The China Study by Thomas Campbell

THE ·VITAMIN" 0 CONNECTION

CHART C.l: THE VITAMIN D NETWORK

Iii D~ I

Supercllilrged

(i"^125 li ••• D ,)

363

regulated, regardless of how much there may be in the tank, whether it
is low or whether it is full. However, it is also useful that we maintain
an adequate supply in our storage tank. In the same way, it is critical
that the kidney enzyme in this reaction has a soft, sensitive touch, so to
speak, as it produces the right amount of the 1,25 D at the right time for
its very important work.
One of the more important things that vitamin D does, mostly
through its conversion to supercharged 1,25 D, is to control the devel-
opment of a wide variety of serious diseases. For the sake of simplicity,
this is schematically represented by showing the inhibition of the con-
version of healthy tissue to diseased tissue by 1,25 D. 4-12
So far, we can see how adequate sunshine exposure, by ensuring
enough storage form of vitamin D, helps to prevent cells from becom-
ing diseased. This suggests that certain diseases might be more common
in areas of the world where there is less sunshine, in countries nearer
the North and South Poles. Indeed there is such evidence. To be more
specific: in the northern hemisphere, communities that are farther north
tend to have more Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis,
osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer, in addition to
other diseases.
Researchers have known for eighty years that multiple sclerosis,
for example, is associated with increasing latitude.^13 As you can see in
Chart C.2, there is a huge difference in MS prevalence as one goes away
from the equator, being over 100 times more prevalent in the far north
than at the equator.^14 Similarly, in Australia, there is less sunshine and