Published on October 24, 2017
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Mike Scott
My name is Mike Scott. I am 75 years old and live in Cedar Park, Texas. I retired in 2007 from biochemistry. I have been happily married for 33 years, with 3 grown children, 6 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.
I am in wonder because of all of the positive health effects that have resulted from vitamin D.
How did you hear about GrassrootsHealth / vitamin D?
I learned about vitamin D first as a biochemist. I was interested in it because when you have adequate amounts of vitamin D it increases your anti-microbial peptides (AMP), which is great for fighting disease. I think it is very interesting that every cell in your body has receptors for vitamin D. I googled vitamin D and found out information from the Vitamin D Council and GrassrootsHealth.
How was your health before vitamin D?
I had a concern about a diagnosis for prostate cancer (G7) in 2010. I went through all the specialists (surgery, chemo, hormones) – they all wanted to fix me. But I decided that I wanted to go into vigilant watching by having a PSA test done every 3 months.
In 2011, another biopsy was done and came up positive. At that point I decided to start taking much more vitamin D than was recommended at the time – 10,000 IU/day. About half of my doctors thought I was crazy and that it was going to be toxic. Most of the health people at the time were recommending 1,000 – 2,000 IU/day.
In 2012 I had another biopsy. It came up completely negative. I met with my oncologist, I asked “what happened?” He told me to wait for another year… 2013 – It was completely negative. The oncologist wouldn’t go on record, but he said that high levels of D can starve tumors. He is now recommending vitamin D to all of his patients, because he saw my success.
I no longer have any symptoms. My PSA is still elevated, but I feel much better and no one can find any prostate cancer.
How much vitamin D do you take? How do you get it (sun or supplements)?
I take 10,000 IU/day. I never miss a day. I also go for a daily walk for half an hour with no sunscreen.
What is your vitamin D level?
One of his grandchildren, and one great-grandchild
I have my blood levels done twice a year, it is usually an average of 75 ng/ml. One summer it got as high as 120 ng/ml. Usually in the winter it doesn’t go too low, the lowest I have had is 60 ng/ml. I am very good at taking it daily – summer or winter, I never forget. Just to make sure, twice a year I also have calcium levels analyzed. I have never had a problem with calcium either.
In addition, I get proper hydration, adequate sleep (7-8 hours), and exercise. I drink 2.1 L of water every day, half of my liquid weight in water.
What would you recommend to others who are in a similar situation?
His tortoise Olivia, who gets extra vitamin D
I recommend that people take 45 IU/day per lb of body weight. I determined that number through my biochemistry research over the years. I tell all men in my family over 30 to have an annual PSA test and to take 5,000 IU of D3 every day. I also recommend checking baseline vitamin D levels twice a year – winter & summer.
For people in the middle of cancer treatments, I tell my story first. They usually get excited, especially my black friends. I let them know that if they have adequate levels of vitamin D it will enhance and help some of their chemotherapy. I remind them that my background is in biochemistry, but it can’t hurt for them to take vitamin D. I tell them to take a minimum of 4000 IU/day along with all of their other medicines.
How do you tell others about vitamin D?
Mike and his dog Morkie
I tell others with or without cancer to see their doctor and first establish their baseline of D. Test once in the winter and once in the summer. I have lectured twice – for my church and at an AARP event. All those old folks do not take vitamin D, only one person out of a hundred was taking vitamin D when I asked for a show of hands.
Are you getting enough vitamin D and other nutrients to help prevent or reduce cancer?
Having and maintaining healthy vitamin D levels and other nutrient levels can help improve your health now and for your future. Choose which to measure, such as your vitamin D, omega-3s, and essential minerals including magnesium and zinc, by creating your custom home test kit today. Take steps to improve the status of each of these measurements to benefit your overall health. You can also track your own intakes, symptoms and results to see what works best for YOU.
Enroll and test your levels today, learn what steps to take to improve your status of vitamin D (see below) and other nutrients and blood markers, and take action! By enrolling in the GrassrootsHealth projects, you are not only contributing valuable information to everyone, you are also gaining knowledge about how you could improve your own health through measuring and tracking your nutrient status, and educating yourself on how to improve it.
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