Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

Vitamin D and skin physiology: a D-lightful story. Holick MF, Chen TC, Lu Z, Sauter E. J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Dec;22 Suppl 2:V28-33. PMID: 18290718 doi: 10.1359/jbmr.07s211 Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and those that do have a very variable vitamin D content. Recently it was observed that wild caught salmon had between 75% and 90% more vitamin D(3) compared with farmed salmon. The associations regarding increased risk of common deadly cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease with living at higher latitudes and being prone to vitamin D deficiency should alert all health care professionals about the importance of vitamin D for overall health and well being. Humans have depended on sunlight for their vitamin D requirement. The impact of season, time of day, and latitude on vitamin D synthesis is well documented.(2,3) We now report that altitude also has a dramatic influence on vitamin D3 production and that living at altitudes above 3500 m permits previtamin D3 production at a time when very little is produced at latitudes below 3400 m. It was surprising that, at 27° N in Agra (169 M), little previtamin D3 production was observed. However, there was significant air pollution that caused a haze over the city. It is likely the ozone and other UVB-absorbing pollutants in the air prevented the solar UVB photons from reaching the earth's surface to produce previtamin D3.

The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) is preparing a vitamin D policy paper it hopes can influence European national associations considering vitamin D medical recommendations. PA International Foundation is hosting an event on the topic in Bruges, Belgium, on October 6, its 14th workshop to be held on the matter. The CPME draft paper will be presented at the convention attended by doctors, scientists, patient groups, media representatives and politicians.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of winter-time depression experienced by people those who live in northern latitudes such as those of New York, Seattle, all of Canada, and Northern Europe. I believe it is primarily a disorder of sunlight/vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D, when administered in late winter, produces a positive effect on mood in only five days.[1] One theory for this is that vitamin D stimulates the brain to produce more serotonin. In a wintertime experiment, serum vitamin D levels doubled in six months through supplementation and dramatically increased scores on a wellbeing assessment.[2] Two groups were given either 1,000 IU or 4,000 IU of vitamin D daily. And although both groups improved, the higher dose produced better results.

Despite inadequacies in information concerning the minimum prophylactic requirement of vitamin D for all age groups beyond infancy, there is no doubt that a total intake of 400 I.U. per day is adequate to prevent vitamin D deficiency in substantially all normal children from birth through adolescence. Evidence derived from the study of idiopathic hypercalcemia suggests that certain infants excessively sensitive to the toxic action of vitamin D may, on rare occasions, be adversely affected by daily intakes of 3,000 to 4,000 I.U. and sometimes considerably less. Because of the prevalent practice of food fortification in the United States and Canada, there is now a definite possibility that the individual, even the young infant, may ingest considerably more than the recommended vitamin D allowance, and intakes of 2,000 to 3,500 I.U. per day are possible, particularly beyond infancy. Although there has been no specific evidence that intakes of this order produce deleterious effects beyond infancy, it is pointed out that the long-term consequences of this new nutritional situation on older children or adults are entirely unknown.

SUOMALAISTEN KANSANRAVITSEMUS RAVITSEMUSSUOSITUKSET JA TOIMINTAOHJELMA Yleiset ravitsemussuositukset terveelle väestölle Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunta on antanut uusimmat suomalaiset ravitsemussuositukset vuonna 2005. Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö on uudistanut D-vitamiinivalmisteiden käyttösuositukset vuonna 2003. Toimintaohjelma kansallisten ravitsemussuositusten toteuttamiseksi on julkaistu vuonna 2003. Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunnan julkaisemia ruokamallikuvia saa käyttää vapaasti opetuskäyttössä, kunhan lähde mainitaan. © Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunta

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 25, 2009 -- Coming on the heels of the publishing in the Annals of Epidemiology of a new study led by Dr. Cedric Garland, on the preventive measures of vitamin D, GrassrootsHealth D*action Project is calling on physicians, health clinics and groups throughout the country to recognize the need for determining vitamin D levels and to ensure the public have their blood levels of vitamin D tested. According to research from the newly published study by Cedric F. Garland, Dr. P.H., FACE, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Moores Cancer Center of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), "It is projected that raising the minimum year-around serum 25(OH)D level to 40-60 ng/ml (100-150 nmol/L) would prevent approximately 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer each year, and three quarters of deaths from these diseases, in the US and Canada."

The same annual dose of 292 000 IU of vitamin D(3) (cholecalciferol) on either daily or four monthly basis for elderly women: 1-year comparative study of the effects on serum 25(OH)D(3) concentrations and renal function. Pekkarinen T, Välimäki VV, Aarum S, Turpeinen U, Hämäläinen E, Löyttyniemi E, Välimäki MJ. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2009 May 25. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19486025 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2009.03637.x

In the July 2005 FASEB Journal, Adrian F. Gombart of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his colleagues reported that vitamin D boosts production in white blood cells of one of the antimicrobial compounds that defends the body against germs.\n\nImmediately, Cannell says, the proverbial lightbulb went on in his head: Maybe the high doses of vitamin D that he had been prescribing to virtually all the men on his ward had boosted their natural arsenal of the antimicrobial, called cathelicidin, and protected them from flu. Cannell had been administering the vitamin D because his patients, like many other people in the industrial world, had shown a deficiency:

"Älä unohda D-vitamiinia Kalsiumin merkitys luuston hyvinvoinnin kannalta on pureutunut ihmisten mieliin tukevasti, mutta D-vitamiinin tärkeys luustolle on jostain syystä jäänyt vähemmälle huomiolle. Se on luiden haurastumisen ehkäisyn kannalta kuitenkin yhtä ratkaisevan tärkeässä asemassa kuin kalsiumkin. Ihminen saa D-vitamiinia erityisesti auringonvalosta, joka tekee suomalaisista pohjoisen pallonpuoliskon valottomuuden "uhreja". - Suomalaiset eivät saa riittävästi auringonvaloa, minkä takia kärsimme D-vitamiinin puutteesta oikeastaan ympäri vuoden, Tuppurainen kertoo. D-vitamiinin saaminen tulisikin turvata toisin keinoin, esimerkiksi ruokavalion avulla: luustolle korvaamattoman arvokasta vitamiinia saa etenkin kalasta."

"Kuluttajille on eräillä keskustelufoorumeilla yritelty uskotella, että öljypohjaiset D-vitamiinivalmisteet omaavat paremman biologisen hyväksikäytettävyyden kuin D-vitamiinitabletit, mutta tälle väitteelle ei löydy mitään tukea tieteellisestä kirjallisuudesta. Norjalaistutkimuksessa verrattiin D3-vitamiinia sisältävät multivitamiinitabletin ja D3-vitamiinia sisältävän kalaöljykapselin vaikutuksia seerumin (veren) 25-OH-D-vitamiinipitoisuuteen (S-25(OH)D). Koehenkilöt saivat neljän viikon ajan 10 mikrogrammaa D3-vitamiinia joko tableteista tai öljykapseleista. Tablettiryhmässä S-25(OH)D-pitoisuus nousi keskimäärin 35,8 nmol/l ja kapseliryhmässä 32,3 nmol/l. "We conclude that fish oil capsules and multivitamin tablets containing 10 microg cholecalciferol administered over a 4-week period produced a similar mean increase in s-25(OH)D concentration", päättelivät tutkijat. Vuotta aiemmin julkaistussa suomalaistutkimuksessa havaittiin, että D3-vitamiini imeytyy erilaisista leivistä samalla tehokkuudella kuin D-vitamiinivalmisteesta. Kanadalaistutkijat raportoivat juuston osalta samanlaisia tuloksia. Vuonna 2003 jenkkitutkijat totesivat, että "fat is not required for vitamin D to be bioavailable." Mainittakoon lopuksi, että D3-vitamiinitabletteihin lisätään yleensä D3-vitamiinivalmistetta, jossa on öljy jo valmiina. Ainesosaluetteloissa lukee lähes säännönmukaisesti "D3-vitamiinivalmiste" ja sen jälkeen suluissa pelkkä aktiiviaine eli "kolekalsiferoli" tai "sisältää mm. kolekalsiferolia ja soijaöljyä" tai jotain vastaavaa. Tämä D3-vitamiinivalmiste on sitten ympäröity täyteaineilla, jotka eivät vaikuta D3-vitamiinin imeytymiseen millään tavalla. Tabletti hajoaa hyvin nopeasti maha-suolikanavassa."

"Osteoporoosin aiheuttama luun haurastuminen ja siihen liittyvät luunmurtumat ovat jo nyt kansanterveydellisesti merkittävä ongelma. Lähes puolet yli 50-vuotiaista naisista tulee loppuelämänsä aikana saamaan jonkin osteoporoottisen luunmurtuman. Suomessa arvioidaan olevan n. 400 000 osteoporoosia sairastavaa potilasta, osteoporoottisia murtumia Suomessa syntyy n. 40 000 vuosittain, näistä lonkkamurtumia on n. 8000. Lonkkamurtumien määrän ennustetaan lähes kolminkertaistuvan vuoteen 2030 mennessä. Luuta muodostetaan ja hajotetaan läpi koko elämän. Kasvukauden ajan uutta luuta muodostuu enemmin kuin hajoaa. Luut saavuttavat perintötekijöiden määräämän huippumassansas suotuisissa ympäristöolosuhteissa noin 20-vuoden iässä. Terveellä aikuisella luun määrä pysyy vakiona, jos elintavat ovat terveelliset. Vaihdevuosi-ikää lähestyttäessä luun määrä alkaa naisella vähentyä, miehilläkin luun määrä vähenee ikääntymisen myötä. Kun luuntiheys on DEXA-mittauksessa n. 25-30 prosenttia alle nuoren aikuisen keskimääräisen luuntiheyden, on diagnoosina osteoporoosi ( T-score

After much consideration into this blog's new name in the light of my new direction, the decision has been made. "Free the Animal" Why? First, if you read that post linked above, you know that my health and fitness approach is perfectly in harmony with my philosophical approach; and hence, my approach to politics and all that. In other words, a big part of the reason I have discovered something that truly works; and moreover, is the simplest, most natural, downright fun way of living: that gets you lean and fit; gets you feeling and sleeping great; and gets you looking years and years younger is precisely because I don't believe in the gods of heaven or earth, we evolved over millions of years and are conditioned by survival pressures that in no way include all vegetable diets, gorging on bottled water all day, eating ground grass seeds (grains and derivatives) running on a treadmill or elliptical, or involving ourselves in social schemes and cons that leave us powerless, with no influence, and at the mercy of the crowd and collective (the cannibal pot). Some have a lot of the pieces and do good work. I have all of the major pieces, though acquiring all of the specifics is a lifelong and never-ending journey of discovery. I will focus on essentials and specifics that really matter to me and others living a normal life in pursuit of survival, prosperity and happiness. I will point to other sources that provide more depth in specific areas that are of interest to only some

"Hypokalsemialla tarkoitetaan tilaa, jossa seerumin kalsiumin pitoisuus on pienentynyt. Koska kalsiumi eli kalkki on välttämätöntä mm. lihasten toiminnalle, vaikea hypokalsemia aiheuttaa lihaskramppeja, kouristuksia ja sydämen toimintahäiriöitä. Yleensä kalsiumin puute on kuitenkin lievä ja oireena ovat raajojen pistely ja puutuminen. Tavallisimpia hypokalsemian syitä ovat lisäkilpirauhasen vajaatoiminta, munuaisten vajaatoiminta ja D-vitamiinin puute. Hoitona käytetään perussairauden hoitoa, kalsiumin antamista joko tabletteina tai vaikeissa tilanteissa injektioina ja tarvittaessa D-vitamiinia."

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

High-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in a cohort of breastfeeding mothers and their infants: a 6-month follow-up pilot study. Wagner CL, Hulsey TC, Fanning D, Ebeling M, Hollis BW. Breastfeed Med. 2006 Summer;1(2):59-70. PMID: 17661565 doi:10.1089/bfm.2006.1.59. Objective: To examine the effect of high-dose maternal vitamin D3 (vitD) supplementation on the nutritional vitD status of breastfeeding (BF) women and their infants compared with maternal and infant controls receiving 400 and 300 IU vitD/day, respectively. Design: Fully lactating women (n = 19) were enrolled at 1-month postpartum into a randomized- control pilot trial. Each mother received one of two treatments for a 6-month study period: 0 or 6000 IU vitD3 plus a prenatal vitamin containing 400 IU vitD3. The infants of mothers assigned to the control group received 300 IU vitD3/day; those infants of mothers in the high-dose group received 0 IU (placebo). Maternal serum and milk vitD and 25(OH)D were measured at baseline then monthly; infant serum vitD and 25(OH)D were measured at baseline, and months 4 and 7. Urinary calcium/creatinine ratios were measured monthly in both mothers and infants. Dietary and BF history and outdoor activity questionnaires were completed at each visit. Changes in skin pigmentation were measured by spectrophotometry. Data were analyzed using chi-square, t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) on an intent-to-treat basis. Conclusion: With limited sun exposure, an intake of 400 IU/day vitamin D3 did not sustain circulating maternal 25(OH)D levels, and thus, supplied only extremely limited amounts of vitamin D to the nursing infant via breast milk. Infant levels achieved exclusively through maternal supplementation were equivalent to levels in infants who received oral vitamin D supplementation. Thus, a maternal intake of 6400 IU/day vitamin D elevated circulating 25(OH)D in both mother and nursing infant.

"Lisa is one of early success stories: a heart scan score of 447 in her early 40's, modest reduction of CT heart scan score three years ago. However, Lisa had a difficult time locating oil-based vitamin D. There has, in fact, been a national run on vitamin D and I'm told that even manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with the booming demand. So, she bought tablets instead and was taking 3000 units per day. She came in for a routine check. Lisa's 25-OH-vitamin D3: 17 ng/ml, signifying severe deficiency, the same as if she were taking nothing at all. (Recall that we aim for 50 ng/ml.) In other words, vitamin D tablets do not work. It is shameful. I see numerous women taking calcium tablets with D--the vitamin D does not work. I've actually seen blood levels of zero on these preparations. "

"Olmesartan (trade names Benicar, Olmetec) is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist used to treat high blood pressure. The prodrug olmesartan medoxomil is marketed worldwide by Daiichi Sankyo, Ltd. and in the United States by Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. and in India by Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. under the trade name Olvance. Olmesartan may possess high affinity for the Vitamin D Receptor, based on molecular modeling studies[2], but these results have not been duplicated in clinical trials. Because of the role of the Vitamin D receptor in innate immunity[3], this would indicate that olmesartan has immune modulatory properties. This theory is currently the premise underlying the Marshall Protocol, which uses olmesartan to impose a chemical blockade on 1,25 Vitamin D as part of a treatment of sarcoidosis and other diseases. The Marshall Protocol asserts that, assuming the etiology of these diseases is based on infection by cell-wall-deficient bacteria, restoring proper Vitamin D ratios via olmesartan dosing, combined with pulsed antibiotic dosing, would result in a cure.!

D-vitamiinin turvallisuutta tarkasteltaessa pitää huomioida ainakin seuraavat kaksi asiaa: 1) Nykyiset saantisuositukset ja turvallisuurajat ovat aivan liian pieniä, kts. Viethin tutkimukset ja esim. Merckin manuaalista "Vitamin D toxicity". 2) On olemassa näyttöä siitä, että nykyisenkaltaisten suositusten seuraaminen voi altistaa tietyille kroonisille taudeille monia yksilöitä, joiden auringonvalon saanti on syystä tai toisesta rajoitettu (talvisaika 40 leveyasteiden ulkopuolella, liian peittävä vaatetus (musliminaiset) jne..). Tällaisia tauteja ovat mm. tyypin 1 diabetes, multippeli skleroosi ja muut autoimmuunisairaudet, monet syövät (eturauhassyövästä on aika hyvää näyttöä), reuma, osteoporoosi, korkea verenpaine, kaamosmasennus, jne .... Jättiannokset ovat myrkyllisiä, mutta liian vähäinen saantikin voi olla huomattava turvallisuusriski.

"For what reason I don't know, but this January 2009 editorial by William Faloon of the Life Extension Foundation is making the rounds. Perhaps it just came available on the web. It's a good read, particularly in light of the billions and trillions of dollars the thieves & thugs in DC are about to flush down the crapper on your behalf. Some notable excerpts. A large number of new vitamin D studies have appeared in the scientific literature since I wrote my plea to the federal government. These studies don't just confirm what we knew 16 months ago-they show that optimizing vitamin D intake will save even more lives than what we projected. For instance, a study published in June 2008 showed that men with low vitamin D levels suffer 2.42 times more heart attacks. Now look what this means in actual body counts. Each year, about 157,000 Americans die from coronary artery disease-related heart attacks. Based on this most recent study, if every American optimized their vitamin D status, the number of deaths prevented from this kind of heart attack would be 92,500. To put the number of lives saved in context, tens of millions of dollars are being spent to advertise that Lipitor® reduces heart attacks by 37%. This is certainly a decent number, but not when compared with how many lives could be saved by vitamin D. According to the latest study, men with the higher vitamin D levels had a 142% reduction in heart attacks."

Small but significant breakthrough studies on people who have been able to overcome or control HIV were presented at a major world conference on ways to stem the three-decade-old disease. One study focused on a group of 12 patients in France who began treatment on antiretroviral drugs within 10 weeks of becoming infected with human immunodeficiency virus, but then stopped the therapy after nearly three years.