eileen

Many kids, adults lack vitamin D

Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 04/06/2008 11:30:49 PM MDT







Natalia Ibarra, 10, top, enjoyed a turn on the swings... (Photos by Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times)

• Texas native Dr. James E. Dowd saw a patient several years ago who had a bad case of arthritis and also experienced extreme fatigue.

After running tests on her, he became baffled when it showed she had practically no vitamin D in her system. "I prescribed vitamin supplementation for her, and she reported considerable improvement and less pain."
Treating that patient proved to be turning point for Dowd's own health.
"After moving from Houston to Michigan, I had started feeling lousy and tired all the time," he said in a telephone interview. "Then, I, too, took vitamin D supplements and also began to feel better."
That's how Dowd began the journey that led to his 2008 book, "The Vitamin Cure" (Wiley; $24.95), and the finding that 55 percent of children and 60 percent of all people in the United States lack healthful levels of vitamin D.
Cases of rickets, thought to be a thing of the past, also are on the increase and for the same reasons. Rickets is a disease marked by a softening of the bones, fractures and improper skeletal development.
A lack of vitamin D might show up as poor stamina, some forms of asthma, fatigue and recurring infections. It also is essential for healthy fetal development, for building sound bone structure and for forming a strong immune system.
Vitamin D, which is actually a hormone, is also known as the "sunshine vitamin," because people need sun exposure to transform the sun's ultraviolet rays into the essential vitamin. El Pasoan Jesse
Piña, 45, remembered from school that sunshine contributes to vitamin D in the body, and that's one reason he makes it a point to take his children, Anthony, 9, and Sashiel, 11, outdoors regularly.
"We try to go to a park somewhere or a school track several days a week for one to two hours," he said. "They're so used to this, they ask me if we can go outdoors to throw the Frisbee or do some other activity. I know it's good for them.
"I know many parents are busy with their jobs and don't get home until late, but they can do this at least on weekends. When I was young, we used to get toys for the outdoors for Christmas. You don't see that too much anymore, since the kids now play with electronic games or other things indoors."
Dowd, who has his medical practice in Brighton, Mich., said people who live farther north from the equator are at greater risk for vitamin D deficiency than those who live in sunny areas, such as the Southwest.
"However, there is not a great difference between the vitamin D levels of people who live in the north and those who live in the south," he said.
Dowd attributes the overall low levels of the vitamin to modern lifestyles.
Because the vitamin is critical to proper growth and development, experts say, it is important for children in particular to get enough of it.
"Latinos and African-Americans with dark skin are at greater risk than Anglos with light skin for vitamin D deficiency," said Dowd, associate clinical professor at Michigan State University and the founder and director of the Arthritis Institute of Michigan and the Michigan Arthritis Research Center.
"Many people think that the darker your skin, the less sun you need, but the opposite is true," he said. "People with dark skin need more exposure (a longer time in the sun), than light-skinned people."
Kids today may not be getting enough sunshine because they're indoors all the time watching TV, using the computer or playing electronic games.
The combination of playing outdoors in the sunshine can even help kids lose weight and feel less sluggish. Without exercise, vitamin D ends up stored in body fat, not doing the body any good.
When coupled with activity, the nutrient is released throughout the body.
Inez Anchondo, a pediatric nutritionist for Texas Tech University Health Science Center in El Paso, said using too much sunscreen also blocks the ultraviolet rays the body needs to manufacture vitamin D. "Sunshine is the best way to obtain vitamin D," Anchondo said. "This poses a problem for children who are dark-skinned and spend a lot of time indoors.
"Breast-fed babies also may need extra vitamin D supplementation, and most pediatricians know this."
Spending 15 minutes day -- about three times a week -- in the sunshine is about average for most people. However, people with dark skin may need three times or longer than that to get enough of the nutrient.
Anchondo said milk and fish are the best food sources for the vitamin.
School cafeterias in El Paso follow guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for proper nutrition, said Mike Vasquez, food and nutrition services director for the Ysleta Independent School District.
"We follow what is known as the traditional menu pattern," he said. "This means we incorporate milk, fruits, vegetables and breads -- all these components -- daily in all our meals.
"To get the kids to drink milk, we have milk available in different flavors, such as chocolate and strawberry. We also carry the 1 percent and skim milk. All the milks have the same amount of vitamin D in them."
To help people gauge their need for the vitamin, Dowd has developed a Web site (www.thevitamincure.org) with links to research, and has included tables and other information in his book on the right types of supplements to use, as well as ideal sun exposure times.
Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.

Vitamin D tips
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to serious health ailments and developmental problems, and is at an epidemic level nationwide, according to the book "The Vitamin D Cure" by Dr. James E. Dowd.
Sunshine is the best source of the vitamin, which is actually a hormone.
Milk and fish are good food sources.
Symptoms of deficiency include poor stamina, some forms of asthma, fatigue, recurring infections, and rickets.
It is essential for healthy fetal development, for building sound bone structure and forming a strong immune system.
Dark-skinned people need more time in the sunshine than light-skinned people for their bodies to produce sufficient amounts of the nutrient.
Depending on body weight and other factors, some people need more vitamin D than others.
Visit www.thevitamincure.com.

SOURCE LINK: http://www.elpasotimes.com/living/ci_8833412

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"under exposure to UV rays is as dangerous as overexposure....this is D life" eileen

eileen

I don't recall ever reading or hearing anything about this comment from above before:
"Without exercise, vitamin D ends up stored in body fat, not doing the body any good."

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"under exposure to UV rays is as dangerous as overexposure....this is D life" eileen

unity

On the topic of Vitamin D.

A "tan" is one way the body regulates Vitamin D production. Right? So if a person who is VERY Vitamin D deficient may take longer to develop a tan? Yes, no?

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