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25-hydroxyvitamin D, IGF-1, and metabolic syndrome at 45 years of age: a cross-sectional study in the 1958 British Birth Cohort. Hyppönen E, Boucher BJ, Berry DJ, Power C. Diabetes. 2008 Feb;57(2):298-305. Epub 2007 Nov 14. PMID: 18003755 doi: 10.2337/db07-1122 CONCLUSIONS-Serum 25(OH)D is inversely associated with metabolic syndrome, whereas the inverse association with IGF-1 was found only among those without hypovitaminosis D. These results suggest that metabolic syndrome prevalence is the lowest when both 25(OH)D and IGF-1 are high.

Vitamin D is safe when used in physiological doses (those used by Nature). Physiological doses are 3,000-5,000 IU/day, from all sources (sun, diet and supplements). Should hypercalcemia occur with such doses, it is due to vitamin D hypersensitivity syndrome, not vitamin D toxicity. Vitamin D hypersensitivity syndromes include conditions such as primary hyperparathyroidism, occult cancers (especially lymphoma) or granulomatous disease (especially sarcoidosis). In such cases, treatment of vitamin D deficiency should be done under the care of a knowledgeable physician. A serum 25(OH)D, serum 1,25(OH)D, PTH and SMA will lead the clinician in the right direction.

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.

"* Low levels of vitamin D were associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers. * The highest levels of vitamin D were found in whites, the lowest levels in blacks and intermediate levels in Mexican-Americans. PALM HARBOR, Fla., March 11, 2009 - Low levels of vitamin D were associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention."

"March 18, 2009 | Marlene Busko Palm Harbor, FL - In a large study of adolescents, low serum levels of 25-dihydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) strongly predicted prevalence of hypertension, hyperglycemia, and metabolic syndrome [1]. The findings were reported at the AHA 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. Adolescents with vitamin-D levels in the lowest quartile were almost four times more likely to have metabolic syndrome than those with vitamin-D levels in the highest quartile. "I think that is quite alarming," lead author Dr Jared P Reis (Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD) said in an AHA podcast issued to the media."

Parathyroid hormone, but not vitamin D, is associated with the metabolic syndrome in morbidly obese women and men: a cross-sectional study. Hjelmesaeth J, Hofsø D, Aasheim ET, Jenssen T, Moan J, Hager H, Røislien J, Bollerslev J. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2009 Feb 3;8:7. PMID: 19187564 doi:10.1186/1475-2840-8-7 CONCLUSION: The PTH level, but not the vitamin D level, is an independent predictor of MS in treatment seeking morbidly obese Caucasian women and men. Randomized controlled clinical trials, including different therapeutic strategies to lower PTH, e.g. calcium/vitamin D supplementation and weight reduction, are necessary to explore any cause-and-effect relationship.

Vitamin D deficiency is the cause of common obesity. Foss YJ. Med Hypotheses. 2009 Mar;72(3):314-21. Epub 2008 Dec 2. PMID: 19054627 doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2008.10.005 Common obesity and the metabolic syndrome may therefore result from an anomalous adaptive winter response. The stimulus for the winter response is proposed to be a fall in vitamin D. The synthesis of vitamin D is dependent upon the absorption of radiation in the ultraviolet-B range of sunlight. At ground level at mid-latitudes, UV-B radiation falls in the autumn and becomes negligible in winter. It has previously been proposed that vitamin D evolved in primitive organisms as a UV-B sensitive photoreceptor with the function of signaling changes in sunlight intensity. It is here proposed that a fall in vitamin D in the form of circulating calcidiol is the stimulus for the winter response, which consists of an accumulation of fat mass (obesity) and the induction of a winter metabolism (the metabolic syndrome). Vitamin D deficiency can account for the secular trends in the prevalence of obesity and for individual differences in its onset and severity. It may be possible to reverse the increasing prevalence of obesity by improving vitamin D status.

Silver Line Hospital offer treatment for reproductive endocrinology and infertility. We consider treatment for erectile dysfunction disorder, sexual dysfunction and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Hypovitaminosis D is associated with insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction. Chiu KC, Chu A, Go VL, Saad MF. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 May;79(5):820-5. PMID: 15113720 Conclusions: The data show a positive correlation of 25(OH)D concentration with insulin sensitivity and a negative effect of hypovitaminosis D on ß cell function. Subjects with hypovitaminosis D are at higher risk of insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Further studies are required to explore the underlying mechanisms.

Vitamin D and mood disorders among women: an integrative review. Murphy PK, Wagner CL. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2008 Sep-Oct;53(5):440-6. Review. PMID: 18761297 Four of six studies reviewed imparted significant results, with all four showing an association between low 25(OH)D levels and higher incidences of four mood disorders: premenstrual syndrome, seasonal affective disorder, non-specified mood disorder, and major depressive disorder. This review indicates a possible biochemical mechanism occurring between vitamin D and mood disorders affecting women, warranting further studies of these variables using rigorous methodologies.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentrations and carotid artery intima-media thickness among type 2 diabetic patients. Targher G, Bertolini L, Padovani R, Zenari L, Scala L, Cigolini M, Arcaro G. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2006 Nov;65(5):593-7. PMID: 17054459 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2006.02633.x CONCLUSIONS: Hypovitaminosis D is highly prevalent in type 2 diabetic adults and is strongly and independently associated with increased carotid IMT. Further investigation into whether vitamin D may play a role in the prevention of atherosclerosis appears to be warranted. In conclusion, our results show that type 2 diabetic adults have significant reductions in serum 25(OH)D concentrations (vs matched controls) that predict preclinical atherosclerosis, independent of classical risk factors, renal function tests, inflammatory markers, use of medications and presence of the metabolic syndrome. These findings suggest the need for ongoing evaluation of the possible protective role of vitamin D3 supplementation in the development of atherosclerosis.

This is a very long newsletter. I will answer questions about oil versus water-soluble Vitamin D, depression, mental clarity, malignant melanoma, Crohn's disease, an imagist poet, multiple sclerosis, sun-exposure, high-intensity red light and collagen repair in the skin, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, influenza, the 1918 influenza pandemic, statins, the new Food and Nutrition Board, thyroid disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, athletes, the upcoming 14th Vitamin D Workshop, prostate cancer, the wrong blood test, pregnancy, autism, Alzheimer's disease, soap and sebum, asthma, sleep, the co-factors vitamin D needs to work (all contained in spinach), and-my favorite-UVC light and Vitamin D

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 and calcium insufficiency-related chronic diseases: molecular and cellular pathophysiology. Peterlik M, Cross HS. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009 Dec;63(12):1377-86. Epub 2009 Sep 2. PMID: 19724293 doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.105 A compromised vitamin D status, characterized by low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D) serum levels, and a nutritional calcium deficit are widely encountered in European and North American countries, independent of age or gender. Both conditions are linked to the pathogenesis of many degenerative, malignant, inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Studies on tissue-specific expression and activity of vitamin D metabolizing enzymes, 25-(OH)D-1alpha-hydroxylase and 25-(OH)D-24-hydroxylase, and of the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) have led to the understanding of how, in non-renal tissues and cellular systems, locally produced 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) and extracellular Ca2+ act jointly as key regulators of cellular proliferation, differentiation and function. Impairment of cooperative signalling from the 1,25-(OH)2D3-activated vitamin D receptor (VDR) and from the CaR in vitamin D and calcium insufficiency causes cellular dysfunction in many organs and biological systems, and, therefore, increases the risk of diseases, particularly of osteoporosis, colorectal and breast cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus type I, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Understanding the underlying molecular and cellular processes provides a rationale for advocating adequate intake of vitamin D and calcium in all populations, thereby preventing many chronic diseases worldwide.

"Summer vs Winter Mode: Explaining AMPK Last year I read an article which made a statement that has not left my mind. The statement went as follows: "You are only good as your mitochondria." In fact, the more a dwell into the details of human metabolism, the more I sense that this is true - especially with the metabolic syndrome. For those who are not familiar with the concept of mitochondria, they are the tiny energy factories within the cells that produce cellular energy through aerobic means (meaning oxygen). Mitochondria utilize oxygen to ultimately produce Adenosine Triphosphate or simply ATP. ATP relays energy by donating a phosphate bond resulting in Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP). Another phosphate release would entail Adenosine Monophosphate or AMP. ATP is one of the main sources of cellular energy in the body

The Diet-Heart Hypothesis: Subdividing Lipoproteins Two posts ago, we made the rounds of the commonly measured blood lipids (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides) and how they associate with cardiac risk. It's important to keep in mind that many things associate with cardiac risk, not just blood lipids. For example, men with low serum vitamin D are at a 2.4-fold greater risk of heart attack than men with higher D levels. That alone is roughly equivalent to the predictive power of the blood lipids you get measured at the doctor's office. Coronary calcium scans (a measure of blood vessel calcification) also associate with cardiac risk better than the most commonly measured blood lipids. Lipoproteins Can be Subdivided into Several Subcategories In the continual search for better measures of cardiac risk, researchers in the 1980s decided to break down lipoprotein particles into sub-categories. One of these researchers is Dr. Ronald M. Krauss. Krauss published extensively on the association between lipoprotein size and cardiac risk, eventually concluding (source): The plasma lipoprotein profile accompanying a preponderance of small, dense LDL particles (specifically LDL-III) is associated with up to a threefold increase in the susceptibility of developing [coronary artery disease]. This has been demonstrated in case-control studies of myocardial infarction and angiographically documented coronary disease. Krauss found that small, dense LDL (sdLDL) doesn't travel alone: it typically comes along with low HDL and high triglycerides*. He called this combination of factors "lipoprotein pattern B"; its opposite is "lipoprotein pattern A": large, buoyant LDL, high HDL and low triglycerides. Incidentally, low HDL and high triglycerides are hallmarks of the metabolic syndrome, the quintessential modern metabolic disorder. Krauss and his colleagues went on to hypothesize that sdLDL promotes atherosclerosis because of its ability to penetrate the artery wall more easily

March 11, 2009 -- Low vitamin D levels greatly increase a teenager's risk of diabetes and heart disease, Johns Hopkins researchers find. It is becoming clear that adults who get too little vitamin D are at higher risk for diabetes and heart disease. Now, it appears vitamin D levels also affect these risks earlier in life, say Johns Hopkins researchers Jared P. Reis, PhD, and colleagues.