Vitamin D: What’s all the fuss?

Mardi Crane-Godreau, PhD

  • Over the last several months a number of peer reviewed papers have been published about the role that vitamin D is believed to play in reducing morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 viral infections.  As winter approaches in the northern hemisphere, sunlight is less available to stimulate production of vitamin D.

To read Vitamin D Deficiency and Air Pollution Exacerbate COVID-19 Through Suppression of Antiviral Peptide LL37. Front. Public Health 8:232. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00232, click here.  But if you simply want to understand a little more about this fascinating hormone/vitamin, read on.

Vitamins are needed in small quantities to support normal life processes. Most can be obtained from food sources.   However, since diets vary, some need to be obtained from supplements.  Vitamin D is somewhat of a special case.  It’s actually a hormone, obtained from food or supplements, but also made by the body under favorable conditions.  We humans are able to make our own vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight.  Exposing arms and legs for about 15 minutes per day, when the sun is at least halfway up from the horizon, can go a long way to provide what is needed by the body to make vitamin D.

A note of caution! Sunburn is dangerous and extended time in the sun does not mean that your body will make more vitamin D.   Our systems have a natural shut off mechanism.  After a certain point, the body stops making vitamin D, so this is one of those instances where too much can be worse than not enough.

In this time of COVID-19, many articles have been written about the possible benefits of vitamin D in reducing the impact of the disease.   Some have looked at evidence from patient records comparing their previously measured vitamin D levels with how sick they became with COVID-19.   Others have looked at established information about which groups of people tend to have adequate vitamin D levels and which groups tend to have low, deficient levels of vitamin D.   Many of these articles point to evidence that vitamin D has a protective benefit when fighting respiratory viral infections in general.  They also point to recent evidence that COVID-19 is less severe when vitamin D levels are adequate.

Sunlight to Vit D

As a hormone, vitamin D has a wide range of effects on the body.  It helps to regulate over a thousand genes, many of which are related to the immune system.  Vitamin D modulates immune responses allowing for a balanced response by the body to challenges from bacteria and viruses.  It plays a key role in making molecules that attack and destroy microbes.  It also supports cell to cell signaling, making it possible for the immune system to respond without excesses that can be as dangerous as the microbes.

How do you know if you are getting enough vitamin D?  Simple blood tests are available to determine if your level is sufficient to meet the needs of your body. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are found widely in industrialized societies world wide, especially in areas more than 37 degrees latitude distant from the equator.   Deficiency is also common in older adults, in individuals with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, hypertension and some forms of cancer.  In the US,  vitamin D deficiency is documented to be common in those with African American genetic heritage.  Vitamin D deficiency is defined as having a level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D below 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/liter).  When vitamin D is between 21–29 ng/ml (52.5–72.5 nmol/liter) it is defined as insufficient.  If available, ask your medical provider for a test.

Sources differ on how much vitamin D individuals should take.  In 2011, The Endocrine Society, a prestigious group of professional endocrinologists who treat patients with hormonal disorders, recommends from 1,500 iu  (37.5 mcg) to 2,000 iu (50 mcg) for anyone over 19 years old to raise the blood level of 25(OH)D consistently above 30 ng/ml (75 nmol/liter).    For those 19 and under, they suggest that at least 1000 IU/d of vitamin D may be required to achieve and maintain a level consistently above 30 ng/ml (75 nmol/liter). They acknowledge that specific at-risk groups may need higher levels of vitamin D supplementation to achieve and maintain sufficient vitamin D.  The Endocrines Society also states that a maximum safe daily dose should not exceed 10,000 iu (250 mcg). Scientists conducting the VITAL (vitamin D and Omega 3) Trial also have chosen a dose of 2,000 iu/day dose for those in the study, who are receiving vitamin D supplements.  However this study is ongoing with results likely in 2021 or beyond.

Irrespective of these recommendations and studies, many physicians recommend higher doses. The safest and most effective way to determine your need for vitamin D and the correct dose, is to consult your medical provider for professional advice.

Movement as the language of emotion: Why Moving Meditations make sense.

By Peter Payne and Mardi Crane-Godreau, Ph.D.

Rational explanations make little difference when a child is wired or anxious. This is especially true for many children on the autism spectrum and can apply equally to many other kids as well. So, is there anything that can help?

Let’s start with some basic neuroscience. The brain communicates on two main levels: the instinctive-emotional-movement level, and the rational-verbal level.  It should be no surprise that we begin life operating on the instinctive-emotional-movement level. The language of the instinctive part of the brain is movement and sensation! As this part of the brain and nervous system develop, the maturation of the rational verbal aspects can more easily follow suit.

There are many supportive therapies and educational programs that strive to help kids who are on the spectrum, develop their nervous systems and the skills that are needed for successful and satisfying everyday living.  The ‘Moving Meditations’ app was designed to provide an easily accessible, low cost, and useful tool for both younger and older kids to support calm and skills for self-regulation. When watching and following along is a shared activity, parents and teachers have reported reduced stress and anxiety for kids and for themselves.  

‘Moving Meditations’ app uses movement to help to discharge stress and to build neurological awareness.   Inspired by ASD pioneers, and backed by neuroscience, the app includes a series of short (1 ½ to 2 minute) videos, which show a child doing various simple self-care movements. These images are accompanied by nature scenes, special effects, and music, to create a fascinating and mesmerizing flow of imagery which draw the watcher in to a calmer, more present state, and restore balance to the  nervous system.

The watcher may be moved to imitate the motions that are shown. Similar to imitating the movements of Tai Chi, this can be very beneficial. These simple movements (with or without the videos) can be used at any time to help to support inner balance. For those striving to find tools to promote self-regulation, we made these videos especially for you.

This project was inspired by the work of pioneer autism researcher, Dr. Louisa Silva, who discovered that meaningful support and communications could be established with the nervous systems of children with autism, even severe autism, by training parents to use specific and regular patterns of touch and body movements. In a series of scientific papers, she documented evidence of the results from tests of her method (called Qigong Sensory Training, or QST for short). Anat Baniel independently discovered much the same thing; by tuning in to the child’s movements and interacting through touch and sound, the child’s nervous system calms down and re-organizes itself, with  improvements in behavior and communication. Neither system denies the importance of understanding the genetic and brain changes involved in ASD and other developmental challenges; but they have found that despite these issues, approaching the child through movement and sensation can help restore a balanced nervous system and bring calm and presence.

Moving Meditations draws on neuroscience and pragmatic research.  Download the app today.

Feel free to contact us with questions or feedback at Bodymindscience4Research@gmail.com

Moving Meditations: a stress reduction tool for families with autism

From BodyMind Science

Mardi Crane-Godreau, PhD

Experts agree that stress and anxiety are common challenges for families with autism. Stress is linked to many health issues that can create roadblocks to leaning and well-being. Aware of this issue, we’ve been working on an app that we hope will help to address some of the challenges.

In 2015 I began working with a family whose 7 year old son had been diagnosed with autism five years earlier.  Despite dedicated and loving attention from both parents, and support from specialists and the best professional advice available, efforts to find solutions to their son’s lack of self-regulation and frequent anxiety and panic were ongoing challenges. My involvement began by teaching the parents the QST method of tactile-movement therapy that they began to administer on a daily basis. Their son’s language, social skills, and digestion improved and his anxiety began to diminish. But as he began to mature, he began to resist the daily parental therapy, except in times of special need, when he would seek it out.

Self-regulation skills and continued neurological developmental support were still needed.  I wondered if watching and mimicking another child doing gentle but meaningful movements might be useful.  A colleague, Peter Payne and I selected movement practices based on research demonstrating benefit to adults with nervous system dysregulation.  (The research from our lab at Dartmouth has shown significant improvement in health and wellbeing of adults who have taken part in long term body-awareness training.)

Our adult oriented training videos would not be meaningful for most kids, so we dug into the problem and began to make short child friendly videos backed by music, special effects and by scenes from nature. Some of the special effects include ‘stims’ designed to attract and hold the attention of children with autism. A few prototype videos were made available to the family, who began to use them, not just on a tablet or phone, but also projected on the TV screen with the whole family taking part.   The child’s special education teacher and his school also began to use the videos to calm him at times of high anxiety.

For this child, who has now had the use and support of videos for more than 18 months, his parents report marked decrease in anxiety and continued improvement in language and social skills. Separation anxiety and panic attacks are now rare events. While the videos are reported to have an immediate calming effect for him and other children who are now using them, his self-regulation and language skills continue to increase gradually. We hope that more families and teachers will give the Moving Meditations app a try.

Moving Meditations for Families with Autism is available for Android and Apple devices. It contains 18 short videos that address 6 separate goals. It is suitable for most kids to watch by themselves, but we encourage family participation with parents or siblings also taking part in a brief but enjoyable activity. Some teachers may also find this suitable for classroom use.

We need your feedback! Download the app to your phone or tablet today.  Try it with your child.   Submit your ratings and comments.  Your experience will help us improve this product and learn more about its benefits and limitations. Your input can help thousands of other families decide how to use this tool.  Thanks for your support! Please shop using the buttons below.

Free installation at the App Store and on Google Play.

Bullying: Anatomy of the Bully

Bullying: Anatomy of the Bully

Mardi Crane-Godreau, PhD

Recently, I’ve been on a deep dive into expert opinions on bullying, its causes, effects and methods. Fortunately, there is consensus on a number of points, irrespective of whether the bullying is associated with schools, workplace or larger social groups.

Bullies have specific characteristics and act in predictable ways. There also appears to be emerging evidence that awareness, education and speaking out are among the effective tools that any group can employ to stem this destructive behavior. Equally important, there is strong evidence that resilience against bullying can be developed through emotional intelligence, self-knowledge, self-awareness, self-respect and self-efficacy.

What is bullying? Experts seem to agree that bullying involves the persistent use of threat, force or coercion to intimidate or abuse the target in order to dominate an individual or a group. Bullying can be seen in terrorism, where a few individuals seek to impose control on another group, by imposing fear, through threat of harm, misinformation and isolation. The pattern is not that far removed from bullying in schools or the workplace where one or more bullies seek dominance over a target individual or group, isolating them from normal activities, sometimes by spreading rumors (misinformation) that undermine self-confidence and/or by threatening them with emotional, social or physical harm. Bullying behavior seems to persist; if one target proves to be resilient and impervious, the bully or bullies move on to a new target.

Scientific and social science literature report two distinct types of bullies. One is the individual who is only involved in being a bully. The other type of bully is the victim-bully, a person who is both an active bully and who is also being bullied by others. An apparent root cause of bullying is that bullies gain self-gratification through their acts of attempted domination and control of others. Another likely cause is that bullying may involve unconscious projection of anger or retribution for some unrelated trauma or harm from the bully’s past.

Rationalization for bullying should not be confused with cause or ‘reason for bullying’. Common rationalizations may include differences of workplace job titles, schoolroom strengths or weaknesses, differences in social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Physical appearance, behavior, personality and body language, as well as reputation, strength, size or ability can be the rationale for targeting an individual by bullies. Persistent aggression against and abuse or isolation of diverse group members are clear forms of bullying.

What can be done about bullying? Resilience toward the aggression of bullies AND the reduction of bullying behavior are reported to be associated with a factor called self-efficacy in conjunction with a balanced sense of self-esteem. According to respected psychologist Albert Bandura, self-efficacy is the extent to which a person believes in their ability to get things done. Self-efficacy works in conjunction with a balanced sense of self-worth, to change the inner motivations that seem to foster bullying behaviors. It changes both vulnerability as a target and the ability of the bully to grow beyond the need to harm or dominate others.

Bullying is a lose-lose proposition. No one gains. The thought processes and actions of a bully can have a profound negative effect on both the target and the bully, some of which can have life-long implications. Awareness, education, calling out the situation and support of the targets are all steps that can be taken to stem bullying. We also need more research into the deep inner causes of bullying and opportunities for mitigation to change these behaviors.

The Resilient Family: Happy Child app was designed to help individuals and families to cultivate self-regulation. It is available for both Apple and Android devices.  The app provides training that works with the nervous system to develop self-awareness and self-efficacy, supporting well-being and resilience.   

Remembering Women Veterans

I recall being focused on a butterfly that had just landed on a nearby plant. The butterfly paused revealing crisp black and yellow stripes and spots. Its wings slowly opened and closed as it tested a flower for nectar.  Overhead, the drone of a prop aircraft increased until it was just above us. Then the pitch of the engine changed, as if perhaps, going into a stall.  Instantly, the butterfly disappeared and the world spun as I was lifted off my feet and thrust down into the brush at the edge of the field, my mother pinning me down and protecting me with her own body.  In what seemed an eternity, the sound from the aircraft engine again shifted and it flew away.  This was not a war zone, it was Connecticut on a sweet summer morning in 1949 well after WWII had ended and the troops had come home.

Lt. Sylvia E. Van Antwerp was one of America’s first flight nurses, serving with honor in 1943 and 1944, carrying the wounded to hospitals remote from the North African and Italian fronts. She and 29 other RNs, were the first to be trained as US Army Aircorps Flight Nurses. She, and most classmates, was recruited from airline service by the US Army, for their inflight experience.   They trained at Bowman Field in Kentucky in late 1942 and then were stationed in various areas of need in the Pacific and in her case, North Africa.  Reportedly, Sylvia had the second highest number of flight hours of any flight nurse in WWII.

Sylvia and my dad, a US Army Aircorps Flight Surgeon, both left written accounts of their experiences. Both flew in DC-3 aircraft that could accommodate 14 wounded.  Generally either two nurses or a nurse and a physician tended the men who were being evacuated. Since these aircraft also carried war supplies, they were not marked with a cross that would have differentiated them from combatants.  They could be attacked by enemy aircraft, or gunners on the ground.  Their safety between flights was not assured.  Both of my parents told of jumping into slit trenches at the edge of runways as their airfield was being strafed or bombed.  There is far more to tell about the extent of their experiences and the behaviors that they exhibited for the rest of their lives. What they and others of their generation have shared has been transformative to our generation and how we perceive the effects of war relate trauma.

What in the 1940’s was called ‘shell shock’ is now called PTSD.  We recognize that a range of traumatic events can induce it, and in general today we do not blame or demean those who have been traumatized. Neuroscience research demonstrates that it is not just the cognitive mind that is affected by trauma.  Indeed, the subconscious portions of the brain play a central role in long-term traumatic responses.  Fortunately we have also learned that somatic therapies are a viableand effective route to treating trauma, including traumas and PTSD from both militaryand non-military situations.  Somatic/bodymind therapies can also have direct impact on some associated medical conditions.

This is written for Memorial Day, 2018, a day reserved to remember those who died in the line of service.  I write to honor their memory and to remember those who have carried traumatic wounds and who perished long after a war had ended. Their courage was enduring.  It was the courage to live day to day, to kiss a child, to wipe away a tear, to see an airplane fly overhead and if they trembled, to ground themselves, to shake it off and to carry on.

You can learn more about somatic or bodymind therapies from these references and free resources at our Bodymind Practices page:

The Preparatory Set: a novel approach to understanding stress, trauma and the bodymind therapies, Peter Payne and Mardi A Crane-Godreau, Front. Hum. Neurosci., 01 April 2015

Somatic experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy.  Payne, Levine, Crane-Godreau, Front. Psychol., 04 February 2015

Somatic experiencing for post traumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled outcome study. Brom, Stokar, Lawi, Nuriel-Porat, Ziv, Lerner, Rossi. J Trauma Stress. 2017 Jun; 30(3): 304–312.

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