How to Address a High Mercury Level
Levels of mercury in the blood are tested as part of the Magnesium plus Elements blood spot test, now offered by GrassrootsHealth. Mercury is one of the most toxic heavy metals – you can...
How to Improve Your AA:EPA and Omega-6:Omega-3 Ratios
In previous posts, we have discussed what optimal omega-3 levels are by looking at the Omega-3 Index, and how to improve your Omega-3 Index. While the Omega-3 Index is often considered the most important...
Understanding Nutrient Response Curves
The way the body responds to most nutrients can be described by an ‘S’ shaped curve, or Sigmoid Response Curve, such as described in the Nutrition and Medicine Webinar by Dr. Robert Heaney (from...
Upper Level Intakes and Risk of Toxicity
When taking and/or prescribing higher doses of vitamin D, it might be useful to know the likelihood of achieving a vitamin D serum level on the higher end of the 25(OH)D serum level spectrum,...
Addressing a Common Misconception about Vitamin D
At GrassrootsHealth, one of our goals is to provide information about the importance of maintaining a vitamin D blood level of 40-60 ng/ml, as recommended by our panel of 48 international vitamin D scientists....
Did vitamin D supplementation cause kidney failure in a 54 year old man?
A recent case report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal about a man with kidney failure has been picked up by many news sources as a warning against vitamin D supplementation. Was vitamin D...
Do GrassrootsHealth participants change their vitamin D status and supplement use after their first test?
GrassrootHealth believes that the key to moving research into practice is to equip individuals with the knowledge needed to take charge of their own health. By providing people with information about the health benefits...
Vitamin D in Our Food
We are often asked, “If I eat a healthy diet, can’t I get enough vitamin D from food alone?”. Our response is “Generally, no – most people will need to supplement to reach the...
What does your dietary omega-3 intake look like?
Omega-3 status can be assessed by measuring the amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in red blood cells, which is called the Omega-3 Index. The primary food source of EPA and...
Does your nutrient intake match a healthy population?
In 2017, GrassrootsHealth expanded the supplement section on their health questionnaire to include nineteen nutrients. Today, we will provide a summary of what we found so far about supplement use among GrassrootsHealth participants. What...