Posted on 03/05/2010 9:35:58 AM PST by decimon
There’s an epidemic in progress, and it has nothing to do with the flu. A ground-breaking study published in the March 2010 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found an astonishing 59 per cent of study subjects had too little Vitamin D in their blood. Nearly a quarter of the group had serious deficiencies (less than 20 ng/ml) of this important vitamin. Since Vitamin D insufficiency is linked to increased body fat, decreased muscle strength and a range of disorders, this is a serious health issue.
“Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for other diseases,” explains principal investigator, Dr. Richard Kremer, co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the Research Institute of the MUHC. “Because it is linked to increased body fat, it may affect many different parts of the body. Abnormal levels of Vitamin D are associated with a whole spectrum of diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders.”
The study by Dr. Kremer and co-investigator Dr. Vincente Gilsanz, head of musculoskeletal imaging at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles of the University of Southern California, is the first to show a clear link between Vitamin D levels and the accumulation of fat in muscle tissue – a factor in muscle strength and overall health. Scientists have known for years that Vitamin D is essential for muscle strength. Studies in the elderly have showed bedridden patients quickly gain strength when given Vitamin D.
The study results are especially surprising, because study subjects – all healthy young women living in California – could logically be expected to benefit from good diet, outdoor activities and ample exposure to sunshine – the trigger that causes the body to produce Vitamin D.
(Excerpt) Read more at muhc.ca ...
Vitamin D is not a vitamin at all — in its active form it is the most powerful steroid hormone in our bodies.
Vitamin D isn’t even a nutrient! It comes from the sun, not from nutrition!
When human skin is exposed to sufficiently powerful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight, a form of cholesterol contained in our skin (“7-dehydrocholesterol”) is converted into the precursor of Vitamin D, called “cholecalciferol”. This is then converted by our liver into the inactive bulk storage form of vitamin D that blood tests measure (“25-hydroxyvitamin D”). Although Vitamin D is present in limited amounts in cod liver oil and some fatty fish (salmon, mackerel and tuna), it is essentially unavailable in metabolically useful quantities from dietary sources.
As we age, our skin gradually loses its youthful cholesterol and its ability to synthesize Vitamin D declines over time. Although it has not been widely studied, some reports indicate that by the age of 50, Vitamin D production has fallen to approximately 50% of its original rate, and by the age of 65 production will have fallen to just 25% of its original capability. And independent of age, the skin’s melanin pigmentation — either from natural genetic racial coloration or tanning adaptation — acts to absorb much of the sun’s visible and ultraviolet radiation. This skin darkening has the beneficial effect of protecting our skin from UV radiation damage, but at the expense of further reducing the skin’s rate and capacity for Vitamin D production. (Melanin is 99.9% efficient in absorbing the energy from ultraviolet light, converting it into harmless heat energy.)
I ran into this a while back, and I got to thinking about it, since I take 1000 IU Vit D a day. My sleep patterns have improved, so has, I feel, my memory.
I was thinking that computers have caused me to stay indoors too much, and I’m not getting the Sun’s effects.
“...it is difficult-to-impossible to get enough vitamin D producing sunlight north of south Florida.”
My understanding is that you don’t need the direct sunlight, just the rays from the Sun, which is abundant, even on cloudy days?
1000IU daily seems to be the new minimum recommended amount. For adults, that is.
A friend of my Wife’s, says I should be taking 1600. But, D becomes toxic at about 50,000 in a Month’s time, right?
I’m looking to see where I got that piece of the article I posted above, it was really helpful, but I just saved it as a text file. {oops}
My understanding is quite the opposite. You need UVB light which is blocked by clouds and by glass.
See post #19. The reason you can't make vitamin D in the winter, at higher latitudes, is that the Sun is low to the horizon. At that attitude the atmosphere blocks UVB. Think about it and that would apply to the early and late hours even in the summertime.
The info in post #19 made me think about how much beneficial sunlight I actually get and I decided that I don't get much. So I supplement.
I started taking supplements about 2 years ago, and have felt a lot better, and did not get the flu or colds since then, although I did get a sore throat and runny nose which lasted for 1 day.
I used to get several colds that lasted for a couple of weeks. Maybe it's the placebo effect, but I intend to keep taking the supplements.
If John McCain gets his way, you won’t be able to buy Vit. D or anything else without his say so!
Pop Quiz: Which D.C. Politician Wants to Takeover Your Vitamins?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2464287/posts
Oh, goodie. I’m at 33.11 deg! Now all I have to do is... more yardwork. LOL
I've been taking 7,000IU a day for some months so I think my bones would by now be dust if 50,000IU a month would do it.
But you are asking for specific advice I'm not qualified to give. I post a lot of these articles for informational purposes but I'm simply not qualified to give medical advice.
Yeah, McCain. You never know what he might do.
Gave that some thought, too. In the winter you might have some minutes a day of beneficial sunlight. You'd have to have a sunny day and be able to catch that short window when the sun is highest in the sky.
Fat bottomed girls.
Ah, ok.
The body is supplied naturally with vitamin D by the conversion of cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D by ultraviolet light of the sun.
Cholesterol moves slowly into the skin, though, so after just 20 minutes exposed to the ultraviolet light of the full summer sun, all the available cholesterol has been converted to D.
Spring and fall sunlight contains less ultraviolet light, though, so it makes sense to get more sun in the spring and fall.
“Spring and fall sunlight contains less ultraviolet light, though, so it makes sense to get more sun in the spring and fall.”
In the reading I’ve done about Vitamin D I’ve never seen that recommendation, including numerous Vitamin D Council newsletters (John Cannell, M.D.). In fact, the recommendations all point to summer sun as the best for Vitamin D stimulation due to the decreased angle of incidence and resultant increase in ultraviolet energy. Of course, I may have missed it...I’d be interested in any links or studies you might have regarding spring and fall being better for Vitamin D generation.
I take between 4-8K a day. I know an anti-
aging doc. He takes 20K a day if he’s
fighting a cold. Says it’s not toxic at
that dose .. in fact, many anti-aging docs
believe it’s not toxic until you get to
around 50K a day level.
He says the current recommended adult dose
is 5K a day.
Two friends of mine have had to take 50K a
week for almost 2 months, they were so deficient.
I’m a big believer, but as always: do your own
due diligence.
Well, that settles it. Tomorrow afternoon, I’m taking a book and a chair to the back yard. It’s supposed to be nice and sunny.
Previous FR thread
The vitamin D miracle: Is it for real?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401559/posts
Plus, I tend to live in sunny areas and enjoy being out in the sun and I soak some D up that good ol' natural way.
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