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According to peer-reviewed clinical research, inadequacies of vitamin D have been linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain of various types, muscle weakness or fatigue, fibromyalgia syndrome, rheumatic disorders, osteoarthritis, hyperesthesia, migraine headaches, and other somatic complaints. It also has been implicated in the mood disturbances of chronic fatigue syndrome and seasonal affective disorder. Current best evidence demonstrates that supplemental vitamin D can help to resolve or alleviate chronic pain and fatigue syndromes in many patients who have been unresponsive to other therapies. Vitamin D therapy is easy for patients to self-administer, is well tolerated, and is very economical. The documents on this page provide detailed background information and practice recommendations.

Myalgias or non-specific muscle pain in Arab or Indo-Pakistani patients may indicate vitamin D deficiency. Badsha H, Daher M, Ooi Kong K. Clin Rheumatol. 2009 Mar 10. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19277814 DOI: 10.1007/s10067-009-1146-7

Now a new and controversial book by an American doctor suggests that taking even higher levels of the vitamin - 10 to 15 times the recommended amounts - can work wonders. Dr James Dowd, who works at the Arthritis Institute of Michigan, has been prescribing vitamin D to people suffering from chronic disorders such as arthritis, back pain and headaches and the result, he claims, is a huge improvement in their symptoms. In his book, The Vitamin D Cure, Dr Dowd describes a number of success stories using this approach. One of his patients, Barbara, for instance, was obese, and suffered from arthritis in one leg as well as high blood pressure. As Dowd explains: "In the past I would have given her anti-inflammatory drugs, pain medication, a pill to lose weight and drug treatment for hypertension."

M. F. Holick Vitamin D Deficiency: What a Pain It Is Mayo Clin. Proc., December 1, 2003; 78(12): 1457 - 1459.

Improvement of chronic back pain or failed back surgery with vitamin D repletion: a case series.\nSchwalfenberg G.\nJ Am Board Fam Med. 2009 Jan-Feb;22(1):69-74.\nPMID: 19124636

Vitamin D as an analgesic for patients with type 2 diabetes and neuropathic pain. Lee P, Chen R. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Apr 14;168(7):771-2. PMID: 18413561

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.

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.

Fatigue fractures in military conscripts : A study on risk factors, diagnostics and long-term consequences Ruohola, Juha-Petri University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Helsinki University Central Hospital Centre of Military Medicine, Helsinki 2007-03-09 Doctoral dissertation (article-based) It seems likely that low vitamin D levels are related to fatigue fractures, and that an increasing trend exists between TRACP-5b bone resorption marker elevation and fatigue fracture incidence. Though seldom detected by plain radiography, fatigue fractures often underlie unclear lower leg stress-related pain occurring in the distal parts of the tibia. Femoral neck fatigue fractures, when displaced, lead to long-term morbidity in a high percentage of patients, whereas, when non-displaced, they do not predispose patients to subsequent adverse complications. Importantly, an educational intervention can diminish the incidence of fracture displacement by enhancing awareness and providing instructions for earlier diagnosis of fatigue fractures

What can high-vitamin D foods do for you? * Help prevent a growing list of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, osteoporisis, breast cancer, colon cancer, and ovarian cancer * Help keep your bones and teeth strong and healthy * Regulate the growth and activity of your cells * Reduce inflammation What events can indicate a need for more foods rich in vitamin D? * Bone pain and/or soft bones * Frequent bone fractures * Bone deformities or growth retardation in children

"One of the surprises over the past year has been all the research regarding Vitamin D and brain health. Give that many people are spending less time outdoors and more time in front of their computers, we all should be concerned, as Vitamin D comes in part from our exposure to the sun. Low Vitamin D levels have been associated with pain, depression, MS, cancer and now perhaps even dementia. Here are the results of a new study that should cause all of us to pay attention. I frequently check the Vitamin D levels in my patients and frrequently see that they are below the optimal level. Get your levels checked if you have any of these concerns. A new large-scale senior population study has found that a lack of vitamin D in the elderly could be linked to cognitive impairment. The study, conducted on almost 2,000 adults over the age of 65, is the first of its scale to identify this relationship, and prompted researchers to suggest vitamin D supplementation as a possible means of reducing the risk of dementia. "

"D-vitamiinin saantisuositus moninkertaistettava Kansainvälinen paine D-vitamiinin saantisuosituksen korottamiseksi kasvaa. Suomessa viranomaissuositus aikuisille on 7,5 mikrogrammaa. Kalifornian yliopiston 18-henkinen tiedemiesryhmä vaatii suosituksen nostamista 2000 kansainväliseen yksikköön eli 50 mikrogrammaan. Suiomessa Pekka Puska haraa vastaan. Tohtori Anthony W. Norman ja hänen tiedemiesryhmänsä kutsuvat maailman muita tutkijoita toimiin ("call to action") aikuisten ihmisten D-vitamiinin saantisuosituksen nostamiseksi 50 mikrogrammaan päivässä. Normanin laatima pääkirjoitus D-vitamiinista julkaistiin joulukuun American Journal of Nutritionissa (linkki lopussa). "Päättäjien on syytä perehtyä tieteellisiin tutkimuksiin, jotka puoltavat suosituksen nostamista", sanoo tiedemiesryhmä. Se suosittelee elintarvikkeiden rikastamista D-vitamiinilla ja D-vitamiinin käyttöä ravintolisänä. Yhdysvalloissa viranomaissuositus on alle 50-vuotiaille aikuisille 5 µg, 51-70 -vuotiaille 10 µg ja yli 70-vuotiaille 15 µg. Suomessa suositus on 7,5 µg alle 60-vuotiaille ja 10 µg sitä vanhemmille. "Amerikkalaiset tiedemiehet allekirjoittivat lausunnon, jonka mukaan aikuisen [amerikkalaisen] ihmisen D3-vitamiinin tarve on 2000 kansainvälistä yksikköä [eli 50 mikrogrammaa] vuorokaudessa", sanoo Norman. "Suositeltu annos on täysin turvallinen", hän korostaa ja viittaa Yhdysvaltain tiedeakatemian (National Academy of Sciences) lausuntoon."

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

Scientists have long known that a lack of vitamin D can weaken our bones. A new study shows that low levels of this nutrient may also be linked to a higher chance of dying early from heart and circulation problems, as well as other causes.