Vitamin D Therapy: Course 101
03 Oct 2008
A reader remarked, "I remember your column on vitamin D of several years ago. The one that said you could stand out naked all day in winter and never benefit from the sun. What is your current thinking about this vitamin?" Others ask, "how much vitamin should I take?" Here are the facts you should know about the sunshine vitamin.
One
In the 1900’s researchers discovered that a lack of D caused rickets. The result was bow-legs and knock-knees. Today rickets is rare due to better nutrition. But reports from Boston show that rickets is on the rise again. For instance, in a study at The Harvard Medical School, 24 percent of teenagers of both sexes 11 and 18 years of age were deficient in vitamin D. This is a wake-up call. It shows it’s not only the house bound or elderly in nursing homes who are deficient in this vitamin.
Two
Vitamin D’s primary function is to maintain normal levels of calcium by helping children and adults absorb calcium from food. This prevents osteoporosis (brittle bones) which is a major cause of fractured bones later in life. Hoarding calcium early in life is like having money in the bank later on.
Three
Dr. Michael Holick, a world authority on vitamin D at Boston Universrty, says vitamin D may play a role in the prevention of breast, colon and prostate cancers. Studies show that cancer rates tend to fall with higher blood level of vitamin D. Other research even suggests that vitamin D helps to decrease the risk of type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
Four
Dr. Thomas Wang, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, says that heart disease, the # one killer, is linked to vitamin D deficiency. A study shows that Bostonians with low levels of vitamin D were 62 percent more likely to develop heart failure, strokes and other cardiovascular conditions than those with normal levels of D. If patients also suffered from hypertension they had twice the risk of succumbing to cardiac-related problems.
It should not be surprising that vitamin D decreases the risk of cardiovascular problems. Studies show that this vitamin decreases the risk of blood clots and improves blood lipids. D also has anti-inflammatory effects and inflammation of arteries is associated with an increase of heart attack. A deficiency of D can also trigger the release of extra parathyroid hormone. This in turn pulls calcium out of bone and some ends up in coronary arteries causing blockage and heart attack.
Five
The sunshine vitamin may soon be known as the "Longevity vitamin". Dr. Harald Dobing at the University of Gratz in Austria reported in Archives of Internal Medicine good news for those who yearn to live longer. Patients who had the lowest blood levels of vitamin D had twice the risk of dying from all causes compared to those with the highest levels of D.
Six
But how much vitamin D should you take? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children and teenagers need 400 international units (IU) daily. For others most authorities I talked to recommend 1,000 IU daily. But some admitted they were personally taking 2,000 IU daily.
Seven
In addition to the use of vitamins supplements, consider increasing the amount of vitamin D in the diet. Vitamin D is present in salmon, sardines, mackerel and cod liver oil. Today D is also added to milk and other foods. A cup of milk usually contains 100 IU.
Eight
Coronary heart disease and high blood pressure increase the further you live from the equator. At this latitude there’s year-round intense sunlight the perfect global condition for the production of vitamin D. But Canadians and those residing in cities such as Boston and Philadelphia live above a latitude of 35 degrees north. During these months sunlight hits the earth at an oblique angle. This decreases the ultra-violet radiation that triggers production of vitamin D. This means they receive no vitamin D between October and February. So if anyone feels compelled to stand out naked in the sun make sure you pick the warmer months and need I add the right location!
