Group items tagged

Vitamin D's days of obscurity seem pretty much over. Once just an afterthought to most people-relegated to the sides of milk cartons and the pages of medical texts-it's now on the cusp of becoming a full-fledged disease prevention star. Although vitamin D has long been known as an important factor in bone health, a quickly growing body of evidence now shows that it may also help lower the risk of cancer, heart disease, and even premature death.[1], [2] Not surprisingly, scientists and the public have started to take note, particularly of vitamin D's potential to protect against cancer

NaturalNews) Researchers from Oxford University and the University of British Columbia have discovered that Vitamin D deficiency affects a section of the human genome already linked with multiple sclerosis (MS) risk, adding further weight to theories that this vitamin deficiency might play a role in development of the disease. "Here we show that the main environmental risk candidate -- vitamin D -- and the main gene region are directly linked and interact," said co-author George Ebers.

An estimated 50% to 60% of older people have suboptimal vitamin D levels, which is a problem that could affect more than bone health. Recent cross-sectional studies have also shown an association between low vitamin D levels and cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. In a long-term prospective study from Germany, researchers assessed whether 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels were associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among more than 3000 consecutive patients (mean age, 62) referred for coronary angiography.

Vitamin D protects bone, preserves muscle strength, and regulates cell growth and energy metabolism. It also offers some protection against cancer and other disease, but are these effects really important for health and life expectancy? The answer seems to be a resounding yes.

A few researchers are turning their attention to the sunshine vitamin as a culprit, prompted by the experience of immigrants that have moved from their equatorial country to two northern latitude locations As evidence of widespread vitamin D deficiency grows, some scientists are wondering whether the sunshine vitamin-once only considered important in bone health-may actually play a role in one of neurology's most vexing conditions: autism. The idea, although not yet tested or widely held, comes out of preliminary studies in Sweden and Minnesota. Last summer, Swedish researchers published a study in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology that found the prevalence of autism and related disorders was three to four times higher among Somali immigrants than non-Somalis in Stockholm. The study reviewed the records of 2,437 children, born between 1988 and 1998 in Stockholm, in response to parents and teachers who had raised concerns about whether children with a Somali background were overrepresented in the total group of children with autism

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 26, 2009 - There are several risk factors for the development of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Based on an increasing number of studies linking these risk factors with Vitamin D deficiency, an article in the current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (May 2009) by William B. Grant, PhD of the Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC) suggests that further investigation of possible direct or indirect linkages between Vitamin D and these dementias is needed. Low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] have been associated with increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, depression, dental caries, osteoporosis, and periodontal disease, all of which are either considered risk factors for dementia or have preceded incidence of dementia. In 2008, a number of studies reported that those with higher serum 25(OH)D levels had greatly reduced risk of incidence or death from cardiovascular diseases

According to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 75 percent of Americans do not get enough Vitamin D. Researchers have found that the deficiency may negatively impact immune function and cardiovascular health and increase cancer risk. Now, a University of Missouri nutritional sciences researcher has found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation, a negative response of the immune system, in healthy women.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2009) - According to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 75 percent of Americans do not get enough Vitamin D. Researchers have found that the deficiency may negatively impact immune function and cardiovascular health and increase cancer risk. Now, a University of Missouri nutritional sciences researcher has found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation, a negative response of the immune system, in healthy women.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2009) - Deficiency in vitamin D has been widely regarded as contributing to autoimmune disease, but a review appearing in Autoimmunity Reviews explains that low levels of vitamin D in patients with autoimmune disease may be a result rather than a cause of disease and that supplementing with vitamin D may actually exacerbate autoimmune disease.

Vitamin D in defense of the human immune response.\nAdams JS, Liu PT, Chun R, Modlin RL, Hewison M.\nAnn N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Nov;1117:94-105. Epub 2007 Jul 26. Review.\nPMID: 17656563\nDOI: 10.1196/annals.1402.03

March 27, 2009 - A significant decrease in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels has led to an increase in vitamin D insufficiency in the US population, especially in racial and ethnic groups, according to results of a population-based study reported in the March 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with increases in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infection," write Adit A. Ginde, MD, from the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and colleagues. "Vitamin D supplementation appears to mitigate the incidence and adverse outcomes of these diseases and may reduce all-cause mortality." [...] "These findings have important implications for health disparities and public health," the study authors conclude. "Our data provide additional evidence that current recommendations for vitamin D supplementation (200-600 IU/d) are inadequate to achieve optimal serum 25(OH)D levels in most of the US population." They add that large, randomized controlled trials of higher doses of vitamin D supplementation are needed to evaluate their effect on general health and mortality.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 18, 2009) - A lack of Vitamin D, due to reduced sunlight, has been linked to depression and the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but research by the University of Warwick shows there is no clear link between the levels of vitamin D in the blood and depression.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The "sunshine vitamin," vitamin D, is increasingly seen as vital to health, yet more Americans are not getting enough, U.S. researchers said on Monday. Analyzing data from government health surveys, researchers from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine found three out of four Americans had "insufficient" levels of vitamin D, up from about one out two 20 years ago-

Vitamin D may not just be good for you, it may help save your life. Recent research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that higher amounts of vitamin D in your diet decreases your likelihood of dying. Studies found that a vitamin D deficiency increases your risk of death by 26 percent, and vitamin D decreases the mortality rate from almost every type of cancer including breast, colon and prostate. Research also suggests that vitamin D helps prevent diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.

Research finds people with gene variant who lack vitamin D, produced from sun exposure, can develop condition

The vitamin D craze has been building over the last few years, with low levels of the supplement being the blamed as a source of many of our ills. Depression? D can ease it. Chronic pain? Take D. It is said to prevent kidney disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon and breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, or even the common cold. Recently, a study linked low vitamin D levels to the rise in Caesarean births.