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Benefits of Vitamin D Supplementation Joel M. Kauffman, Ph.D. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Volume 14 Number 2 - Summer 2009 Clinical trials show that vitamin D supplementation at higher levels than previously recommended is beneficial for many conditions. It decreases the frequency of falls and fractures, helps prevent cardiovascular disease, and reduces symptoms of colds or influenza. Benefits are also seen in diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn disease, pain, depression, and possibly autism. Sunlight does not cause an overdose of vitamin D production, and toxicity from supplementation is rare. Dose recommendations are increasing, but appear to be lagging the favorable trial results. A number of common drugs deplete vitamin D levels, and others may limit its biosynthesis from sunlight. People with adequate levels from sun exposure will not benefit from supplementation. While dietary intake is helpful, supplementation is better able to raise serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D , the major circulating metabolite, to the level now thought adequate, 30-50 ng/mL. Where there is inadequate daily sun exposure, oral doses of 1,000-2,000 IU/d are now considered routine, with much higher doses (up to 50,000 IU) for rapid repletion now considered safe.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2009) - Individuals who took a dietary supplement called "factor D", which included selenium, vitamin E, and beta-carotene, continued to have lower gastric cancer and overall mortality 10 years after supplementation ceased compared with individuals who did not take the supplements, according to long-term follow-up data from the randomized, double-blind General Population Nutrition Intervention Trial in Linxian, China.

Authors of the study reported that carnitine deficiency is a risk factor and should be viewed as a mechanism in hepatic carcinogenesis, and that long-term L-carnitine supplementation prevents the development of liver cancer. Therefore, carnitine supplementation alone or in combination with other natural chemopreventive compounds could be used to prevent, slow or reverse the occurrence of liver cance

ScienceDaily (Mar. 10, 2009) - A study led by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) found that men who took a daily folic acid supplement of 1 mg daily had more than twice the risk of prostate cancer compared with men who took a placebo.

Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1586-91. PMID: 17556697 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and the risk of colorectal cancer. Wactawski-Wende J, Kotchen JM, Anderson GL, Assaf AR, Brunner RL, O'Sullivan MJ, Margolis KL, Ockene JK, Phillips L, Pottern L, Prentice RL, Robbins J, Rohan TE, Sarto GE, Sharma S, Stefanick ML, Van Horn L, Wallace RB, Whitlock E, Bassford T, Beresford SA, Black HR, Bonds DE, Brzyski RG, Caan B, Chlebowski RT, Cochrane B, Garland C, Gass M, Hays J, Heiss G, Hendrix SL, Howard BV, Hsia J, Hubbell FA, Jackson RD, Johnson KC, Judd H, Kooperberg CL, Kuller LH, LaCroix AZ, Lane DS, Langer RD, Lasser NL, Lewis CE, Limacher MC, Manson JE; Women's Health Initiative Investigators. N Engl J Med. 2006 Feb 16;354(7):684-96. Erratum in: N Engl J Med. 2006 Mar 9;354(10):1102. PMID: 16481636 Conclusions Daily supplementation of calcium with vitamin D for seven years had no effect on the incidence of colorectal cancer among postmenopausal women. The long latency associated with the development of colorectal cancer, along with the seven-year duration of the trial, may have contributed to this null finding. Ongoing follow-up will assess the longer-term effect of this intervention.

A new study showing a reduction in the toxic side effects of ROS-generating chemotherapies with concurrent antioxidant supplementation will be presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) that takes place June 1-5 at McCormick Place in Chicago. According to the study's authors, mitigating chemotherapy toxicity by supplementing with antioxidants may improve survival rates and tumor response by helping patients complete their prescribed treatment cycles.

You-Lin Qiao, Sanford M. Dawsey, Farin Kamangar, Jin-Hu Fan, Christian C. Abnet, Xiu-Di Sun, Laura Lee Johnson, Mitchell H. Gail, Zhi-Wei Dong, Binbing Yu, Steven D. Mark, and Philip R. Taylor. Total and Cancer Mortality After Supplementation With Vitamins and Minerals: Follow-up of the Linxian General Population Nutrition Intervention Trial. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2009 March 24; DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djp037

This web site is dedicated to vitamin D and cancer. This is because exciting new research indicates that vitamin D-whether produced in the skin as a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation (from sunlight or sun lamps) or obtained from supplementation with cholecalciferol (vitamin D3)-may help cancer patients. However, the research is far from complete.

High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency despite supplementation in premenopausal women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy. Crew KD, Shane E, Cremers S, McMahon DJ, Irani D, Hershman DL. J Clin Oncol. 2009 May 1;27(13):2151-6. Epub 2009 Apr 6. PMID: 19349547 DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2008.19.6162 Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in women with breast cancer. The current recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D is too low to increase serum 25-OHD greater than 30 ng/mL. Optimal dosing for bone health and, possibly, improved survival has yet to be determined.

Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1586-91. Erratum in: Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):794. PMID: 17556697 Conclusions: Improving calcium and vitamin D nutritional status substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women.

If you're from Japan, you're probably wondering why I've listed PSK under alternative therapies. In Japan, PSK is an approved anti-cancer drug with 20 years of research behind it. PSK sales in Japan account for hundreds of millions dollars worth of sales each year. But in the US, PSK is little known, is not used by mainstream doctors, and until recently nothing like it was readily available. Now a nutritional supplement designed to be identical to PSK is available in the US, but very few mainstream doctors, and actually not many alternative practitioners are aware of it. So in the US, PSK has the status of a little known nutritional supplement or alternative therapy. Which is too bad in light of its proven benefits, easy administration, and lack of toxicity. Before I start sounding too much more like an advertisement, let me confess. I really am excited about it, but I have no financial interest in it; I'm not selling it.

How to optimize vitamin D supplementation to prevent cancer, based on cellular adaptation and hydroxylase enzymology. Vieth R. Anticancer Res. 2009 Sep;29(9):3675-84. Review. PMID: 19667164

Impact of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapeutic toxicity: a systematic review of the evidence from randomized controlled trials. Block KI, Koch AC, Mead MN, Tothy PK, Newman RA, Gyllenhaal C Int J Cancer. 2008 Sep 15;123(6):1227-39. Review. PMID: 18623084

Dietary supplementation with white button mushroom enhances natural killer cell activity in C57BL/6 mice. Wu D, Pae M, Ren Z, Guo Z, Smith D, Meydani SN. J Nutr. 2007 Jun;137(6):1472-7. PMID: 17513409

When these cell cultures were treated with red clover isoflavones, the androgenic effects of DHEA were reversed. "Something is happening in the prostate tissue microenvironment that is illustrating a potential cancer prevention effect from this supplement," said Arnold. Red clover isoflavones may modify androgenic effects in the prostate but much more work in the laboratory and clinic is needed to validate these effects.

Gorham ED, Garland CF, Garland FC, Grant WB, Mohr SB, Lipkin M, Newmark HL, Giovannucci E, Wei M, Holick MF. Optimal vitamin D status for colorectal cancer prevention: a quantitative meta analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2007 Mar;32(3):210-6. PMID: 17296473 [

Arginine and immunity. Popovic PJ, Zeh HJ 3rd, Ochoa JB. J Nutr. 2007 Jun;137(6 Suppl 2):1681S-1686S. Review. PMID: 17513447

Watercress supplementation in diet reduces lymphocyte DNA damage and alters blood antioxidant status in healthy adults. Gill CI, Haldar S, Boyd LA, Bennett R, Whiteford J, Butler M, Pearson JR, Bradbury I, Rowland IR. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Feb;85(2):504-10. PMID: 17284750

Epidemiology of vitamin D insufficiency and cancer mortality. Pilz S, Tomaschitz A, Obermayer-Pietsch B, Dobnig H, Pieber TR. Anticancer Res. 2009 Sep;29(9):3699-704. Review. PMID: 19667167 In conclusion, we still need further studies to evaluate the association of vitamin D insufficiency and cancer incidence and mortality, but the multiple health benefits of vitamin D and the easy, safe and inexpensive way by which vitamin D can be supplemented should already guide current public health strategies to achieve 25(OH)D levels of at least 75 nmol/l (30 ng/ml) in the general population.