Posted on 07/19/2007 5:21:21 PM PDT by blam
Source: Boston University
Date: July 19, 2007
Vitamin D Deficiency: Common And Problematic Yet Preventable
Science Daily — In a review article to appear in the July 19th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Michael Holick, an internationally recognized expert in vitamin D, provides an overview of his pioneering work that expounds on the important role vitamin D plays in a wide variety of chronic health conditions, as well as suggesting strategies for the prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency.
Humans attain vitamin D from exposure to sunlight, diet and supplements. Vitamin D deficiency is common in children and adults. In utero and childhood, vitamin D deficiency may cause growth retardation, skeletal deformities and increase risk of hip fractures later in life. In adults, vitamin D deficiency may precipitate or exacerbate osteopenia, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, fractures, common cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases.
According to Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology, and biophysics, and director of the General Clinical Research Center at Boston University School of Medicine and Director of the Bone Healthcare Clinic at Boston Medical Center, it has been estimated that 1 billion people world-wide are vitamin D deficient or insufficient.
Without vitamin D only about 10-15 percent of dietary calcium and about 60 percent of phosphorus is absorbed by the body. This is directly related to bone mineral density which is responsible for osteoporosis and fractures, as well as muscle strength and falls in adults. In utero and childhood, calcium and vitamin D deficiency prevents the maximum deposition of calcium in the skeleton.
Studies have shown people living at higher latitudes (where the angle of the sun's rays are unable to sufficiently produce adequate amounts of vitamin D in the skin) are more likely to develop and die of Hodgkin's lymphoma, colon, pancreatic, prostate, ovarian, breast and other cancers. According to Holick, both prospective and retrospective epidemiologic studies have also shown an association between low levels of vitamin D and an increased risk for Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Holick believes the current recommended Adequate Intakes for vitamin D need to be increased to 800 -- 1000 IU vitaminD3/d. "However, one can not obtain these amounts from most dietary sources unless one is eating oily fish frequently," says Holick. "Thus, sensible sun exposure (or UVB irradiation) and/or supplements are required to satisfy the body's vitamin D requirement," he adds.
Lastly Holick adds, "The goal of this paper is to make physicians aware of the medical problems associated with vitamin D deficiency. Physicians will then be able to impart this knowledge to their patients so they too will know how to recognize, treat and most importantly, maintain adequate levels of this important vitamin."
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Boston University.
I’m taking 800 IU of D twice a day, 200MG of CoQ-10 twice a day, 1000MG of fish oil twice a day, and 5 grams of C twice a day.
Why is it I find it so hard to find Vitamin D in drugstores?
They always seem to sell it combined with calcium.
Isn’t it possible to make a pill with D and no calcium?
Sounds good. Just check your fish oil for mercury. No baby aspirin?
Is there a simple (and inexpensive) test for mercury?
bump
Sure, you can find it. Wal Mart sells it under their Spring Valley brand, and it’s D3, which is supposed to be the best type.
My doctor put me on Vitamin D 800 IU a day. I found it at Whole Foods. Am glad from this article that he did.
I think Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, and I’m guessing calcium deficiencies (esp. osteoporosis) is more in the news than Vitamin D deficiencies. Until now, anyway.
It’s put together with A: 1000A and 400D. I take one of those. Should I take two?????
If it takes you an hour to burn then go out for 20 minutes without any sunscreen...and then go ahead and put on SPF 15.
I get my D at the grocery. They’re gel caps like fish oil (funny, the D comes from tuna fish liver) or E, only small BB like.
My doctor did one for me...I don't remember what it cost.
Depends on where you live and what time of year. Read the article for more info.
My DO has me on 4,000 units a day to help lower my BP.
It's a cheap and easy blood test. I'm convinced. Doc told me that almost every woman she has ordered testing on has been vitamin D deficient. Not enough sun in DC area to give us what we need.
Try a supplement store (i.e. Vitamin Shoppe, GNC). There are plenty of vitamin D supplements without calcium. However, many people need the calcium too, and vitamin D and calcium are closely interwined (which is why vitamin D is added to milk, so the calcium in the milk has a better chance of actually getting absorbed to where it’s needed). I’m a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and consume colossal amounts of milk and other dairy products, so I take a vitamin D supplement that doesn’t include calcium. I average close to a quart of milk a day, plus other milk-containing products (cheese, yogurt, ice cream) that generally aren’t made with vitamin D-supplemented milk. I get plenty of calcium, but even a quart of vitamin D-supplemented milk provides only 400iu of vitamin D.
You better check with a doctor on those doses. Megadoses of vitamins and supplements tend to cause the accumulation of dangerous trace elements and toxins, that don’t normally register on safety tests for smaller doses.
Contaminants are real, and even the best methods of preparation cannot remove them during synthetic production of such supplements. The whole method of production is often radically different from say, how these vitamins would be produced in the natural world. Besides, it isn’t actually proven, but some nutrients may be dangerous to consume over long periods of time, when consumed in a form that is not similar to how the nutrient would be consumed in a traditional way. For example, pure vitamin A may be more toxic than vitamin A consumed from carrots, because of the presence of other moderating mediums within the carrot, or any other food, that our bodies are used to obtaining from.
Be careful. Overdosing on D can cause nerve damage.
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.