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Vitamin D intake could reduce cancer mortality in the population by 12 percent—provided the vitamin is taken daily. This was the result of an evaluation of 14 studies of the highest quality conducted at the German Cancer Research Center with a total of almost 105,000 participants. Vitamin D deficiency is widespread worldwide and is particularly common among cancer patients. Averaged over the year, the vitamin D blood levels of about 15 percent of German adults are below the threshold for a pronounced vitamin D deficiency. In contrast, in a study of colorectal cancer patients, researchers diagnosed vitamin D3 deficiency in...

A study of more than 300,000 adults in the United Kingdom has found support for a causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and mortality. These findings suggest a need for public health strategies to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D in the population. Low vitamin D status has been linked to increased mortality, but mortality in the context of vitamin D deficiency remains unclear. Randomized controlled trials either fail to recruit people with severe deficiency or, because of ethical reasons, are prevented from doing so. Researchers conducted a nonlinear mendelian randomization study of 307,601 participants in the U.K. Biobank to...

Scientists Create Tomatoes Genetically Engineered To Boost Vitamin D. They used gene editing to enhance the production of vitamin D3 in tomatoes.

A study investigating the impact of vitamin D on gene expression has found significant differences between vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 supplements. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, indicate vitamin D3 may be more effective at strengthening the immune system compared to vitamin D2. Vitamin D generally comes in two main forms: ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). Prior research has established vitamin D3 supplements are much more effective at raising a person’s blood levels of vitamin D. However, it is unclear whether there is any functional differences to human health between the two types of...

Study of older adults is 'first direct evidence' of protection against rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, other conditions In a new study, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital found the people who took vitamin D, or vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, had a significantly lower rate of autoimmune diseases — such as rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, autoimmune thyroid disease, and psoriasis — than people who took a placebo. With their findings published Wednesday in BMJ, the team had tested this in the large-scale vitamin D and omega-3 trial (VITAL), a randomized study which followed participants for approximately five years. Investigators found...

13 minute video by a physician pointing out the benefits of Vitamin D3, recommended amounts, and how Vitamin D3 fights disease, including autoimmune disease.

As we race to develop effective treatments and a vaccine against COVID-19, people are looking to reduce their risk of getting sick. One thing that might help is as obvious as the sun in the sky and as close as your medicine cabinet – Vitamin D. Higher COVID-19 mortality rates among older people and those with chronic conditions suggest that a weakened immune system contributes to poor outcomes. There are many crackpot claims about miracle cures floating around, but the science supports the possibility – although not the proof – that Vitamin D may strengthen the immune system, particularly of...

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....

The Antibiotic VitaminDeficiency in vitamin D may predispose people to infection Janet Raloff In April 2005, a virulent strain of influenza hit a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital for men that's midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. John J. Cannell, a psychiatrist there, observed with increasing curiosity as one infected ward after another was quarantined to limit the outbreak. Although 10 percent of the facility's 1,200 patients ultimately developed the flu's fever and debilitating muscle aches, none did in the ward that he supervised. WINTER WOES. Cold-weather wear and the sun's angle in the winter sky limit how much ultraviolet...

... Trouble getting to sleep: Magnesium plays a key role in the bodily function that regulates sleep. Insomnia is one of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency ,and in fact,a 2006 analysis in the journal Medical Hypothesis suggests that such a deficiency may even be the cause of most major depression and mental health problems.… Trouble staying asleep: Potassium supplements may be helpful to those who have trouble sleeping through the night,according to a 1991 study in the journal Sleep.... When most people think about potassium,they think bananas. Bananas do contain a fair amount of this mineral (about 10 percent of...

DALLAS - Walking is just fine with 58-year-old Mary Cecil, who used to be an avid runner. "I was running and I started feeling pain in my left leg, and it was also tender when I slept on that side," she said. Cecil suspected a shin splint or pulled muscle. A bone scan, however, revealed a rare and aggressive tumor called dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma. The bone cancer is virtually unstudied. According to limited information, only one in 10 diagnosed with it survive two years. "Very scary," recalled Cecil of how she felt upon learning of the diagnosis. "The world just turned...

John J. Cannell, M.D writes that he receives numerous questions from individuals who ask, "My doctor prescribed Drisdol, is that OK?" Drisdol is vitamin D2 in a form that doctors write prescriptions for. Sun exposure does not produce vitamin D2 in the body, the vitamin is produced by plant matter and irradiating fungus. When consumed, numerous metabolic forms of D2 can be traced in the body. According to some studies, vitamin D3, which is produced by the skin, is more powerful, hence more effective at raising blood levels compared with vitamin D2, however, some studies say they are equal. Few...

There’s an epidemic in progress, and it has nothing to do with the flu. A ground-breaking study published in the March 2010 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found an astonishing 59 per cent of study subjects had too little Vitamin D in their blood. Nearly a quarter of the group had serious deficiencies (less than 20 ng/ml) of this important vitamin. Since Vitamin D insufficiency is linked to increased body fat, decreased muscle strength and a range of disorders, this is a serious health issue. “Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for other diseases,” explains principal investigator, Dr....

After the first presidential debate, CBS / Knowledge Networks asked previously undecided voters, who saw it, which candidate is better prepared to be president. An overwhelming 78% said John McCain. This result is not surprising. America is basically a center Right country. When given a clear choice we vote conservative in most elections. Some of the largest beatings in presidential election history have been poured onto candidates perceived to be liberal by candidates perceived to be conservatives. Recently the Battleground poll, a bipartisan polling firm, released this years edition of its well known and well respected likely voter survey. Among...

In early April of 2005, after a particularly rainy spring, an influenza epidemic (epi: upon, demic: people) exploded through the maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane where I have worked for the last ten years. It was not the pandemic (pan: all, demic: people) we all fear, just an epidemic. The world is waiting and governments are preparing for the next pandemic. A severe influenza pandemic will kill many more Americans than died in the World Trade Centers, the Iraq war, the Vietnam War, and Hurricane Katrina combined, perhaps a million people in the USA alone. Such a disaster would...