Diseases

LYSAKER, Norway, April 11, 2008-An increased intake of vitamin K2 may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35 per cent, suggest results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The findings, based on dietary intake from 11,319 men taking part in the EPIC Heidelberg cohort, are published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg).\nNimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Linseisen J.\nAm J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):985-92.\nPMID: 18400723

Dietary intake of menaquinone is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: the Rotterdam Study.\nGeleijnse JM, Vermeer C, Grobbee DE, Schurgers LJ, Knapen MH, van der Meer IM, Hofman A, Witteman JC.\nJ Nutr. 2004 Nov;134(11):3100-5.\nPMID: 15514282

Vitamin K in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis and arterial calcification.\nAdams J, Pepping J.\nAm J Health Syst Pharm. 2005 Aug 1;62(15):1574-81. Review.\nPMID: 16030366

Promotion of bone formation by fermented soybean (Natto) intake in premenopausal women.\nKatsuyama H, Ideguchi S, Fukunaga M, Fukunaga T, Saijoh K, Sunami S.\nJ Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2004 Apr;50(2):114-20.\nPMID: 15242015

Dietary supplementation with fermented soybeans suppresses intimal thickening. Suzuki Y, Kondo K, Ichise H, Tsukamoto Y, Urano T, Umemura K. Nutrition. 2003 Mar;19(3):261-4. PMID: 12620531

High dietary menaquinone intake is associated with reduced coronary calcification.\nBeulens JW, Bots ML, Atsma F, Bartelink ML, Prokop M, Geleijnse JM, Witteman JC, Grobbee DE, van der Schouw YT.\nAtherosclerosis. 2008 Jul 19. [Epub ahead of print]\nPMID: 18722618 \ndoi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2008.07.010 \n

The vitamin K2 story, though still preliminary, is becoming increasingly interesting from the perspective of CT heart score reduction. The origin of this concept came from some unexpected observations. One, the observation that osteoporosis (lack of bone calcium that leads to fractures) arises from deficiency of vitamin K2. Two, deficiency of K2 leads to unrestrained calcium deposition in animal models, leading to heart attack in just weeks.

It seems not a single day passes that I don't learn something new about this unique hormone (mis)named "vitamin D." \nFrom its humble beginnings recognized only as the factor responsible for bone maturation (with deficiency leading to childhood rickets), vitamin D now commands a recognized role in almost every conceivable aspect of health and disease. \n

The Vitamin D Pandemic and its Health Consequences\nPresented by Michael Holick, PhD, MD, Professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics and director of the General Clinical Research Center at Boston University Medical Center\nKeynote address at the opening ceremony of the 34th European Symposium on Calcified Tissues, Copenhagen 5 May, 2007\n

A Lecture by Reinhold Vieth, Professor, Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Mount Sinai Hospital. Presentation Date: Friday, October 21, 2005 (works in Internet Explorer, but not properly in Firefox (slides don't change in Firefox)).

A Track Your Plaque member brough the following webcast to our attention: Prospects for Vitamin D Nutrition\nwhich can be found at http://tinyurl.com/f93vl (The above link no longer seems to work, use http://wildhorse.insinc.com/directms13oct2005/ instead) Despite the painfully dull title, the webcast is the best summary of data on the health benefits on vitamin D that I've seen. The presenter is Dr. Reinhold Vieth, who is among the handful of worldwide authorities on vitamin D. In 1999, Dr. Vieth authored the first review to concisely and persuasively argue that vitamin D nutrition was woefully neglected and that its potential for health was enormous.

25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and the risk of mortality in the general population. Melamed ML, Michos ED, Post W, Astor B. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Aug 11;168(15):1629-37. PMID: 18695076

Independent association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin d levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.\nDobnig H, Pilz S, Scharnagl H, Renner W, Seelhorst U, Wellnitz B, Kinkeldei J, Boehm BO, Weihrauch G, Maerz W.\nArch Intern Med. 2008 Jun 23;168(12):1340-9.\nPMID: 18574092

Vitamin D deficiency an important, common, and easily treatable cardiovascular risk factor?\nLee JH, O'Keefe JH, Bell D, Hensrud DD, Holick MF.\nJ Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Dec 9;52(24):1949-56. Review.\nPMID: 19055985

Vitamin D and cardiovascular disease risk. Michos ED, Melamed ML. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008 Jan;11(1):7-12. Review. PMID: 18090651

Vitamin D: importance in the prevention of cancers, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis.\nHolick MF.\nAm J Clin Nutr. 2004 Mar;79(3):362-71. Review. Erratum in: Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 May;79(5):890.\nPMID: 14985208

Vitamin D and prevention of colorectal adenoma: a meta-analysis.\nWei MY, Garland CF, Gorham ED, Mohr SB, Giovannucci E.\nCancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Nov;17(11):2958-69.\nPMID: 18990737

Prevalence of vitamin d insufficiency in patients with Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease.\nEvatt ML, Delong MR, Khazai N, Rosen A, Triche S, Tangpricha V.\nArch Neurol. 2008 Oct;65(10):1348-52.\nPMID: 18852350

Addressing the health benefits and risks, involving vitamin D or skin cancer, of increased sun exposure.\nMoan J, Porojnicu AC, Dahlback A, Setlow RB.\nProc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jan 15;105(2):668-73. Epub 2008 Jan 7.\nPMID: 18180454