Let's all steal some sunshine (it's good for us) - tanTALK

eileen · 07-03-2007, 10:23 AM

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/columnists/story.html?id=04ae8dbd-b28a-4757-9b5c-4ba4bc755a57

Let's all steal some sunshine (it's good for us)
Though vitamin D available from ultraviolet rays is often inadequate
Rosie SchwartzNational Post

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Canadians have long been in the dark about a powerful disease fighter. But lately, thanks to a slew of new studies, vitamin D is a nutrient whose importance is finally coming to light. For many years, it seemed to simply piggyback with calcium as a partner in promoting bone health, and usually a much lesser partner at that. But it appears that, at the same time as more people have lower blood levels of it than ever before, vitamin D's status is rising dramatically.
Not that we here in Canada ever ranked very high on the vitamin D front. It's a nutrient found in small amounts in food, but is also produced when bare skin is exposed to ultraviolet light of certain intensities. That's the reason for its nickname -- the sunshine vitamin. And needless to say, in our northern climes, that intensity is absent for most of the year.
But even in summer, with the use of sunscreens, vitamin D production in the body may currently be missing in action. Using a sunscreen stronger than SPF 8 blocks vitamin D production. These days with concern over skin cancer, there's been quite a debate in scientific circles about promoting short times of exposure to the sun without sunscreen. But for some people, even greater exposure is required to make minimal amounts of the vitamin. For example, those with dark skin need a longer time in the sun for adequate vitamin D production. The same goes for seniors. Not only do they produce less with sun exposure, but many also routinely stay out of the sun.
This comes at a time when research is showing that a shortfall of vitamin D may have far-reaching consequences. Vitamin D may offer a defence against a growing list of health concerns including certain cancers, such as breast, prostate and colon cancers, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
The vitamin D-cancer connection has been growing stronger, with the latest research providing more evidence linking vitamin D to a decreased risk of breast cancer. Research from Harvard University found that high intakes of vitamin D and calcium reduced breast cancer risk in pre-menopausal women -- but not post-menopausal -- by about one-third.
In another study, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1,179 post-menopausal women were assigned to one of three groups and followed for four years. One group took 1,400 to 1,500 milligrams of supplementary calcium a day, another group the same dose of calcium plus 1,100 International Units (IU) of vitamin D daily, while the third group took placebo pills every day.
After four years, those in the combination vitamin D and calcium group had a whopping 60% lower risk of developing cancer, compared with the placebo group. The calcium-only group had a 47% reduced risk.
Knowledge of the sunshine vitamin's link to cardiovascular health is relatively new. A U.S. study of more than 15,000 subjects, recently reported in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, found that those at a higher risk for heart disease scored lower on the amount of vitamin D in their blood.

Harvard researchers also recently zeroed in on just the vitamin D and hypertension aspect alone. In the research, involving more than 100,000 men and women who were followed for a period of 16 to 18 years, higher levels of vitamin D were associated with lower odds of developing high blood pressure.
In some cases, what's thought of as simply the effects of ageing, such as a decrease in physical performance, might also be connected to a shortfall of vitamin D. Dutch researchers evaluated data on 979 seniors, 65 or older, and found that the subjects with low vitamin D levels were more likely to experience a decline in their physical ability compared with those with normal readings.
While vitamin D's arsenal of disease-fighting effects has become a hotbed of research, debates over how much of the nutrient is needed are also heated. Many experts want recommendations increased significantly. Currently, for adults up to 50 years of age, the daily recommendation is only 200 IU. For those 50 to 69, it's 400 IU per day, and over age 70, it's just 600 IU per day. A minimum of 1,000 IU per day is what some are calling for.
Meeting these quotas without adequate sun exposure or without taking supplements is impossible. Consider that milk, one of the few foods fortified with the vitamin, only provides 100 IU per cup. Other sources include fatty fish such as salmon or mackerel, with over 350 IU in a 31/2-ounce serving.
But it now appears that vitamin D will get its day in the sun. This September, Health Canada will be taking part in a conference to be held by the U.S. National Institutes of Health that will evaluate Vitamin D needs and safety across all age groups. In the meantime, keep in the mind that the current upper level of vitamin D intake considered to be safe by Health Canada is 2,000 IU. Stay tuned in September for the verdict.

-Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian in private practice and author of The Enlightened Eater's Whole Foods Guide: Harvest the Power of Phyto Foods (Viking Canada).

07-03-2007, 10:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
eileen Join Date: Feb 10 2005 Posts: 8,304 Rep Power: 35	Let's all steal some sunshine (it's good for us) http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/columnists/story.html?id=04ae8dbd-b28a-4757-9b5c-4ba4bc755a57 Let's all steal some sunshine (it's good for us) Though vitamin D available from ultraviolet rays is often inadequate Rosie SchwartzNational Post Tuesday, July 03, 2007 Canadians have long been in the dark about a powerful disease fighter. But lately, thanks to a slew of new studies, vitamin D is a nutrient whose importance is finally coming to light. For many years, it seemed to simply piggyback with calcium as a partner in promoting bone health, and usually a much lesser partner at that. But it appears that, at the same time as more people have lower blood levels of it than ever before, vitamin D's status is rising dramatically. Not that we here in Canada ever ranked very high on the vitamin D front. It's a nutrient found in small amounts in food, but is also produced when bare skin is exposed to ultraviolet light of certain intensities. That's the reason for its nickname -- the sunshine vitamin. And needless to say, in our northern climes, that intensity is absent for most of the year. But even in summer, with the use of sunscreens, vitamin D production in the body may currently be missing in action. Using a sunscreen stronger than SPF 8 blocks vitamin D production. These days with concern over skin cancer, there's been quite a debate in scientific circles about promoting short times of exposure to the sun without sunscreen. But for some people, even greater exposure is required to make minimal amounts of the vitamin. For example, those with dark skin need a longer time in the sun for adequate vitamin D production. The same goes for seniors. Not only do they produce less with sun exposure, but many also routinely stay out of the sun. This comes at a time when research is showing that a shortfall of vitamin D may have far-reaching consequences. Vitamin D may offer a defence against a growing list of health concerns including certain cancers, such as breast, prostate and colon cancers, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The vitamin D-cancer connection has been growing stronger, with the latest research providing more evidence linking vitamin D to a decreased risk of breast cancer. Research from Harvard University found that high intakes of vitamin D and calcium reduced breast cancer risk in pre-menopausal women -- but not post-menopausal -- by about one-third. In another study, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1,179 post-menopausal women were assigned to one of three groups and followed for four years. One group took 1,400 to 1,500 milligrams of supplementary calcium a day, another group the same dose of calcium plus 1,100 International Units (IU) of vitamin D daily, while the third group took placebo pills every day. After four years, those in the combination vitamin D and calcium group had a whopping 60% lower risk of developing cancer, compared with the placebo group. The calcium-only group had a 47% reduced risk. Knowledge of the sunshine vitamin's link to cardiovascular health is relatively new. A U.S. study of more than 15,000 subjects, recently reported in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, found that those at a higher risk for heart disease scored lower on the amount of vitamin D in their blood. Harvard researchers also recently zeroed in on just the vitamin D and hypertension aspect alone. In the research, involving more than 100,000 men and women who were followed for a period of 16 to 18 years, higher levels of vitamin D were associated with lower odds of developing high blood pressure. In some cases, what's thought of as simply the effects of ageing, such as a decrease in physical performance, might also be connected to a shortfall of vitamin D. Dutch researchers evaluated data on 979 seniors, 65 or older, and found that the subjects with low vitamin D levels were more likely to experience a decline in their physical ability compared with those with normal readings. While vitamin D's arsenal of disease-fighting effects has become a hotbed of research, debates over how much of the nutrient is needed are also heated. Many experts want recommendations increased significantly. Currently, for adults up to 50 years of age, the daily recommendation is only 200 IU. For those 50 to 69, it's 400 IU per day, and over age 70, it's just 600 IU per day. A minimum of 1,000 IU per day is what some are calling for. Meeting these quotas without adequate sun exposure or without taking supplements is impossible. Consider that milk, one of the few foods fortified with the vitamin, only provides 100 IU per cup. Other sources include fatty fish such as salmon or mackerel, with over 350 IU in a 31/2-ounce serving. But it now appears that vitamin D will get its day in the sun. This September, Health Canada will be taking part in a conference to be held by the U.S. National Institutes of Health that will evaluate Vitamin D needs and safety across all age groups. In the meantime, keep in the mind that the current upper level of vitamin D intake considered to be safe by Health Canada is 2,000 IU. Stay tuned in September for the verdict. -Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian in private practice and author of The Enlightened Eater's Whole Foods Guide: Harvest the Power of Phyto Foods (Viking Canada).

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