Schoolboy Wins Vitamin D Campaign
Pregnant women are to be educated about the importance of taking vitamin D supplements thanks to a campaign by a 14-year-old Glasgow schoolboy.
Ryan McLaughlin, whose mother Kirsten has multiple sclerosis, took his case to the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee earlier this year.
He believes taking vitamin D can help prevent the condition.
In a written response, the Scottish government said it would put in place an action plan to increase awareness.
It said recent research had found there was an “urgent need” to provide information to all health professionals who work with pregnant women and young children about current guidance on vitamin D.
“There is also a need to educate women about the importance of taking vitamin D supplement when pregnant and the importance of giving their children a vitamin D supplement until the age of four,” the response added.
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 These actions will make a big difference to the health of generations of Scots  Ryan McLaughlin
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The Scottish government will now agree a co-ordinated programme of action with NHS Health Scotland, and has pledged to keep the McLaughlins informed of developments.
Mrs McLaughlin, a former European Taekwondo champion, was diagnosed with MS two years ago.
Ryan, from Drumchapel, said: “I am so happy to hear that the Scottish government are being so proactive and really getting behind my campaign.
“These actions will make a big difference to the health of generations of Scots, and it will go a long way to giving Scots children some protection against disease caused by vitamin D deficiency and gives parents proper advice.
“I am now looking forward to the summit next year when we’ll hopefully be able to tackle the recommended levels but this is such great news.”
Fortified milk
Ryan became the face of a YouTube campaign to publicise the use of vitamin D, and led hundreds of supporters down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to Holyrood before he put his proposals to the petitions committee in June.
He told MSPs research into the genetic effect of vitamin D deficiency showed a link to the development of MS. Vitamin D, which the body needs for healthy, strong bones is largely gained through sunlight and food.
The Scottish government has already ruled out free vitamin D supplements for all pregnant and breastfeeding women, and said there were no plans to introduce the supplements in the form of fortified milk or other drinks at school.
Scotland is thought to have the highest rate of MS in the world.
Same Difference 
But we have to be realistic about the AMOUNT of vitamin D we recommend during pregnancy and lactation. Here is a quote from The Vitamin d Council.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/more-vitamin-d-studies-of-interest.shtml
Professor Bruce Hollis presented findings from his and Carol Wagner’s five million dollar Thrasher Research Fund and NIH sponsored randomized controlled trials of about 500 pregnant women. Bruce and Carol’s discoveries are vital for every pregnant woman. Their studies had three arms: 400, 2,000, and 4,000 IU/day.
4,000 IU/day during pregnancy was safe (not a single adverse event) but only resulted in a mean Vitamin D blood level of 27 ng/mL in the newborn infants, indicating to me that 4,000 IU per day during pregnancy is not enough.
During pregnancy, 25(OH)D (Vitamin D) levels had a direct influence on activated Vitamin D levels in the mother’s blood, with a minimum Vitamin D level of 40 ng/mL needed for mothers to obtain maximum activated vitamin D levels. (As most pregnant women have Vitamin D levels less than 40 ng/mL, this implies most pregnant women suffer from chronic substrate starvation and cannot make as much activated Vitamin D as their placenta want to make.)
Complications of pregnancy, such as preterm labor, preterm birth, and infection were lowest in women taking 4,000 IU/day, Women taking 2,000 IU per day had more infections than women taking 4,000 IU/day. Women taking 400 IU/day, as exists in prenatal vitamins, had double the pregnancy complications of the women taking 4,000 IU/day.
During lactation Hollis and Wagner (working at latitude 32) found 6400iu daily vitamin D3 was required to ensure babies received vitamin D from mothers breast milk.
It is naïve to imagine that ensuring women take the current official RDA for vitamin D will make a scrap of difference to MS incidence. Laying naked in the midday sun our skin produces 8000iu and hour. Over a reasonable period outside 10,000~20,000iu of vitamin D is produced. These are the amounts our body requires and works best with.
Grassrootshealth D Action will test 25(OH)D levels by post.
5000iu/D3 capsules are available by post from USA discount supplement providers.
That is the minimum daily amount required to reduce MS incidence.
Suggesting to people that simply taking the “official” RDA amount has the potential to reduce MS incidence is misguided and will be counterproductive. It is simply a trivial amount that produces insignificant and virtually unmeasurable responses.
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Ryan Mclaughlin of the Shine on Scotland campaign is fully aware that RDA in the UK is way below the req amount to prevent MS and the RDA is part of his petition and the campaign issues to be tackled. This is just the first stage of his campaign, The goverment has agreed to a International Summit being organised next year in Scotland that will bring together international vitamin d and MS experts to tackle just that issue. The article posted above is a major step forward and we look forward to working with scientific community and people like yourselves.
Im sure you will recognise for a 14 year old boy to take this matter into his own hands and get more results in just 9 months than what experts have have achevied in years is to be fully commended.
Please feel free to bring any advice to the table by contacting us directly.
awareness@shineonscotland.org.uk
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Indeed it is true that it is over 30yrs since the MS Vitamin D connection was first proposed.
Trouble with experts is they will always find good reasons to delay taking action when effective action my leave them without a job.
They can no longer say Vitamin D is potentially dangerous as everyone now knows up to 10,000iu/daily is absolutely safe even in sunny countries.
Click to access vieth_sip_vitd_cancer_symp_2009.pdf
particularly as in practice around 1000iu/daily for each 25lbs you weigh is all that is necessary.
They also cannot complain about the cost of using Vitamin D3 as a years supply of 5000iu can be obtained for less than £10. Unfortunately leaving it to the experts will allow them to prescribe the prescription form of Vitamin D
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