| Lack of Vitamin D Boosts Death Risk Substantially |
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| Written by John Konhilas Ph.D. | |||||||
| Monday, 20 October 2008 08:35 | |||||||
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For the study, Melamed's team collected data on more than 13,000 men and women who took part in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Levels of vitamin D were collected in 1988 and 1994, and the participants were followed through 2000. The findings in this study confirm a trend seen in other studies linking vitamin D deficiency to increased risk for breast cancer and depression in the elderly, the researchers noted. Melamed's group had previously shown that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of peripheral artery disease (circulatory problems in the legs) by 80 percent. Among other things, vitamin D is essential for maintaining levels of calcium and phosphorus in the body. "Vitamin D may be very important for overall health," Melamed said. According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine, people should get between 200 and 400 international units of vitamin D a day. The best way to get vitamin D, naturally, is by being out in the sun. As little as 10 to 15 minutes of sun a day can give you all a vitamin D you need. Vitamin D is also available in small quantities in foods such as fish and milk. Now that is easier when you live in a sunny climate, but what if you live in a location where the sun hides often weeks on end? Whether vitamin D supplements are effective isn't yet known, Melamed said. "That's the million-dollar question," she said. "It may be a good idea for people who are at risk for vitamin D deficiency, including African Americans and people who don't spend a lot of time in the sun, to get their vitamin D levels checked by their doctor." Dr. Michael F. Holick, director of the Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Research Laboratory at Boston University Medical Center, advocates high levels of vitamin D supplements to maintain good health. Vitamin D deficiency is probably the most common medical problem worldwide, Holick said. "We know that being vitamin D sufficient reduces the risk of having your first heart attack by more than 50 percent, reduces the risk of having peripheral vascular disease by as much is 80 percent and decreases the risk of prostate, colon, breast and a whole host of other cancers by as much is 50 to 70 percent," Holick said. In addition, not getting enough vitamin D also increases your risk for type 2 diabetes, Holick noted. By increasing your vitamin D intake to 800 international units a day reduces the risk of developing diabetes by as much as a third, he said. Holick recommends taking high doses of vitamin D supplements, as well as sun exposure. In addition, Holick recommends taking as much as 1,400 international units of a vitamin D supplement every day. My Comment on this story:  The role of vitamin D in general health is gaining more and more acceptance by the scientific community. The reason is that studies are being published in high-profile (and high quality), peer-reviewed scientific and clinical journals documenting the correlation between low vitamin D levels and increased risk for various diseases, including those diseases typically associated with vitamin D deficiency such as rickets but more non-canonical vitamin D deficient conditions such as stroke or heart failure. In this particular study, the investigators describe that low levels of vitamin D was associated with increased risk of death. Although low vitamin D was associated with increased risk for all-cause mortality, half of the deaths were from cardiovascular disease. The question is, how can a vitamin that regulates calcium and phosphorus levels be associated with increased death, especially from cardiovascular disease? This can occur on several levels. First, the heart cell can directly respond to vitamin D and alter its ability to contract, relax and grow. Second, vitamin D can induce changes in the expression of certain genes in the heart cell which can then lead to changes in the above factors. Finally, appropriate levels of both calcium and phosphorus are critical to almost every process that occurs in the cell. Calcium and phosphorus not only form the foundation for bones, but provide the foundation for heart contraction and energy production and more general functions of cell signaling and energy homeostasis. In my opinion, it is the relative importance of calcium and phosphorus in these widespread processes that are the key to the impact of vitamin D deficiency and death risk. The functioning of every cell is dependent on appropriate levels of calcium and phosphorus and the perturbation of these levels can have profound impact especially over the course of an individual’s life. What is the adequate intake of vitamin D? The data needs to be a little clearer but certainly the RDA of 400 mcg is far too low. Certainly increasing this amount to 1000 IU of Auralife is an excellent start, especially going into winter when the sun shows up less. Auralife is available from Metabolic Health Laboratories at www.metabolichealthlabs.com The improvement of vitamin D levels is becoming increasingly critical to overall health, disease, and lifespan.
3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved." |
Many people aren't getting enough of the sunlight-sourced nutrient, researchers say.
Market Notes
January 6, 2009 Stocks fell on Monday as investors booked profits after last week's run-up, while concerns about slowing cell phone sales hit shares of the biggest telecommunications companies. Financial stocks also slumped after Deutsche Bank cut its earnings forecast on 16 large commercial banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co another Dow component. JPMorgan fell nearly 7 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 81.80 points, or 0.91 percent, to 8,952.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX shed 4.35 points, or 0.47 percent, to 927.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index . slid 4.18 points, or 0.26 percent, to 1,628.03. We spent the day polling stock analysts; they all think we are in for a minor Obama rally but our technical charts don’t show it. It’s a mixed bag folks. Think about it this way Tech company Logitech is laying off people, while the FBI initiates its largest hiring spree in its history. We're living in interesting times. Be careful, very careful. |
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