 50 mg of of B5 in it. It turns out if you've been taking D for 2 years, you've actually worked your way into a place where your body has been using more Bs and you are now very profoundly deficient. But she did not take 2 years. She was a new patient to me. She had not been on D for that period of time. The reason why this discussion is important is there are millions of people who started taking D in COVID who by the fourth year after taking it started to have burning in their hands and feet. They're not even taking it anymore. They took it from 2020 to 2023,

7:43 their levels got into the 60s. Their doctor said, "Hey, 60 is enough. Stop taking the vitamin D." But, they still show up with a B vitamin diagnosis, and they go to their doctor and they say, "Oh, well, you developed lupus. Oh, or you have this. Oh, or you have that." These are all diseases that have been described already, but they haven't been described as B vitamin deficiency states, which is bizarre, but that's the historical point. All of the literature says, "B5 deficiency doesn't exist because it's in every food." Now, I'm reading that literature, and it says, "Thiamine, which is B1, has a poop bacteria source and a food source." "B2, poop bacteria and a food source." "All of them come from the poop." >> What do you mean come from the poop?

8:30 >> These eight chemicals called B, all of them are made by bacteria, and we absorb them. Everybody knows that we have the wrong microbiome. And we've all been told that it's toxins, antibiotics are the major thing that are blamed, but we now have a huge body of literature about the microbiome being abnormal. Here's >> microbiome? >> Yes. The other weird part about it is there are these guys in Oklahoma, GI surgeons, who are giving poop transplants. >> Give me context on what that is. >> They take poop from one person, and they push it up the other person's butt. Like, we've spent 100 years saying, "Stay away from the poop. It's bad for you. Don't go from the poop to your mouth, okay?" We've made this idea that the bacteria

9:15 we're fighting against them. They're trying to take us over, and they're bad, and we're fighting against them. But, as people are dying of things like Clostridium difficile, which C. diff is the way it's shortened, they're dying of C. diff infection, and they're doing poop transplants, and they live. It turns out that the eight B vitamins were first described as bacterial growth factors. They are chemicals that one bacteria is able to make and it pushes it out of its cell into the environment. And this one next to it, that's a different one, goes, "Oh, goody, give me that." And those guys live together as a group, a commensal, meaning each one of them derive benefit from having the other one

10:02 there. So, there are four big groups of bacteria that is the normal human microbiome. Well, why are there four? Why is it always this four? And how come we only know about 2% of them? If we're saying all these things that the microbiome is wrong, turns out we only know 2% of 200 bacteria that are normal occupants from the mouth, from the lips all the way to the anus. We only know 2%. But we have the genetic footprint of every single one. We're able to take them out of the poop or out of the small intestine or out of the mouth and we can say these are the genetics and we've named all of them. So, we know there are

10:47 200. >> Okay. >> And the article that they write is, you know, it looks to us like the reason why this foursome of groups hang out together is because they all at least need one B vitamin and they produce at least one. So, they all have a relationship to the B vitamins and we should start thinking about the microbiome as the production system that supplies the B vitamins to the body. I didn't find that article until after. But here I am back again with one big question. These two women with the burning in their hands and feet, why did they get B vitamin deficient? If the B's come from the food, they've had the same diet all along. And I don't I haven't controlled their diet. I haven't made them change their diet. Why did all of these people come back

11:34 with these complaints? The one thing we know is many of them have IBS symptoms, which are a signal that the bacteria isn't right. >> IBS, what's that? >> Irritable bowel syndrome. >> Yeah. >> Diarrhea, constipation, bloating, my belly isn't right. >> Yeah. >> Because I had assumed that D was going to fix everything. >> Get them in D. Mhm. >> The [clears throat] vitamin D was going to fix their belly. And it didn't. There were several things that did not get better. One, their IBS didn't get better. Two, they didn't lose weight. That was really weird. Because they were out exercising more. They were out exercising in the middle of the day, but they didn't lose weight. That means there's still something wrong in the background where they didn't lose weight. So I'm stuck with, okay, why didn't did the D fix the B

12:20 thing? Oh. Oh. These were all described as bacterial growth factors. I have assumed that vitamin D was a bacterial growth factor because Walter talked about the GI tract having all sorts of receptors for vitamin D. And so I assumed that the bacteria that lived inside us needed vitamin D to be normal. And therefore I assumed that IBS showed up in the 19 80s [clears throat] because we went into D deficiency and that D deficiency caused this IBS. There were no articles about that in humans until 2020 when COVID came and they actually started to realize that the people who were D deficient died in COVID. And they started to actually look at, oh, is the micro buying playing a

13:06 role in our immune system? Yes. If I give vitamin D, will the bacterial makeup of my stool change in a positive way? >> My poop. >> Exactly. Does the poop bacteria makeup change in a positive way? We know we've seen people who don't have inflammatory disorders and they have these this bacterial makeup will giving vitamin D change the population? And yes, that's the answer. Now, I realized now I'm giving two bacterial growth factors, D, and now I'm giving B100, and I'm giving a large dose of all eight Bs. Remember that, give all eight. >> Mhm. >> That means by accident, I have actually given eight bacterial growth factors that are necessary for bringing the poop

13:52 bacteria back to the normal human makeup that it's supposed to be, that it has always come to be spontaneously. That's a really important point. All the other animals in the world, they're not obese. There are no obese squirrels in my backyard. The only obese animals are our cats and dogs that we keep inside. >> So, to summarize for me, what is the link between vitamin D and the B vitamins? >> It turns out that all the Bs come from the microbiome. >> Yes, okay. I understand. >> In order to have the correct microbiome, we are actually commensal organisms with our microbiome. That means we have to provide D, they in turn provide us with Bs. >> Okay. So, is that a good thing that you gave them D then, cuz then their body

14:37 makes B? >> Yes, but it didn't make B on its own. Otherwise, those side effects like my butt pain wouldn't have been there, okay? So, let's bring that let's bring that into focus. The D by itself did not correct the microbiome. >> Yeah. >> So, when I took 5,000 of D between 2020 and 2023, and I took it for 3 years cuz my doctor told me it was okay, but in 2025, I started to have rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. >> The D did not correct my microbiome. It actually made me deficient. I'm going to give you the drug for rheumatoid arthritis. I'm not going to picture it as, "Oh, you need B50." >> So, you gave B50, but then didn't they have another problem?

15:23 >> Most of the time, what happens after the B50 is everything comes back to normal, the GI tract corrects. You have to take it only for 3 months. I was taking it for 4 and 1/2 months. And I started to wake up and feel old. >> Yeah. >> And everything I just parenthetically told you about the the GI tract was percolating around in my brain. And what I had told my patients was, you know, I think we've stumbled on the growth factor that the right microbiome needs. And I think the reason you became B vitamin deficient was because it was the wrong microbiome, but when we give them what they need, they're going to grow back. >> Okay, fine. >> to grow back and they're going to do their job. >> Okay, so >> They're going to produce B50. They're going to make that.

16:08 >> summarize that. So, by giving them B50 for a short period of time, you're kind of jump-starting the gut microbiome, and then you don't want to keep giving it to them or else they're going to become like dependent or not do their job properly. So, you want to give it to them for 3 months, let them jump-start, and then they'll do their job, and then you leave them alone. >> Yes, and I want to add one more thing. The way you think about it is probiotics are bacteria. You dump the bacteria down and you swallow it, it goes into your small intestine. But if it does not have the growth factors that it needs, which every bacteria has its little set of growth helpers it needs to be able to absorb from the actual juice that's down there. If it doesn't have that, it can't reproduce.

16:55 Every bacteria that's sitting in my small intestine right now, 12 hours from now is going to be in a different place. >> Mhm. >> A day from now, I'm going to poop it out. Who's up here now? The great great granddaughters of the bacteria that are sitting there while you're I are talking. They reproduce rapidly. You have to picture them like a river. Like we're sitting in and we're looking at the river and the water looks like this. And 10 minutes later, the water looks the same. But that's not the same water that we were looking at 10 minutes ago. That water is downstream. That means the level of reproduction that they are expected to do requires constant production of these growth

17:41 factors. Now, it turns out that you don't have to think about that. All you have to do is have the normal bacteria that was generated spontaneously when you were born because mom was giving you D in her breast milk and it also had eight B's. Those eight B's came from her normal microbiome in the breast milk. That means you had everything you needed and then you were out in the sun. You were born in June or July in the summer and then you got D on your skin and that process has replicated for 300,000 years. For 250 million years, the dinosaurs had a microbiome in their intestines. This is so old, it's unimaginable. >> So, what is the conclusion here then cuz

18:26 I do want to bring this back to Natalie and Madeline? >> Okay. >> haven't figured out what what you what you told them to do. >> Steven, you are so smart and it's so such a pleasure to talk to you. These are difficult points. Madeline is struggling with all these things. She's slowly getting better. Then we do the D, she's slowly getting better. Then we do the B100. And then it's freaking awesome. She starts to lose the pain that she had down her leg. The burning in her hands and feet goes away. Her sleep gets much better. Now, she's into year three and four of what becomes the right sleep program and she's still on 30,000 IUs of D a day. That's an immense dose. Most people are taking five to 10.

19:13 She's been taking 30,000 a day for 4 years. Her D level has stayed the same. It's in the 60s. She's done a great job of keeping everything the same. That really means that her body is using 30,000 IU's of vitamin D a day for 4 years. That's a very important concept because it means she is using so much more than anybody else is using in my practice. Most people are on 10,000. But she's making these amazing repairs. Her depression is gone. She stopped three medicines that we've been using for pain control. She now gets up in the morning and she feels energetic. She's starting a program that the Texas state has for going back to work. You know, I was like, [laughter] "This gal's never going back." She wants

19:58 to go back to work. She is a totally different person. Now, importantly, she is not 100 lb thinner. She's still 100 lb overweight. And that is one of the things that happen in most of my patients and clients. The body will not lose that weight until it's really made every repair it thinks is necessary, and then it decides that it's not going to need this fat anymore. >> So, with her, did you take her off the B vitamins? >> The routine is that one, they have to do D, and this this will become the right sleep program. >> But they have to do D because they're not getting sunlight. >> Correct. >> We None of us really get enough sunlight. >> Correct. So, and we can talk about supplement versus sun, but the D is

20:43 pivotal to the entire program, and it has to continue. And if you have a sleep problem or medical problems, you will do better if you get your D above 60 and keep it around there. That is not [clears throat] the same as saying, "What is the ideal D level for a human who wants to overachieve?" It is not the the Okay? So, she's on D. she stays on D the rest of her life as long as she needs it, and she's always checking her D levels. Then she goes on B100, she happened to be one of the ones that was on D by itself for 2 years. If you have been on D for 2 or 3 or 5 years in the past and have developed B vitamin deficiency states, then you will have to go back on D with the B50,

21:28 and you will do that for 3 months, and then [snorts] you will stop and you'll go down to a much lower dose that's a multivitamin. One of the things in the background that we haven't talked about yet is there are actually hundreds of things that the bacteria are doing for us that are just starting to be reported. But they have been pivotal all along in all the minerals. All the minerals that show up in a multivitamin, all the magnesium, calcium, selenium, manganese, all these things that nobody's really interested in, and they all are in list on their multi- multivitamin. All through this same time frame, people are developing iron deficiency and iron overload. And it turns out that the bacteria have been a pivotal part in our intestine speaking to our body about whether or

22:14 not our iron level is low or high in the liver or in the blood system in our bone marrow or in our brain. And if you do not have a specific bacteria called Lactobacillus reuteri, you will be missing a brand new metabolite or chemical that was named after that bacteria just in the last 3 years that's called reuteri that is one of the chemical messengers that our body uses. So, that means many of the deficiency states that the naturopaths and the functional medicine people are studying are all linked to the fact that this bacterial tube has been doing all these things for us all along, and when you lost them, each individual person has its own set of specific deficiency

23:01 states that must be addressed for their sleep to get better. >> If you love the Diary of a CEO brand and you watch this channel, please do me a huge favor, become part of the 15% of the viewers on this channel that have hit the subscribe button. It helps us tremendously and the bigger the channel gets, the bigger the guests.