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07-21-2008, 11:31 AM | #1 (permalink) |
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Rep Power: 35 | Got enough Vitamin D? By JOHN FAUBER Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published: July 21. 2008 6:00AM MILWAUKEE -- A growing body of research suggests that inadequate vitamin D can substantially increase the risk of a variety of diseases, including several cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and multiple sclerosis as well as the risk of falling and infections. In northern regions, including Pennsylvania, where vitamin D levels are low, the concern is even more pronounced because of a lack of ultraviolet radiation during much of the year. Now pockets of physicians around the country are making vitamin D a high priority. No large trials Exposure to intense sunlight was mostly a year-round occurrence for our prehistoric ancestors who, for thousands of years, existed naked near the equator. It has been only in relatively recent human evolutionary history that people moved north, began wearing clothing and spent more time indoors, resulting in vitamin D deficiencies. The vitamin actually is a hormone that plays a role in the regulation of more than 100 genes, many of which are involved in preventing diseases. However, while that theory sounds attractive to vitamin D advocates, much of the research pointing to the vitamin's disease-preventing ability is observational in nature. While most of those studies show a benefit, some do not. Nevertheless, observational studies pointing to potential health benefits from the vitamin continue to pile up. A study released in late June found higher rates of death from all causes and from cardiovascular disease among a group of 3,258 heart patients with low levels of vitamin D in their blood, compared with heart patients with higher levels of vitamin D. Also in June, a study involving 18,225 men found that those with vitamin D levels below 15 nanograms per milliliter were 2.4 times more likely to have a heart attack than those with levels above 30 nanograms per milliliter. In 2007, an analysis involving 1,760 women found a 50 percent reduction in breast cancer risk in those whose vitamin D levels were more than 52 nanograms per milliliter, compared with levels of less than 13. After reading a variety of vitamin D studies, Tara Rakowski, a family practice physician with Columbia St. Mary's hospital in Milwaukee, began testing for the vitamin in her patients. In more than 60 percent of the approximately 500 patients, vitamin D levels were less than 20 nanograms per milliliter, she said. Now, "there isn't a patient I don't check it on," she said. Typically she will put patients with low vitamin D levels on a prescription regimen of 50,000 international units of vitamin D a week. After that, they usually take 2,000 IU a day in the form of vitamin D3, which is inexpensive. That's the dose many vitamin D proponents now are recommending, although it is considerably more than the current recommended intake, which ranges from 200 IU in children to 600 IU in the elderly. Rakowski said her patients often feel better after boosting their vitamin D levels. Jaishree Hariharan, an internal medicine physician who practices at Froedtert Hospital, said she had checked vitamin D levels in about 200 patients in the past year. Most have levels below 20 nanograms per milliliter, she said. "The big misnomer that most physicians are worried about is vitamin D toxicity," said Hariharan, an associate professor of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. However, with doses of 2,000 IU a day, "there is no downside," she said. SOURCE LINK: http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...ES07/807210310
__________________ "under exposure to UV rays is as dangerous as overexposure....this is D life" eileen |
07-21-2008, 11:57 AM | #2 (permalink) |
Join Date: Feb 25 2000 Location: Tucson, AZ
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Rep Power: 26 | Re: Got enough Vitamin D? 20 nanograms per milliliter = 50 nmol/L and a recent article showed that the world-wide average is 54 nmol/L (21.6 ng/ml). Since we need 70-90 nmol/L to maintain bone health and >120 nmol/L (and preferably >150 nmol/L) for optimal health, is it any wonder that we have a pandemic of vitamin D-mediated diseases? Last edited by Don Smith; 07-21-2008 at 11:57 AM. Reason: spelling |
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