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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.

The bioavailability of vitamin D from fortified cheeses and supplements is equivalent in adults. Wagner D, Sidhom G, Whiting SJ, Rousseau D, Vieth R. J Nutr. 2008 Jul;138(7):1365-71. PMID: 18567762 Compared with baseline, serum parathyroid hormone decreased with both fortification (P = 0.003) and supplementation (P = 0.012). These data demonstrate that vitamin D is equally bioavailable from fortified hard cheeses and supplements, making cheese suitable for vitamin D fortification.

"Hi! This is Amy Proal. I wrote the article referenced at the start of the thread about vitamin D. Dr. Marshall is not concerned with vitamin D toxicity. Rather his molecular modeling research has clarified the actions of the two vitamin D metabolites 25-D and 1,25-D. The Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) is a fundamental receptor of the body - it controls the expression thousands of genes, as well as the activity of the innate immune system and the antimicrobial peptides. If you think of the VDR as a switch, 25-D (which is a corticosteroid) turns it off (inactivates it) and 1,25-D turn it on (activates it). What is commonly believed among vitamin D researchers is that if people supplement with extra vitamin D it will be converted into 1,25-D and activate the VDR. Unfortunately, Marshall's work revealed that the type of vitamin D derived from supplements and sun remains, for the most part, in it's precursor form 25-D. This means that the extra vitamin D we get from fortified food products and supplements is turning the VDR off, not on. That causes a decrease in immune function and gene transcription."

"May 19, 2008 (Orlando, Florida) - A new study shows that a proactive vitamin D treatment plan should be considered when caring for all osteoporosis patients, and that such treatment might help decrease the likelihood of developing vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is widespread among patients being treated for osteoporosis, and such deficiency should be treated aggressively, according to the findings presented here at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 17th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress."

"We have been bombarded over the past couple of years with scientific articles suggesting that vitamin D is the key to improving many aspects of our health, including reducing the risks of dying from cancer. An article in this week's Journal of the National Cancer Institute reminds us that perhaps we should be a bit cautious in embracing vitamin D as "the answer" before we do more research. The report, from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, concluded that vitamin D levels in the blood were not related to overall cancer mortality. However, the study did find that higher levels of vitamin D were associated with a substantial decrease in the risk of dying from colorectal cancer, and possibly with a reduction in the risk of dying from breast cancer."

"ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2009) - Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center." Scientists funded by the NCI analyzed vitamin D levels in each woman, and the average level was 27 nanograms per milliliter; more than two-thirds of the women had vitamin deficiency. Weekly supplementation with high doses of vitamin D -- 50,000 international units or more -- improved the levels, according to Peppone's study. The U.S. Institute of Medicine suggests that blood levels nearing 32 nanograms per milliliter are adequate.

Induction of ovarian cancer cell apoptosis by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 through the down-regulation of telomerase. Jiang F, Bao J, Li P, Nicosia SV, Bai W. J Biol Chem. 2004 Dec 17;279(51):53213-21. Epub 2004 Oct 12. PMID: 15485861 doi: 10.1074/jbc.M410395200 Overall, the study suggests that the down-regulation of telomerase activity by 1,25(OH)2VD3 and the resulting cell death are important components of the response of OCa cells to 1,25(OH)2VD3-induced growth suppression. Progressive shortening of telomere associated with cell divisions limits the life span of normal cells and eventually leads to senescence. To become immortal, human cancers including OCa are invariably associated with activation of mechanism that maintains telomere length. Approximately 85-90% of cancers show reactivation of telomerase. The present study shows that telomerase in OCa cells is down-regulated by 1,25(OH)2VD3. Down-regulation of telomerase is due to decreased stability of hTERT mRNA rather than VDRE-mediated transcriptional repression through the putative VDRE present in the regulatory region of the hTERT gene. It is known that the inhibition of telomerase may lead to a phenotypic lag during which cells would continue to divide until the point at which the telomeres became critically short. This phenomenon may explain why the apoptotic induction by 1,25(OH)2VD3 needs the treatment for more than 6 days. As mentioned in the results, no detectable shortening of telomeric repeats was observed in parental OVCAR3 cells after 9 days of treatment with 1,25(OH)2VD3 (Fig. 4D). This is likely due to the fact that the short telomere (about 3 kb) in OVCAR3 cells is very close to the minimal length required for survival and that cells with detectably shorter telomere may have been selected against apoptosis. It has been shown that transformed human cells enter crisis once the terminal restriction fragment of the telomere reaches a length of about 4 kb. This is insufficient to protect chro

Healthy eating habits and regular exercises decrease the risk of developing symptoms if diabetes to a higher extent. The signs of it can be reduced by taking nutritious, water rich food and good physical activities.

Working towards total health is an important, conscious effort to be made every day. All of our products ensure maximum nutrient absorption on a cellular level. The desire to decrease stress and increase individual cell function in health-conscious people is at the heart of every product.