“People who take vitamin D supplements appear to have a lower risk of death from any cause,”
WRONGO!
Tell that whopper to folks suffering sarcoidosis.
I got yer Vitamin “D”, right over here.
If I’d-a knowed this, I woulda drunk more Bosco...
Studies have shown that people need the benefits of natural sunlight by day, and a good long rest in the dark at night. In other words, Mother Nature.
As I always post when discussing vitamins:
Vitamin D May Cut Pancreatic Cancer
Adults With Recommended Intake of Vitamin D Had Lower Pancreatic Cancer Risk, Study Shows
Sept. 12, 2006 — Getting the recommended intake of vitamin D from diet, supplements, or even the sun may cut your risk of pancreatic cancer.
The results of two large, long-term surveys show that adults who got 300 IU to 449 IU (international units) per day had a 43% lower risk of pancreatic cancercancer. The recommended intake of vitamin D for adults aged 51-70 is 400 IU per day.
Researchers say the findings suggest that vitamin D, which is created in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet sunlight, and found in fortified dairy products and other food sources, may play an important role in preventing pancreatic cancer. The cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
“Because there is no effective screening for pancreatic cancer, identifying controllable risk factors for the disease is essential for developing strategies that can prevent cancer,” researcher Halcyon Skinner, PhD, of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, says in a news release.
“Vitamin D has shown strong potential for preventing and treating prostate cancerprostate cancer, and areas with greater sunlight exposure have lower incidence and mortality for prostate, breast, and colon cancers, leading us to investigate a role for vitamin D in pancreatic cancer risk,” says Skinner.
“Few studies have examined this association, and we did observe a reduced risk for pancreatic cancer with higher intake of vitamin D,” he says.
Vitamin D May Fight Pancreatic Cancer
In the study, researchers analyzed data on vitamin D intake and pancreatic cancer risk among the more than 120,000 men (aged 40 to 75) and women (38 to 65) who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-Up and Nurses’ Health studies.
Between the two surveys, 365 cases of pancreatic cancer were reported.
The Northwestern study showed people who consumed in the range of 300 IU to 449 IU per day of vitamin D daily had a 43% lower risk of pancreatic cancer than those with less than 150 IU per day.
Getting more than the daily RDA (600 IU per day or greater) had 41% lower risk than those who consumed less than 150 IU per day.
Even participants who consumed only 150 IU to 299 IU per day had a 22% lower risk than those with less than 150 IU per day.
The analysis took into account factors such as smoking history, multivitamin use, age, and body mass index (BMI)body mass index (BMI).
Researchers also examined the association between pancreatic cancer and daily intake of calcium and vitamin A, but found no link.
“In concert with laboratory results suggesting antitumor effects of vitamin D, our results point to a possible role for vitamin D in the prevention and possible reduction in mortality of pancreatic cancer.
“Since no other environmental or dietary factor showed this risk relationship, more study of vitamin D’s role is warranted,” says Skinner.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamins.html
Vitamin D: If you live north of the line connecting San Francisco to Philadelphia, odds are you don’t get enough vitamin D. The same holds true if you don’t, or can’t, get outside for at least a 15-minute daily walk in the sun. African-Americans and others with dark skin tend to have much lower levels of vitamin D, due to less formation of the vitamin from the action of sunlight on skin. A study of people admitted to a Boston hospital, for example, showed that 57% were deficient in vitamin D.(18)
Vitamin D helps ensure that the body absorbs and retains calcium and phosphorus, both critical for building bone. Laboratory studies also show that vitamin D keeps cancer cells from growing and dividing.
Some preliminary studies indicate that insufficient intake of vitamin D is associated with an increased risk of fractures, and that vitamin D supplementation may prevent them.(19) It may also help prevent falls, a common problem that leads to substantial disability and death in older people.(20) Other early studies suggest an association between low vitamin D intake and increased risks of prostate, breast, colon, and other cancers.(21) (For more information on Vitamin D and chronic disease prevention, see Ask the Expert - Vitamin D.)
Optimal Intake: The current recommended intake of vitamin D is 5 micrograms up to age 50, 10 micrograms between the ages of 51 and 70, and 15 micrograms after age 70. Optimal intakes are higher, though, with 25 micrograms (1000 IU) recommended for those over age 2. Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Good sources include dairy products and breakfast cereals (which are fortified with vitamin D), and fatty fish such as salmon and tuna. For most people, the best way to get the recommended daily intake is by taking a multivitamin, but the level in most multivitamins (10 micrograms) is too low.
Problem is, those years come at the end.
No matter what you do, your risk of death remains at 100%.