McKenzie County Farmer - Latest News

M.K. French
Farmer Staff Writer

For Dr. Beth Sanford, DNP, RN, a passion for public health isn’t just professional, it’s fiercely personal. As a veteran nurse educator and the President of the North Dakota Nurses Association (NDNA),

Sanford has spent decades examining healthcare delivery. But her journey into ground-breaking vitamin D advocacy began right at her own kitchen table when her daughter experienced a concerning shift in her energy and mood. “She was having severe fatigue and headaches” Sanford shares, reflecting on the period that began a personal mission in public healthcare education. “She also started expressing that she was incredibly sad and she didn’t know why, which was completely out of character for her joyful personality.” A timely trip to their local nurse practitioner led to a routine blood draw. The results were staggering: her daughter’s vitamin D level was “terribly low, what I call a ‘video gamer level,’” (8 ng/mL) Sanford says. “Her summer job had been indoors, and she just wasn’t getting the exposure she needed. Once we identified the deficiency and corrected it, her health completely turned around.”

Driven by this experience, Sanford dived headfirst into the science of the “sunshine nutrient,” eventually managing the North Dakota Vitamin D Project and recently standing alongside a national panel of the world’s leading vitamin D scientists to advocate for sweeping changes to national health policies. The core problem, Sanford explains, is geographic. For those living in North Dakota, checking vitamin D isn’t a wellness trend, it’s  a physiological necessity. Because of our specific northern latitude, ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, the precise wavelengths required to trigger vitamin D synthesis in human skin, do not reach the surface of the earth for six months out of the year. Sanford explained that when the local UV index drops below 3, your body physically cannot generate vitamin D from the sun, making North Dakotans entirely dependent on diet and supplementation from late autumn through early spring.

Compounding this environmental hurdle is a major shift in modern lifestyles and cultural habits. “We are meant to be people of the sun,” says Sanford. “Many of us in this region share Scandinavian or Northern European ancestry. Our ancestors heavily relied on traditional dietary sources like deep-sea fish and cod liver oil to sustain their levels through dark winters. We’ve largely lost those dietary staples, and we spend our working hours tucked inside under artificial lights.”

While standard medical training historically focused on vitamin D solely for bone density, Sanford and other researchers have discovered its massive influence as a pre-prohormone and cell-signaling molecule that interacts with nearly every cell in the human body. According to Sanford, research demonstrates maintaining an optimal blood serum level of 60 ng/mL or higher can cut the risk of certain cancers, including breast and colon cancers, by up to a staggering 80 percent. Beyond its long-documented role in preventing devastating malignancies, maintaining healthy vitamin D levels safeguards the body against an extensive web of systemic health risks. When blood serum levels drop below optimal targets, the consequences can be devastating to metabolic and maternal health. For individuals managing metabolic conditions, a lack of vitamin D reduces critical insulin sensitivity, escalating risks for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The stakes are equally high in maternal care, where deficiency is clinically linked to a higher incidence of preterm births, hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, and dangerous postpartum hemorrhaging.

In addition to the physical benefits of optimal Vitamin D levels, research is showing an undeniable link to cognitive health. “We recently completed a study on vitamin D status among nurses and nursing students,” Sanford notes. “If your levels are bottomed out, your brain’s  processing slows. In fact, severe deficiency mimics a state of ‘pseudodementia,’ impairing your memory and ability to focus. For our workforce out in the oil fields, or students trying to pass exams, focus is everything.” According to the research, a severe deficiency manifests as cognitive fog, heightened anxiety, profound physical fatigue, and clinical depression. Ultimately, these physiological strains bleed into daily performance, directly contributing to a higher frequency of workplace injuries for labor-intensive industries and significantly lowering academic success for students struggling to retain information.

The mental health links are particularly alarming. Sanford points to a massive pediatric study out of Iran involving 1.5 million school children, which proved that normalizing vitamin D levels directly correlated with massive improvements in childhood behavioral issues and emotional stability. “Given that North Dakota unfortunately ranks among the top ten states for child and adolescent suicide, checking this low-hanging fruit should absolutely be on our community radar.”

Sanford’s primary goal is moving this decades-old science off academic shelves and directly into local homes. For everyday citizens looking to protect their families, she maps out a straightforward path to awareness. She says the first step is to utilize affordable local testing. While some clinics can charge anywhere from $300 to $600 for a serum test, McKenzie Health offers an incredibly affordable direct- access lab option. Sanford points out that anyone can walk into the lab during operational hours and request a vitamin D test for just $15, with no doctor’s  order required. Alternately, for young children who might be anxious about a traditional clinic blood draw, reliable finger-prick test kits are easily accessible online through Grassroots Health.

Sanford also wants us to practice what she and other healthcare providers call ‘intelligent’ sun exposure in the summer months. Sanford recommends “seasonally acclimating” your skin by exposing your feet or arms for just a few minutes a day without sunscreen to trigger natural DNA repair mechanisms, gradually building up tolerance based on your unique skin type. Sanford noted that this is not a one-size-fits-all regimen. The darker your natural skin pigment, the more time you require in direct sunlight to generate an equivalent amount of vitamin D compared to a fair-skinned individual.

Additionally, because individual absorption varies wildly based on body mass index (BMI) and health history, working alongside a healthcare provider to tailor your intake is vital. Grassroots Health scientists generally recommend a baseline supplementation of 5,000 International Units (IUs) per day for an adult living at our latitude to safely achieve the optimal 40 to 60 ng/mL target range.

Ultimately, Sanford’s advocacy is fueled by a deep concern for the people of McKenzie County. Her mission goes far beyond the statistics; it is a heartfelt desire to see her neighbors, local families, and the entire workforce thrive in the community she calls home.”I am incredibly passionate about this because it truly changes lives” she shared. To help spread this vital awareness, Sanford has also expressed a willingness to speak to any public organizations, schools, civic clubs, or community groups interested in learning how to put this research into practice. To coordinate a speaking engagement or educational session with Dr. Beth Sanford, residents can reach her directly. To discover your own risk factors, review educational toolkits, or access the online vitamin D risk calculator that Dr. Sanford helped develop alongside global researchers, residents can visit the official research portal at www.grassrootshealth.net. Find the “Know “D” Number” on the site, which outlines specific, customized risk factors for nutrient deficiency.