Naturality News July 2008

July 2008

Vitamin D Deficiency

If you have been following the health news over the last 12 months, you would have found that all the health gurus are talking about Vitamin D.

For the last 30 years, the medical establishment has been warning everyone to stay out of the sun to avoid sun cancer. Unfortunately - they've got it all wrong.

Higher vitamin D levels from exposure to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B (UVB), may reduce the incidence of breast cancer, according to a new study. Correlating data on cancer from 107 countries, scientists from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) found that higher blood levels of vitamin D and living closer to the equator were associated with lower breast cancer incidence.

"This is the first study, to our knowledge, to show that higher serum levels of vitamin D are associated with reduced incidence rates of breast cancer worldwide," said Cedric Garland from UCSD School of Medicine.

The study is published in the May-June 2008 issue of The Breast Journal.

And people with low Vit D levels die earlier:

Topic:	Low Vitamin D Status Linked to Overall Mortality and Cardiovascular Mortality
Keywords:	CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, MORTALITY, VITAMIN D STATUS - Vitamin D, 25(OH)D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
Reference:	"Independent association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin d levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality," Dobnig H, Pilz S, et al, Arch Intern Med, 2008; 168(12): 1340-9. (Address: Division of Endocrinology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 15, A-8036 Graz, Austria. harald.dobnig@meduni-graz.at ).
Summary:	In a prospective cohort study involving 3,258 subjects (mean age: 62 years) scheduled for coronary angiography, low vitamin D status was found to be associated with cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality. Patients were followed up with for an average of 7.7 years, during which time 22.6% of subjects died (n=737), of which 463 were from cardiovascular disease. Comparing patients in the highest quartile of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios for subjects in the lower two 25-hydroxyvitamin D quartiles were 2.08 for all-cause mortality and 2.22 for cardiovascular mortality. Similar results were found comparing subjects in the highest versus the lowest quartiles of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. In addition, low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were significantly associated with inflammation (assessed via C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 levels), oxidative burden (serum phospholipids and glutathione levels) and cell adhesion (vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 levels). These results suggest that low vitamin D status is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The authors state that additional intervention trials are needed to prove a causal relationship.

Vitamin D uses and health benefits

Vitamin D and osteoporosis - Adequate amounts of vitamin D is necessary for preventing bone loss. Low levels of vitamin D and insufficient sunlight exposure are associated with osteoporosis. The body cannot absorb calcium from food or supplements without an adequate intake of vitamin D. After menopause, women are particularly at risk for developing this condition. Vitamin D

taken along with calcium plays a critical role in maintaining bone density. Vitamin D functions by increasing the uptake of calcium from the intestine through interaction with the parathyroid glands in controlling bone resorption and serum calcium levels. Vitamin D also increases reabsorption of phosphate by the kidney tubule, and may directly affect the osteoblast, the cell which forms bone.

Vitamin D and cancer - Vitamin D's immunomodulatory abilities may also play a role in its anti-cancer activity. Vitamin D demonstrats a dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation in a number of cancer cell lines. It also has a pro-differentiation effect on these cells, resulting in potent anti-cancer activity in some preliminary work. vitamin D increases the potency of cytokines and enhances the phagocyte activity and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity of macrophages and that it boosts natural killer cell activity and helps regulate T cells, among other things. Vitamin D's analogues show significant experimental activity against colorectal, renal cell, breast and prostate cancers, among others.

Vitamin D and autoimmune diseases - Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help decrease the risk of several autoimmune diseases such as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. A daily multi-vitamin supplement containing vitamin D may reduce the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. Low intakes of vitamin D may be linked to an increased risk of arthritis of the hip in older women. One recent study showed that taking 400 IU or more of vitamin D daily was effective in delaying or stopping the progression of osteoarthritis of the knees. Autoimmune responses are mediated by immune cells called T cells. The biologically active form of vitamin D can modulate T cell responses, such that the autoimmune responses are diminished.

Vitamin D and psoriasis - Vitamin D is sometimesused in the treatment for psoriasis. Because vitamin D and its analogues are potent antiproliferative agents for keratinocytes and stimulators of epidermal cell differentiation. Calcipotriol has been demonstrated to significantly improve psoriatic lesions in a number of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. Because it plays a role in skin cell metabolism and growth, vitamin D may be helpful in treating the itching and flaking associated with this skin ailment.

Vitamin D and other bone disorders - Vitamin D protects against the preventable bone diseases rickets and osteomalacia (softening of the bones in adults caused by inability to properly deposit calcium). An adequate level of Vitamin D in the body is necessary to maintain strong bones and to help prevent fractures in older people. Vitamin D supplements are also used for people with genetic diseases that interfere with the metabolism of Vitamin D.

Exposure to sunlight for extended periods of time does not cause vitamin D toxicity. This is because within about 20 minutes of ultraviolet exposure in light skinned individuals (3-6 times longer for pigmented skin) the concentration of vitamin D precursors produced in the skin reach an equilibrium, and any further vitamin D that is produced is degraded.Maximum endogenous production with full body exposure to sunlight is 250 µg (10,000 IU) per day.

The exact long-term safe dose of vitamin D is not entirely known, but dosages up to 250 micrograms (10,000 IU) /day in healthy adults are believed to be safe., and all known cases of vitamin D toxicity with hypercalcemia have involved intake of or over 1,000 micrograms (40,000 IU)/day

Hopefully Summer is here now and we can get out in the Sun to increase our Vit D levels.

For those of us wanting a bit of a boost - I have managed to source some extra-strength Vit D3 from the US. Our last source was 60 tablets of 1000IUs for £11.50. Now we have 120 capsules of 5000 IUs for £10.50.

Simon King