History of StarPower
Some of the best discoveries in science happen by accident. And the most far-reaching of those discoveries are simple to understand and have safe, practical applications.
The story of StarPower goes back to the winter of 1981. When Bill Supple was in graduate school studying Neuroscience at Dartmouth. Around January or February, a few patches of dry skin developed on his elbows and knees. The patches grew larger and more unsightly so he had them checked out at Dick’s House, the student infirmary. The physicians there were resident medical students. The doctor, who was about his age, examined the elbows and stated, “You have psoriasis.” "The dreaded heart-break of psoriasis," from the old TV commercials, he thought.
So began a constant battle with a persistent affliction. Nothing the dermatologists gave Bill ever really worked. Tar creams, steroids, ointments, lotions and private dermatological concoctions. Living in Vermont, every Fall, like clockwork, his skin would start to flake and got progressively worse each year with new areas on his body affected. He did notice over the years that the psoriasis would become less severe following trips to Florida. He thought that perhaps the salt water had a therapeutic effect. He heard about people going to the Dead Sea for salt water treatment. So he tried my own salt water therapy. Nope – if anything, it made the condition worse.
Finally, in 2006, he realized that it has to be the Florida sun - not the water! It was the sun that helped his skin on the trips to Florida. It was the changing of the seasons in the Fall and the resultant decline of the sun that was affecting the skin! It was the move north to New Hampshire and living in Vermont and resultant lack of sunlight that initiated and maintained the psoriasis. The sun! Of course! It was too obvious.
What was it about the sun? The sun makes Vitamin D in the skin. Again – too obvious. In the Fall of 2006 he started taking Vitamin D and within 9-10 weeks cured himself of psoriasis.
Vitamin D
Over the course of that winter he experimented with various amounts of Vitamin D and found a daily amount that his skin needed to remain healthy. Since he could see the results in his skin he could adjust how much Vitamin D to take to keep the skin clear. The current RDA of Vitamin D is 400 IU/day - he was taking thousands of IUs per day. The RDA of 400 IU is the bare minimum to keep your bones from crumbling. Obviously, psoriasis therapy needs much more vitamin D than the 400 IU RDA. Many with expertise in the pharmacology of Vitamin D believe that this RDA amount is orders of magnitude too low. No negative consequences were observed during his yearly health examination so he continued taking the daily Vitamin D.
In the Winter of 2007 he again had a yearly physical exam. And other than the psoriasis – which was gone – Bill also had high total cholesterol the past 10 years or so. The upper limit of normal is 200; his was 220-240. At this physical though, the cholesterol reading had plummeted to 140. There was no modification of diet, exercise or anything that usually affects blood lipids. At that moment, reading the lab report, he began to get piece ideas together. He realized that is was possibly the Vitamin D affecting the cholesterol!
Critical Role of Folic Acid
Lastly, one critically important piece of the puzzle was yet to be found. In the fall of 2008, Bill's psoriasis returned despite taking the same amount of vitamin D. Often times there are co-variates or confounding variables that either mask or in this case, potentiate biologic effects. For years he had taken a specific type of folate, which he had simply stopped taking for no specific reason in the summer of 2008 (just ran out). His psoriasis reappeared even though he was taking vitamin D because the folate was playing a critical activational role in maintaining effective biologic levels of the activated form of vitamin D (1,25(OH)D3. It has since been discovered that this B vitamin blocks the gene producing the enzyme (CYP24A1) that degrades 1,25OHD3 - the active form of the the Vitamin-D hormone. This factor is a key to the potent effect of StarPower. The folate in StarPower extends the period of time from around 3 hrs to 10- 12 hrs during which 1,25OHD3 actively initiates gene transcription after binding to the VDR (vitamin D receptor), ultimately optimal immune function.
Several Years Later...
Bill's wife, Toni, developed ulcerative colitis sometime around 2001. She was diagnosed with UC after a colonoscopy. She was treated with suppositories with inconsistent results. Oftentimes she claimed the product made the bleeding worse. This went on for 5-7 years, with relapses coming and going.
It was just a regular Sunday morning when Bill and Toni read their respective material in their living room. Bill tried to read as many articles covering Vitamin D as he could, and that particular day read a seemingly obscure article about Vitamin D and the Immune System. The article mentioned Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis as autoimmune disease states that may be affected by VitD. Bill was alarmed to learn that UC is a major risk factor for colon cancer. He looked up from his paper and said, "Why don't you take StarPower for your colitis?" He made the case to Toni that there seems to be a lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest StarPower could help...it certainly would not hurt. She got up, went into the kitchen and took her first StarPower that Sunday morning. That Wednesday she announced that her symptoms had cleared!
Toni continued to take StarPower daily for the next two years with no UC flare-ups. Truly amazing. In the fall of 2012, she had a routine colonoscopy. Her doctor, who had initially diagnosed the UC, reported that her tissue was now normal. He was asked what 'normal' meant. He said, "normal...as in free of disease...as in no pathology." He was then asked if she was cured. He said her tissue is as a person with no disease would appear, if her UC came back then it would be not cured just in remission." Huh? Anyway, they were happy just to know that the tissue was normal. Whether that represented a cure, remission or some other state was irrelevant.
Doing Something
Bill and Toni enjoyed the benefits of defeating their own personal scourges. They developed a custom tablet that contained the correct dosages of vitamin D3, folic acid supplemented with calcium carbonate and potassium gluconate to balance out the effects of higher vitamin D intake on calcium absorption. Family and friends immediately benefited from StarPower. Even if these was not a specific autoimmune condition of concern, people claimed they just 'felt better.'
In the fall of 2012, an ad in the local paper advertised that a local college was hosting a Crohn's & Ulcerative Colitis informational session. It was sponsored by a drug company and the lead speaker was, ironically, Toni's doctor. Toni was compelled to go as this was the opportunity to tell her story regarding VitD to others who could benefit.
Toni did stand up and make her remarkable success public. The doctor qualified her testimonial with "what works for one person may not for another..." But was intrigued nevertheless.
What happened next was amazing and inspiring.
A mother whose 20 year old daughter was battling Crohn's Disease approached Toni to get more information. Rachel's story was one of a young woman enslaved to the symptoms of this disease. Rachel's mother made the horrific details of the disease very real when she described the slow progression of pathology, the frustration with current treatments and their side effects and the looming specter of surgery in Rachel's very near future. Rachel's mother was ready to try something new. There was a reason why Rachel's mother went to the session that night: it wasn't to learn more about a disease she was expert in, it was to meet Toni.
Rachel was receiving Remicade infusions and was experiencing terrible side effects and minimal relief from the symptoms it was supposed to treat. Rachel had her vitamin D levels measured shortly afterward. Her levels were below minimal, essentially zero. Rachel's mother wanted to try StarPower without any potential confounds of other treatments. She waited 6 weeks until the next schedule Remicade infusion and said "no more, we're trying something different." Rachel received several megadoses of vitamin D to get her levels up, and then added folic acid. She had also received StarPower as well.
Several weeks later, Bill received a enthusiastic email from Rachel's mother stating that Rachel's symptoms had subsided and that Rachel appeared to be recovering. Several days later Rachel and her mom, dropped by to see Bill and Toni. Rachel recovered to the point where she felt like she had her life back. She reported that, rather than wearing adult diapers, she could now be confident enough to go on a bus trip with friends to see a show in NYC. She had her life back.
Rachel's mom tells the story here much better and with detail that only a child with Crohn's and her mom could truly appreciate.
Rachel's experience motivated Bill and Toni to do something to try to help others like Rachel. That's what StarPower and this website is all about.
'Rachel said it all Saturday night. My daughter is healthy today because of both of you! You have been her guardian angels & I will forever be in your debt. Thank you for saving my daughter!' Love, Lisa
