Posted on 10/26/2016 4:00:18 AM PDT by blam
October 25, 2016
A simple Google search for "what does vitamin D do?" highlights the widely used dietary supplement's role in regulating calcium absorption and promoting bone growth. But now it appears that vitamin D has much wider effects—at least in the nematode worm, C. elegans. Research at the Buck Institute shows that vitamin D works through genes known to influence longevity and impacts processes associated with many human age-related diseases. The study, published in Cell Reports, may explain why vitamin D deficiency has been linked to breast, colon and prostate cancer, as well as obesity, heart disease and depression.
"Vitamin D engaged with known longevity genes - it extended median lifespan by 33 percent and slowed the aging-related misfolding of hundreds of proteins in the worm," said Gordon Lithgow, PhD, senior author and Buck Institute professor. "Our findings provide a real connection between aging and disease and give clinicians and other researchers an opportunity to look at vitamin D in a much larger context."
Study links to human disease
The study shines a light on protein homeostasis, the ability of proteins to maintain their shape and function over time. It's a balancing act that goes haywire with normal aging—often resulting in the accumulation of toxic insoluble protein aggregates implicated in a number of conditions, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well as type 2 diabetes and some forms of heart disease. "Vitamin D3, which is converted into the active form of vitamin D, suppressed protein insolubility in the worm and prevented the toxicity caused by human beta-amyloid which is associated with Alzheimer's disease," said Lithgow. "Given that aging processes are thought to be similar between the worm and mammals, including humans, it makes sense that the action of vitamin D would be conserved across species as well."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Yes!
Since vitamin d is fat soluble, none of it ever ends up “in the toilet “. This is why it’s a good idea to get your levels checked.
Yup...that's my story as well.
I did get the flu a few years ago...
My case was very, very mild and over in two days, everybody else was sick for weeks and almost bedridden...
I don’t remember if you are the one who previously directed me to look into k2, but I’ve been taking it ever since. It’s hard to find-no one carries it locally so I order it online. Thanks for spreading the word.
Ability to synthesize active vitamin D in the skin sharply declines with age and obesity. If you are either of these, supplement anyway.
Yes, I have to order it online also. Amazon has the best price - sometime but not always.
Knew about the age which I would guess goes with a slowed metabolism, but didn’t know about the obesity.
I take 5000 a day. Wish I had started sooner.
I was so miserable earlier this year that I was sure my Graves Disease was out of remission. My doc checked my vitamin d levels as well. I was deficient and felt much better after getting my level up.
We chalked up our 13 year old daughter’s extreme moodiness to her age. Lately she has been melancholy and depressed. We checked some of her writings and it seems she’s been deeply depressed-lots of tears that night for me. She hadn’t been taking my “stupid vitamins that don’t work anyway “. I’ve been making her take 3,000 to 5,000 units daily for about a week. She actually smiles and talks to us again. It’s an amazing difference. I’ve also added fish oil, b12 and a high quality multivitamin so I can’t say it’s the vitamin d alone, but if I was deficient then my kids probably were as well. She was the one not taking the supplement.
There are benefits to having the rigth amount of Vitamin D that are easy to tell.
If you are getting enough Vitamin D you start to have pleasant dreams that you can remember mor vividly.
I am not making this up. Try it and see. Get some Vitamin D capsules. Do not be afriad to take 3 or 4 times the recommentded does for a couple of days, if it says take one capsule, take 3 or 4. You would have to eat sevral whole bottles to have any harmful effects. ANd if you are deficient, it will help build it up faster.
After a few days note how you feel.
Bflrn
My great, great aunt lived to be 104 (one week short of 105) following that advice. Only she said: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
Those of you taking high doses of D3 should consider taking K2 also :
Vitamin D and K2 Work in Tandem to Slow Arterial Calcification
"The study was designed to compare the effect of oral administration of vitamin K2 (MK-7) plus vitamin D, or vitamin D alone, on the progression of coronary artery calcification score and carotid intima media thickness (the lining of the main arteries in your neck that feed blood to your brain), which are hallmarks of potentially lethal heart disease and stroke. The data revealed a slower progression of calcification in those taking both vitamin K2 and vitamin D compared to those taking vitamin D alone.1 The study’s lead author said:"
“In this study, the K2 and D protected against cardiovascular calcification, while the D group alone did not. Clearly, this has positive implications for human health." "
I've been reading some articles on aging recently and basically they say that to live above 75, it's in the genes.
You hav'em or you don't....you may hav'em.
At the risk of being labelled a conspiracy theorist, I would not be at all surprised if Big Pharma was behind the rise in Type II Diabetes.
There are some long livers in our family; but there are also some who did not. My parents are both over 75, so there’s hope! :-)
We take 4000 units per day along with K2 which sucks the calcium into your bones so it does not build up in your arteries.
Bkmk
Makes sense, as vitals D benefits the immune system and deficiency has been linked to autoimmune didorders.
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