Posted on 12/21/2011 12:34:57 PM PST by decimon
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Extra vitamin D and calcium may offer some protection against fractures in elderly people, but have little or no impact on cancer risk, according to a fresh look at the medical evidence.
Some research has suggested that vitamin D, with or without calcium, might help stave off cancer, but recent trials have slashed those hopes.
"It turns out that as a group, all of the micronutrient supplements have been disappointing," said Dr. Michael Pollak, who heads the division of cancer prevention at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and was not involved in the new work.
"Even one of the best candidates, which is vitamin D, is certainly no slam dunk," he told Reuters Health.
The new report, out Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was commissioned by the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to inform its public recommendations.
It pulls together 19 gold standard experiments -- so-called randomized controlled trials -- on vitamin D with or without calcium. The trials lasted anywhere from seven months to seven years and ranged in size from a few thousand participants to tens of thousands.
Only three of them reported on cancer, however. While one small study found some protection against cancer in postmenopausal women taking vitamin D and calcium, the larger studies found no benefits.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Ping
But what kind of Vitamin D? Was the study done with D3?
And 800 IU? That’s not really enough to affect those that are deficient.
So many questions. Guess they’ll need more money for further research.
Well I can verify the part about taking a lot of calcium with D causing kidney stones. I have been eating a lot of Tums lately due to a flare up of acid reflux (yes I take something else also)and the other day I showed up with kidney stones. Its not so bad this go around but I have had no problem in almost 6 years and all of a sudden. So it has to be all the Tums with calcium and I take a lot of D-3. I am off calcium for awhile and on Christmas cookies. LOL!!!
800 i.u.?? When some D3 researchers are recommending 7,500-10,000 i.u. for cancer-related purposes (undergoing treatment or trying to prevent a recurrence) and at least 2,000 i.u. for health maintenance? I wonder if money played any part in finding no value for this low-cost (free, if obtained from sunlight), non-prescription vitamin/hormone?
Taking Vitamin K-2 along with D reportedly helps regulate calcium metabolism (i.e., helps route it to the right places).
How much water do you drink? I would bet not enough.
Will Vitamin D strengthen the backbones of Republican legislators?
I dutifully took the 5000 but cut it back to 2000
My last visit she made a point of saying the AMA now says a good 30 minute walk in the sun could be just as effective....
...the niacin supplement I was taking interfered with my enzyme levels....so she took me off niacin.
...btw, I now go to a different doctor.
Strangely believe it, if you search for causes of kidney stones, there are sites that include excessive vitamin D3.
I too had the problem and generally take 4000 iu per day. At that rate all my sinus and respiratory junk problems are minimized.
I often take tums at bed time to prevent heart burn. I don’t recall calcium being the problem with kidney stones. I think kidney stones are urea precipitate. Tums are calcium carbonate.
By the way, I also read that tums at bed time leave an alkaline pH in your mouth and counteract the acid that harms your teeth over nite. So far I have all 36 and no cavities in decades
I am with you on the Christmas cookie therapy.
The problem with walking in the sun is no sun. In winter there is frequently inadequate sun and when there is bright sun, there is a cold front and one must bundle up out of doors.
So while your Dr was correct in theory, in practice it is impossible to get the 30 minutes exposure on a regular basis even if you do the walking
The sun does not trigger cancer, ever.
Cancer is the inevitable result of an improper anaerobic, fermentative metabolism that occurs when blood glucose levels are chronically high, and oxygen is low.
Reversing that condition is what prevents and cures all cancers.
Obviously the prevalence of “type II diabetes” is a big factor in our cancer epidemic, so curing that is a necessary part of any cancer cure.
Fortunately, that is not difficult to do. The Budwig formula (flax oil blended to the point of complete emulsification with whole milk cottage cheese) is a very dependable way of restoring the permiability of your cell membranes, allowing the cells to properly oxidize glucose, thus denying undifferentiated tumor cells the glucose they require.
addendum......
In the studies posted here where vitamin D3 was investigated with flu and resultant pneumonia, it was noted that flu season correlates exactly with low level of sun and cold that prevent being out doors.
Flu season is low vitamin D season
I self tested my own D levels and was at 29 back in June 2010. I added 5000 IU and took that for a little over a year before I tested again and my levels were up to 46. 50 - 70 is considered “optimal”. I figured if over a year of 5000 only brought me up to 46 I’d try 5000 IU twice a day for a short time and will retest again.
To add to what bert said about the sun, you also need about 50% skin exposure for that amount of time, while the sun is at its apex, to get the amount you need to produce an adequate amount of D3. Since I work in an office and tested and know that I’m deficient I opted for supplementation. I’ve also added K2.
Some studies show that a D deficiency puts you at greater risk of developing pre-eclampsia. I’m 33 weeks and so far so good. Praying that I stay healthy and the supplementing I’ve done will have helped for the 7ish weeks remaining. :)
Yep, we have K2 here, along with our D3. I prefer Menatetrenone.
I take 4,000 IU also. Never had any problems. The last time I had the problem I was taking large doses of calcium. I read up on it. There are two kinds of stones; uric and calcium. The urics are from too much red meat. I am pretty sure I have the calciums. If you take magnesium it helpfs break them up. I am now drinking liquid magnesium in water.
Ping for later read.
I live in Florida.....we have sun :)
“I prefer Menatetrenone.”
Whose do you use - Carlson’s?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.