Group items tagged

Strong correlations have been noted between cardiovascular diseases and low bone density / osteoporosis-connections so strong that the presence of one type of pathology is considered a likely predictor of the other. This potentially causal relationship has led to the hypothesis that these conditions share core mechanisms. Recent advances in our understanding of the complimentary roles played by vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 in vascular and bone health provide support for this hypothesis, along with insight into key metabolic dysfunctions underlying cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Part I of this review summarizes current research linking vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease, the physiological mechanisms underlying vitamin D's cardiovascular effects, and leading vitamin D researchers' recommendations for significantly higher supplemental doses of the pro-hormone. Part II reviews the vitamin K connection to cardiovascular disease; the ways in which vitamin D and vitamin K pair up to prevent inflammation, vascular calcification and osteoporosis; and the necessity of providing vitamin K along with vitamin D to preclude adverse effects associated with hypervitaminosis D, which include vascular and other soft tissue calcification.

Strong correlations have been noted between cardiovascular diseases and low bone density / osteoporosis-connections so strong that the presence of one is considered a likely predictor of the other. This relationship has led to the hypothesis that these conditions share core pathophysiological mechanisms. Recent advances in our understanding of the complimentary roles played by vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 in vascular and bone health provide support for this hypothesis, along with insight into key metabolic dysfunctions underlying cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Part II, The Vitamin K Connection to Cardiovascular Health, reviews the ways in which vitamin K regulates calcium utlization, preventing vascular and soft tissue calcification while complimenting the bone-building actions of vitamin D, and also discusses vitamin K safety and dosage issues, and the necessity of providing vitamin K and vitamin A along with vitamin D to preclude adverse effects associated with hypervitaminosis D.

Tufts University Confirms That Vitamin A Protects Against Vitamin D Toxicity by Curbing Excess Production of Vitamin K-Dependent Proteins Tufts University confirmed my hypothesis that vitamin A protects against vitamin D's induction of renal calcification (kidney stones) by normalizing the production of vitamin K-dependent proteins in December, 2008, without citing my hypothesis or telling me they had confirmed it. I am, of course, very grateful that they thought it significant enough to investigate.

Vitamin K2 is produced by animal tissues, including the mammary glands, from vitamin K1, which occurs in rapidly growing green plants. A growing body of published research confirms Dr. Price's discoveries, namely that vitamin K2 is important for the utilization of minerals, protects against tooth decay, supports growth and development, is involved in normal reproduction, protects against calcification of the arteries leading to heart disease, and is a major component of the brain. Vitamin K2 works synergistically with the two other "fat-soluble activators" that Price studied, vitamins A and D. Vitamins A and D signal to the cells to produce certain proteins and vitamin K then activates these proteins. Vitamin K2 plays a crucial role in the development of the facial bones, and its presence in the diets of nonindustrialized peoples explains the wide facial structure and freedom from dental deformities that Weston Price observe

Commonly recommended daily intake of vitamin D is not sufficient if sunlight exposure is limited. Glerup H, Mikkelsen K, Poulsen L, Hass E, Overbeck S, Thomsen J, Charles P, Eriksen EF. J Intern Med. 2000 Feb;247(2):260-8. PMID: 10692090 Conclusions. Severe vitamin D deficiency is prevalent amongst sunlight-deprived individuals living in Denmark. In veiled Arab women, vitamin D deficiency is the result of a combination of limitations in sunlight exposure and a low oral intake of vitamin D. The oral intake of vitamin D amongst veiled ethnic Danish Moslems was, however, very high, at 13.53 µg (approximately 600 IU), but they were still vitamin D-deficient. Our results suggest that the daily oral intake of vitamin D in sunlight-deprived individuals should exceed 600 IU; most probably it should be 1000 IU day-1 to secure a normal level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This finding is in contrast with the commonly used RDA (recommended daily allowance) for adults in Europe: 200 IU day-1.

Urgent action needed to improve vitamin D status among older people in England! Hirani V, Tull K, Ali A, Mindell J. Age Ageing. 2009 Nov 23. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19934073 CONCLUSIONS: poor vitamin D status of older people continues to be a public health problem in England. Hypovitaminosis D is associated with many risk factors and poor health outcomes. There is now an urgent need for a uniform policy on assessment and dietary supplementation of vitamin D in older people to prevent poor vitamin D status and its negative consequences

Estimation of the dietary requirement for vitamin D in free-living adults >=64 y of age. Cashman KD, Wallace JM, Horigan G, Hill TR, Barnes MS, Lucey AJ, Bonham MP, Taylor N, Duffy EM, Seamans K, Muldowney S, Fitzgerald AP, Flynn A, Strain JJ, Kiely M. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 May;89(5):1366-74. Epub 2009 Mar 18. PMID: 19297462 doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.27334 Conclusion: To ensure that the vitamin D requirement is met by the vast majority (>97.5%) of adults aged ≥64 y during winter, between 7.9 and 42.8 µg vitamin D/d is required, depending on summer sun exposure and the threshold of adequacy of 25(OH)D. .

Vitamin D intake is low and hypovitaminosis D common in healthy 9- to 15-year-old Finnish girls. Lehtonen-Veromaa M, Möttönen T, Irjala K, Kärkkäinen M, Lamberg-Allardt C, Hakola P, Viikari J. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999 Sep;53(9):746-51. PMID: 10509773 CONCLUSION: Hypovitaminosis D is fairly common in growing Finnish girls in the wintertime, and three months of vitamin D supplementation with 10 microg/d was insufficient in preventing hypovitaminosis D. The daily dietary vitamin D intake was insufficient (< 5 microg/d) in the majority of participants, while the calcium intake was usually sufficient.

Vitamin D deficiency and risk of cardiovascular disease. Wang TJ, Pencina MJ, Booth SL, Jacques PF, Ingelsson E, Lanier K, Benjamin EJ, D'Agostino RB, Wolf M, Vasan RS. Circulation. 2008 Jan 29;117(4):503-11. Epub 2008 Jan 7. PMID: 18180395 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.706127 Conclusions- Vitamin D deficiency is associated with incident cardiovascular disease. Further clinical and experimental studies may be warranted to determine whether correction of vitamin D deficiency could contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Seasonality of UV-radiation and vitamin D status at 69 degrees north. Brustad M, Edvardsen K, Wilsgaard T, Engelsen O, Aksnes L, Lund E. Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2007 Aug;6(8):903-8. Epub 2007 Jun 27. PMID: 17668121 The generally high dietary intakes of vitamin D, especially in winter, mask largely the effect of seasonal variation in UV-exposure, causing an atypical seasonal variation in vitamin D status. The UV-hour variable significantly predicted 25(OH)D levels in blood when adjusted for intakes and artificial UV-radiation exposure and sun holidays abroad.

Vitamin D deficiency and risk of cardiovascular disease. Wang TJ, Pencina MJ, Booth SL, Jacques PF, Ingelsson E, Lanier K, Benjamin EJ, D'Agostino RB, Wolf M, Vasan RS. Circulation. 2008 Jan 29;117(4):503-11. Epub 2008 Jan 7. PMID: 18180395 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.706127 Conclusions-Vitamin D deficiency is associated with incident cardiovascular disease. Further clinical and experimental studies may be warranted to determine whether correction of vitamin D deficiency could contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Vitamin D toxicity redefined: vitamin K and the molecular mechanism. Masterjohn C. Med Hypotheses. 2007;68(5):1026-34. Epub 2006 Dec 4. PMID: 17145139 doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.09.051

Calcium, dairy foods, vitamin D, and colorectal cancer risk: the Fukuoka Colorectal Cancer Study. Mizoue T, Kimura Y, Toyomura K, Nagano J, Kono S, Mibu R, Tanaka M, Kakeji Y, Maehara Y, Okamura T, Ikejiri K, Futami K, Yasunami Y, Maekawa T, Takenaka K, Ichimiya H, Imaizumi N. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Oct;17(10):2800-7. PMID: 18843026

Genetic and non-genetic correlates of vitamins K and D.\nShea MK, Benjamin EJ, Dupuis J, Massaro JM, Jacques PF, D'Agostino RB Sr, Ordovas JM, O'Donnell CJ, Dawson-Hughes B, Vasan RS, Booth SL.\nEur J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov 21. [Epub ahead of print]\nPMID: 18030310 \ndoi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn\n\n

Heliotherapy improves vitamin D balance and atopic dermatitis. Vähävihu K, Ylianttila L, Salmelin R, Lamberg-Allardt C, Viljakainen H, Tuohimaa P, Reunala T, Snellman E. Br J Dermatol. 2008 Jun;158(6):1323-8. Epub 2008 Mar 20. PMID: 18363748 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2008.08518.x CONCLUSIONS: A 2-week course of HT significantly improved vitamin D balance by increasing serum calcidiol concentration, and caused a marked healing of AD. These parallel positive responses should be taken into account when the benefits of HT are considered..

Calcium and vitamin d supplementation decreases incidence of stress fractures in female navy recruits. Lappe J, Cullen D, Haynatzki G, Recker R, Ahlf R, Thompson K. J Bone Miner Res. 2008 May;23(5):741-9. PMID: 18433305 doi: 10.1359/jbmr.080102 Conclusions: Generalizing the findings to the population of 14,416 women who entered basic training at the Great Lakes during the 24 mo of recruitment, calcium and vitamin D supplementation for the entire cohort would have prevented 187 persons from fracturing. Such a decrease in SFx would be associated with a significant decrease in morbidity and financial costs.

Measurement of vitamin D levels in inflammatory bowel disease patients reveals a subset of Crohn's disease patients with elevated 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and low bone mineral density. Abreu MT, Kantorovich V, Vasiliauskas EA, Gruntmanis U, Matuk R, Daigle K, Chen S, Zehnder D, Lin YC, Yang H, Hewison M, Adams JS. Gut. 2004 Aug;53(8):1129-36. PMID: 15247180 doi: 10.1136/gut.2003.036657. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that elevated 1,25(OH)2D is more common in CD than previously appreciated and is independently associated with low bone mineral density. The source of the active vitamin D may be the inflamed intestine. Treatment of the underlying inflammation may improve metabolic bone disease in this subgroup of patients.

Association of low intake of milk and vitamin D during pregnancy with decreased birth weight. Mannion CA, Gray-Donald K, Koski KG. CMAJ. 2006 Apr 25;174(9):1273-7. PMID: 16636326 doi:10.1503/cmaj.1041388. Interpretation: Milk and vitamin D intakes during pregnancy are each associated with infant birth weight, independently of other risk factors.

P.T. Liu, S. Stenger, H. Li, L. Wenzel, B.H. Tan, S.R. Krutzik, M.T. Ochoa, J. Schauber, K. Wu, C. Meinken, et al.\nVitamin D3-Triggered Antimicrobial Response--Another Pleiotropic Effect beyond Mineral and Bone Metabolism: Toll-Like Receptor Triggering of a Vitamin D-Mediated Human Antimicrobial Response. Science 311: 1770-1773, 2006\nJ. Am. Soc. Nephrol., November 1, 2006; 17(11): 2949 - 2953.

Vitamin D supplementation during the first year of life and risk of schizophrenia: a Finnish birth cohort study. McGrath J, Saari K, Hakko H, Jokelainen J, Jones P, Järvelin MR, Chant D, Isohanni M. Schizophr Res. 2004 Apr 1;67(2-3):237-45. PMID: 14984883 Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation during the first year of life is associated with a reduced risk of schizophrenia in males. Preventing hypovitaminosis D during early life may reduce the incidence of schizophrenia.