Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

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.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with BV and may contribute to the strong racial disparity in the prevalence of BV. Maternal vitamin D deficiency is associated with bacterial vaginosis in the first trimester of pregnancy. Bodnar LM, Krohn MA, Simhan HN. J Nutr. 2009 Jun;139(6):1157-61. Epub 2009 Apr 8. PMID: 19357214 doi:10.3945/jn.108.103168

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.

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.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with worse cognitive performance and lower bone density in older African Americans. Wilkins CH, Birge SJ, Sheline YI, Morris JC. J Natl Med Assoc. 2009 Apr;101(4):349-54. PMID: 19397226 CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency in older African Americans was associated with worse cognitive performance and lower BMD of the hip

"November 24, 2009 | Lisa Nainggolan Orlando, FL - Inadequate levels of vitamin D are associated with an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, a new observational study has found. Dr Tami L Bair (Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, UT) reported the findings here at the American Heart Association 2009 Scientific Sessions. Bair and colleagues followed more than 27 000 people 50 years or older with no history of cardiovascular disease for just over a year and found that those with very low levels of vitamin D (30 ng/mL). Those deficient in vitamin D were also twice as likely to develop heart failure as those with normal levels. "We concluded that even a moderate deficiency of vitamin D was associated with developing coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, and death," said coauthor Dr Heidi May (Intermountain Medical Center). However, "it is not known whether this is a cause and effect relationship," she told heartwire. Because this study was observational, more research is needed "to better establish the association between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease," she noted."

Severe vitamin D deficiency in Swiss hip fracture patients. Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Can U, Staehelin HB, Platz A, Henschkowski J, Michel BA, Dawson-Hughes B, Theiler R. Bone. 2008 Mar;42(3):597-602. Epub 2007 Nov 28. PMID: 18180211 BACKGROUND: Most clinical guidelines for the prevention of hip fractures recommend 800 IU vitamin D per day. This dose shifted serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (25(OH)D) in previous studies to between 60 and 100 nmol/l. AIM: To measure 25(OH)D levels and prevalence of vitamin D supplementation in individuals age 65+ with acute hip fracture. METHODS: 222 consecutive hip fracture patients were investigated over a 12 month period. Mean age of patients was 86 years and 77% were women. RESULTS: Mean serum 25(OH)D levels were low among hip fracture patients admitted from home (34.6 nmol/l), from assisted living (27.7 nmol/l), and from nursing homes (24 nmol/l). Severe vitamin D deficiency below 30 nmol/l was present in 60%, 80% were below 50 nmol/l, and less than 4% reached desirable levels of at least 75 nmol/l. Consistently, only 10% of hip fracture patients had any vitamin D supplementation on admission to acute care with significantly higher 25(OH)D levels among individuals supplemented with 800-880 IU/day (63.5 nmol/l). Controlling for age and gender, vitamin D supplementation, type of dwelling, and season were independently and significantly associated with 25(OH)D levels. CONCLUSION: These data provide evidence that current guidelines for the prevention of hip fractures need further effort to be translated into clinical practice.

Twice single doses of 100,000 IU of vitamin D in winter is adequate and safe for prevention of vitamin D deficiency in healthy children from Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina. Tau C, Ciriani V, Scaiola E, Acuña M. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007 Mar;103(3-5):651-4. Epub 2007 Jan 25. PMID: 17257830 doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2006.12.027 These results disclosed that to prevent vitamin D deficiency for children at zones of risk at the south of our country, double supplementation of 100,000 IU of vitamin D during autumn and winter, would be adequate and safe.

"Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. In a national study in 1010 men, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, researchers say the new findings build on previous studies showing that deficiencies in vitamin D and low levels of estrogen, found naturally in differing amounts in men and women, were independent risk factors for hardened and narrowed arteries and weakened bones. Vitamin D is an essential part to keeping the body healthy, and can be obtained from fortified foods, such as milk and cereals, and by exposure to sunlight.

Association of vitamin D deficiency with cognitive impairment in older women. Cross-sectional study. Annweiler C, Schott AM, Allali G, Bridenbaugh SA, Kressig RW, Allain P, Herrmann FR, Beauchet O. Neurology. 2009 Sep 30. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19794127 doi:10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181beecd3 Conclusions: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D deficiency was associated with cognitive impairment in this cohort of community-dwelling older women.

Vitamin D in preventive medicine: are we ignoring the evidence? Zittermann A. Br J Nutr. 2003 May;89(5):552-72. Review. PMID: 12720576 Vitamin D is metabolised by a hepatic 25-hydroxylase into 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and by a renal 1alpha-hydroxylase into the vitamin D hormone calcitriol. Calcitriol receptors are present in more than thirty different tissues. Apart from the kidney, several tissues also possess the enzyme 1alpha-hydroxylase, which is able to use circulating 25(OH)D as a substrate. Serum levels of 25(OH)D are the best indicator to assess vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, hypovitaminosis, adequacy, and toxicity. European children and young adults often have circulating 25(OH)D levels in the insufficiency range during wintertime. Elderly subjects have mean 25(OH)D levels in the insufficiency range throughout the year. In institutionalized subjects 25(OH)D levels are often in the deficiency range. There is now general agreement that a low vitamin D status is involved in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Moreover, vitamin D insufficiency can lead to a disturbed muscle function. Epidemiological data also indicate a low vitamin D status in tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, hypertension, and specific types of cancer. Some intervention trials have demonstrated that supplementation with vitamin D or its metabolites is able: (i) to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive patients; (ii) to improve blood glucose levels in diabetics; (iii) to improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. The oral dose necessary to achieve adequate serum 25(OH)D levels is probably much higher than the current recommendations of 5-15 microg/d.

Vitamin D status: measurement, interpretation, and clinical application. Holick MF. Ann Epidemiol. 2009 Feb;19(2):73-8. Epub 2008 Mar 10. Review. PMID: 18329892 Conclusion The only way to determine whether a person is vitamin D deficient or sufficient is to measure their circulating level of 25(OH)D. There are a variety of assays used to measure 25(OH)D. The radioimmunoassays and competitive protein binding assays for 25(OH)D are useful in detecting vitamin D deficiency and sufficiency. However, these assays are fraught with technical difficulties, especially if they are not run routinely (Fig. 4) (33). Several reference laboratories have now switched to LC-MS ,which measures both 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 quantitatively. The total 25(OH)D, i.e., 25(OH)D2 plus 25(OH)D3, is what physicians need to be aware of for their patients. A level >30 ng/mL is

The dependency of vitamin D status on body mass index, gender, age and season. Lagunova Z, Porojnicu AC, Lindberg F, Hexeberg S, Moan J. Anticancer Res. 2009 Sep;29(9):3713-20. PMID: 19667169 CONCLUSION: The 25(OH)D3 level, as well as its seasonal variation and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, are all dependent on BMI, and age separately. The results of the study suggest that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men with BMI > or = 40 are vitamin D deficient.

Women who are vitamin D deficient when they are diagnosed with breast cancer are more likely to have their disease spread and are more likely to die than women who have adequate vitamin D levels, new Canadian research says. The study found that women who were vitamin D deficient were 94 per cent more likely to have their cancer metastasize (spread) and 73 per cent more likely to die. The research was led by Dr. Pamela Goodwin, a breast cancer researcher at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. The study analyzed blood samples and disease outcome from more than 500 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1989 and 1995. Women were followed up for an average of 11 years.

Tuli jo pari mailia, että paljonko sitä D-vitskua nyt pitää sitten ottaa. Heaney suositteli ravintolisänä vähintään 2000 IU:ta eli 50 mcg vuorokaudessa. Suomessa kannattanee talvella ottaa vieläkin enemmän. 400 IU = 10 mcg. Anonyymi postasi kommenttiosioon mielenkiintoisen videon "Whats a Vitamin D Deficiency?". Tällä 44 minuutin kestoisella videolla luennoi maailman johtava D-vitamiiniasiantuntija, sisätautilääkäri Robert Heaney, M.D. Voit katsella videon napsauttamalla tästä.

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.

Diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency. Cannell JJ, Hollis BW, Zasloff M, Heaney RP. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2008 Jan;9(1):107-18. PMID: 18076342 DOI 10.1517/14656566.9.1.107

According to a study conducted by University of Wisconsin researchers, even people who are regularly exposed to sunlight can have low vitamin D levels. The study focused on subjects who lived in sunny Hawaii and spent an average of 11.1 hours in the sun each week. (None of the participants in the study used any type of sunscreen.) Despite the exposure, 51 percent of participants were found to be deficient in vitamin D.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 10, 2009) - Vitamin D is significantly associated with muscle power and force in adolescent girls, according to a new study. Although vitamin D is naturally produced in the body through exposure to direct sunlight, vitamin D deficiency has become widely common in the United States. Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to have a significant negative impact on muscle and bone health, and can lead to conditions including osteoporosis and rickets.