And Dr. Murray has reported that potassium salts in large amounts can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and ulcers. Food based supplements can be part of a successful switch to a balanced K factor, but combining good supplements with a switch to whole, fresh food is even more logical for many reasons. An overlooked key to a healthy diet. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient essential for the development of strong bones and teeth. It facilitates mineral absorption, particularly calcium.
Vitamin D is found in milk, cod liver oil, salmon, egg yolk, and butter fat.
In addition, vitamin D is activated in the skin by sunlight or ultraviolet radiation. A complicating factor is that the skin's ability to manufacture the nutrient diminishes with age. Tufts reports that hip fractures occur in 300,000 people each year and cause serious complications ending in death for one in five of them. A Tufts study evaluated 250 Boston-area women age 50 to 60. The lead researcher, Bess Dawson-Hughes, M.D., suggests supplementing the diet with vitamin D. Symptoms of D deficiency include poor bone and tooth formation, softening of bones and teeth, inadequate absorption of calcium, and retention of phosphorus in the kidneys.