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Old 11-30-2007, 01:38 PM   #1 (permalink)
 
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Vitamin D a Miracle Nutrient

SOURCE LINK: http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news....d=576361&rfi=6

Inside Today's Bulletin
Why Taking A Vitamin Supplement May Deliver A Longer And Healthier Life
By: Herb Denenberg, The Bulletin
11/30/2007

Here's more news suggesting that vitamin D is a miracle nutrient and that many Americans are not getting enough of it to prevent many diseases including breast and colon cancer.

]A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, reported in the Tufts University newsletter, Health & Nutrition Letter (December 2007), found that those who take vitamin D supplements had a reduced risk of death (all-cause mortality) over a follow-up period of 5.7 years. In an editorial accompanying the study, Dr. Edward Giovannucci, of the Harvard School of Public Health, wrote that "the results are remarkable" and that the study "adds a new chapter in the accumulating evidence for a beneficial role of vitamin D on health."

As we've indicated on many occasions, you can predict new nutritional findings by simply reading the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted, The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health by Campbell and Campbell. They devoted the book's appendix C, "The 'Vitamin D' Connection," to a discussion of the health implications of vitamin D. They noted that in communities in the northern hemisphere that are farther north, and consequently get less sunshine, the populations get more Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer, in addition to other diseases. In fact, the Campbells note that researchers have known for eighty years "that multiple sclerosis, for example, is associated with increasing latitude. ... There is a huge difference in MS prevalence as one goes away from the equator, being over 100 times more prevalent in the far north than at the equator."

The Campbells also note that several studies showing that when a certain form of vitamin D (1,25 D, which is measured in the blood and is not a designation of a vitamin pill you might be taking) remains at consistently low levels, the risks of several diseases increase.

The new study in question was a meta-analysis (a study of other studies) of 18 previous studies involving people taking vitamin D supplements. The amount taken ranged from 300 to 2,000 International Units (IU). Most commercial supplements contain between 400 and 600 IU.

Earlier studies suggested that vitamin D deficiencies might be associated with a higher risk of death from cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. The researchers involved in the new study thought that if vitamin D deficiencies were associated with these diseases, then supplementation with vitamin D to prevent deficiencies should lower mortality, which it did. The researchers said they were not sure of the mechanism. They thought vitamin D might boost the function of the blood vessels or immune system and could inhibit some mechanisms by which cancer cells proliferate.

Another study out of the University of California at San Diego supports the disease-fighting characteristic of vitamin D. The researchers studied vitamin D levels in 15 countries, including the U.S. They found cancer levels fall with higher levels of vitamin D.

In late winter, vitamin D levels go down. That's because the sun hitting the skin causes it to manufacturer vitamin D, and in the absence of exposure to sun, many develop deficiencies, as they don't get enough vitamin D in their diet. Americans average 15-18 nanograms per milliliter of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (the principal and longest-lasting form of vitamin D in circulation). The researchers estimate that at levels of 55 nanograms per milliliter, 85,000 cases of breast cancer and 60,000 cases of colon cancer would be prevented every year in the U.S. The researchers said the right amount of vitamin D could be obtained by a combination of diet, supplements and 10 to 15 minutes a day in the sun.

The researchers also say that the average U.S. intake of vitamin D is only 230 IU daily. And that includes the less potent D2, still used in some supplements, even though experts agree D3 is more potent and the supplement of choice. To reduce the cancer risk, daily intake would have to get up to 2,000 to 3.500 IU.

So the researchers conclude, in view of the amount needed to lower cancer risk, that recommended amounts should be increased. The San Diego researchers said they found no evidence of adverse effects with intakes of vitamin D up to 10,000 IU per day.

Dr. Giovannucci of Harvard concluded, "Based on the total body of evidence of health conditions associated with vitamin D deficiency, abetted with the results from this meta-analysis, a more proactive attitude to identify, prevent and treat vitamin D deficiency should be part of the standard medical care. From a broader health perspective, the roles of moderate sun exposure, food fortification with vitamin D and higher-dose vitamin supplements for adults need to be debated."

I'd add that Dr. Andrew Weil, a leading expert on alternative and complementary medicine, recommends that in winter adults take a supplement of 1,000 IU of vitamin D. He recommends vitamin D3. As indicated, some supplements still use the less potent D2, so check labels.

Finally, another study confirms that vitamin D may protect against breast cancer. A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology (Oct. 12) compared a group of women with and without breast cancer who lived in the San Francisco Bay area. Those whose skins showed more signs of sun exposure were 47 percent less likely to have breast cancer. However, that was true only among light pigmented skin (measured under the arm). With this study in mind, the Nutrition Action Health Letter (December 2007) offers this advice: "It's too early to know if sunlight - or vitamin D - prevents breast cancer, but it's still worth taking 1,000 IU a day of vitamin D. It's also worth getting some sun if you can avoid getting sunburn."

And here's some advice from Dr. Walter Willett and the Harvard School of Public Health, from their book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: "Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Most of what we get comes from dairy products (which by law must be fortified with vitamin D); vitamin fortified breakfast cereals; eggs from hens fed vitamin D; fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and bluefish; and supplements. For most people, the easiest and best way to be sure of getting enough vitamin D is to take a multivitamin supplement."

Herb Denenberg, a former Pennsylvania insurance commissioner and professor at the Wharton School, is a longtime Philadelphia journalist and consumer advocate. He is also a member of the National?Academy of Arts and Sciences. His column appears daily in The Bulletin.
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