http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/vitamind/ en-us Sun, 6 Dec 2009 17:00:19 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401559/posts The claims have been sensational. Martin Mittelstaedt checks up on the research behind the hype ### In the summer of 1974, brothers Frank and Cedric Garland had a heretical brainwave. The young epidemiologists were watching a presentation on death rates from cancer county by county across the United States. As they sat in a lecture hall at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore looking at the colour-coded cancer maps, they noticed a striking pattern, with the map for colon cancer the most pronounced. Counties with high death rates were red; those with low rates were blue. Oddly, the nation was almost... Globe and Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401559/posts#comment Sun, 6 Dec 2009 17:00:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401183/posts ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new study has found that the amount of vitamin D (http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2008-mchi/4904.html) in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (http://www.mayoclinic.org/non-hodgkins-lymphoma/)was strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival. The results will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (http://www.hematology.org/) in New Orleans. "These are some of the strongest findings yet between vitamin D and cancer outcome," says the study's lead investigator, Matthew Drake, M.D., Ph.D., (http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/13726218.html) an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. "While these findings are very provocative, they are preliminary and need to be validated in other studies.... Mayo Clinic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401183/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 22:16:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2397976/posts Study suggests future way to identify vulnerable peopleANN ARBOR, Mich. — Previous studies have shown a link between low vitamin D status and heart disease. Now a new study shows that patients with high blood pressure who possess a gene variant that affects an enzyme critical to normal vitamin D activation are twice as likely as those without the variant to have congestive heart failure. "This study is the first indication of a genetic link between vitamin D action and heart disease," says Robert U. Simpson, professor of pharmacology at the University of Michigan Medical School and one of the... University of Michigan Health System http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2397976/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 23:04:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2392821/posts CORVALLIS, Ore. – A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic." On issues ranging from the health of your immune system to prevention of heart disease and even vulnerability to influenza, vitamin D is now seen as one of the most critical nutrients for overall health. But it's also one of those most likely to be deficient – especially during winter when... Oregon State University http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2392821/posts#comment Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:14:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278371/posts Within minutes, six-year-old Rubjit Thindal went from happily chatting in the back seat of the car to collapsing and dying in her father's arms. "If we had known it was so serious, we would have called 911,'' Kuldip Thindal, Rubjit's distraught mother, said in Punjabi yesterday. "She just had a stomach ache -- she wasn't even crying.'' Rubjit was pronounced dead at hospital barely 24 hours after showing signs of a fever. Later, doctors told her parents she had the H1N1 influenza virus. She is believed to be the youngest person in Canada with the virus to have died. GuelphMercury.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278371/posts#comment Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:04:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2386887/posts Effects of vitamin D deficiency amplified by shortage of estrogenResearchers 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... Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2386887/posts#comment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:59:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2386648/posts > Magnesium is a must. The diets of all Americans are likely to be deficient. Even a mild deficiency causes sensitiveness to noise, nervousness, irritability, mental depression, confusion, twitching, trembling, apprehension, insomnia, muscle weakness and cramps in the toes, feet, legs, or fingers. Folic acid deficiency can lead to neural tube closure defects (NTDs) and anemia. Zinc deficiency affects immune function, contributing to as many as 800,000 child deaths per year. Iodine deficiency is the leading preventable cause of brain damage and it can significantly lower the IQ of whole populations. > Next Big Future http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2386648/posts#comment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:16:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2386143/posts It's emblazoned across the front page of USA Today, just underneath a subhead declaring Michael Jackson was, indeed, killed by a drug overdose: "Flu could infect half of USA." The article goes on to describe the predicted number of deaths expected in the U.S. (30,000 - 90,000 Americans) as well as the actions being taken by the government to protect Americans from the coming swine flu pandemic. That advice reads sort of like a comic book of health care advice for kindergarteners: Wash your hands, cover your mouth if you cough and let "the grownups" take care of the rest... Natural News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2386143/posts#comment Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:44:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381833/posts With new studies showing the sun vitamin may slow come cancers, some physicians are eager to add it to treatment programs Responding to research indicating that vitamin D may slow the progression of breast, colon and other common cancers, some doctors have begun adding the supplement to their tool kit of cancer therapies alongside more conventional treatments such as radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. While not all physicians are convinced the evidence is strong enough to warrant taking an extra dollop of the sunshine vitamin, those recommending the course say popping the pills is a simple health strategy that has few,... The Globe and Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381833/posts#comment Mon, 9 Nov 2009 01:29:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372051/posts Supplements of the sunshine vitamin may improve insulin resistance and sensitivity, both of which are risk factors for diabetes, says a new study from New Zealand. Insulin resistance, whereby insufficient insulin is released to produce a normal glucose response from fat, muscle and liver cells, was significantly lower in women following high-dose vitamin D supplementation, according to results of a randomised, controlled, double-blind trial published in the British Journal of Nutrition. The optimal effects were observed when blood vitamin D levels were in the range 80 to 119 nanomoles per litre, said the researchers, “providing further evidence for an increase... nutraingredients-usa.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372051/posts#comment Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:16:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2370946/posts CHICAGO – At least one in five U.S. children aged 1 to 11 don't get enough vitamin D and could be at risk for a variety of health problems including weak bones, the most recent national analysis suggests. By a looser measure, almost 90 percent of black children that age and 80 percent of Hispanic kids could be vitamin D deficient — "astounding numbers" that should serve as a call to action, said Dr. Jonathan Mansbach, lead author of the new analysis and a researcher at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital in Boston. > The body also makes vitamin... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2370946/posts#comment Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:21:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2352679/posts Among women enrolled in the Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study high blood pressure developed at 3 times the rate in women who were vitamin D deficient before menopause. Do not wait until you get older before starting to take nutrition seriously. If you wait the damage will already be done before you act. <snip> CHICAGO, Sept. 23, 2009 — A high-fructose diet raises blood pressure in men, while a drug used to treat gout seems to protect against the blood pressure increase, according to research reported at the American Heart Association’s 63rd High Blood Pressure Research Conference. FuturePundit http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2352679/posts#comment Thu, 1 Oct 2009 18:20:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2345049/posts Can an over-the-counter vitamin-like substance slow the progression of Parkinson's disease? Rush University Medical Center is participating in a large-scale, multi-center clinical trial in the U.S. and Canada to determine whether a vitamin-like substance, in high doses, can slow the progression of Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects about one million people in the United States. "At present, the very best therapies we have for Parkinson's can only mask the symptoms – they do not alter the underlying disease," said neurologist Dr. Katie Kompoliti, a specialist in movement disorders. "Finding a treatment that can slow the degenerative course of... Rush University Medical Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2345049/posts#comment Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:43:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2345053/posts A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin. "It's likely that more than one-third of older adults... Massachusetts General Hospital http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2345053/posts#comment Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:47:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2330633/posts Humans come in a rainbow of hues, from dark chocolate browns to nearly translucent whites. This full kaleidoscope of skin colors was a relatively recent evolutionary development, according to biologists, occuring alongside the migration of modern humans out of Africa between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago. The consensus among scientists has always been that lower levels of vitamin D at higher latitudes — where the sun is less intense — caused the lightening effect when modern humans, who began darker-skinned, first migrated north. But other factors might be at work, a new study suggests. From the varying effects of frostbite... Live Science http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2330633/posts#comment Wed, 2 Sep 2009 19:47:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2329479/posts A deficiency of the sunshine vitamin may worsen plaque accumulation in vessels of diabetes patients Vitamin D deficiency may exacerbate the excess heart disease risk that people with type 2 diabetes face, a new study in the Aug. 25 Circulation suggests. In lab tests, researchers demonstrate that immune cells with very low vitamin D levels turn into soggy, cholesterol-filled baggage that can become building blocks of arterial plaques. Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, an endocrinologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and his colleagues found that people with diabetes seem more susceptible than nondiabetics to the negative cardiovascular effects attributable... Science News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2329479/posts#comment Tue, 1 Sep 2009 16:02:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2328040/posts White Europeans could have evolved as recently as 5,500 years ago, according to research which suggests that the early humans who populated Britain and Scandinavia had dark skins for millenniums. It was only when early humans gave up hunter-gathering and switched to farming about 5,500 years ago that white skin began to be favoured, say the researchers. This is because farmed food was deficient in vitamin D, a vital nutrient. Humans can make this in their skin when exposed to sunlight, but dark skin is much less efficient at it. In places such as northern Europe, where sunlight levels are... The Sunday Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2328040/posts#comment Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:40:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2321582/posts Aug. 21, 2009 -- Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now think they know why. They have found that diabetics deficient in vitamin D can't process cholesterol normally, so it builds up in their blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The new research has identified a mechanism linking low vitamin D levels to heart disease risk and may lead to ways to fix the problem, simply by increasing levels of vitamin D.... Washington University in St. Louis http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2321582/posts#comment Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:57:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2308098/posts Increasing blood levels of vitamin D are linked to a lower prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, as well as improved 'good' cholesterol levels, says a new study. According to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, the lowest levels of the sunshine vitamin were associated with a 31 per cent prevalence of metabolic syndrome, compared to only 10 per cent for people wit the highest average levels. The researchers noted that the results do not prove that low vitamin D levels contributes or causes metabolic syndrome, and called for more studies to "assess whether increasing vitamin D intake... foodnavigator.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2308098/posts#comment Tue, 4 Aug 2009 18:59:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2297510/posts BOSTON — The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency found in a cohort of healthy children in a sunny Southwestern climate has prompted a call by the study's investigators for generalized routine screening of vitamin D levels among all children. In a study designed to assess vitamin D levels in children living in a region with year-round sunshine and to compare vitamin D levels in children with vague musculoskeletal pain with those of children without pain, Dr. Elizabeth A. Szalay and her colleagues at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque retrospectively studied the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels... Family Practice News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2297510/posts#comment Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:48:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2293312/posts Early research findings may lead to new treatments for the diseaseUCLA scientists and colleagues from UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute have found that a form of vitamin D, together with a chemical found in turmeric spice called curcumin, may help stimulate the immune system to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which forms the plaques considered the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The early research findings, which appear in the July issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, may lead to new approaches in preventing and treating Alzheimer's by utilizing the property of vitamin D3 — a form... University of California - Los Angeles http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2293312/posts#comment Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:52:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268023/posts NaturalNews) Children who develop multiple sclerosis have substantially lower levels of vitamin D than children who do not develop the disease, according to a series of studies presented at an international conference on multiple sclerosis in Montreal. Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease of the nervous system in which the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells breaks down, leading to problems in the transmission of nervous signals. Symptoms can range from tingling and numbness to tremors, paralysis or blindness. An estimated 2.5 million people around the world suffer from the disease, which is rarely diagnosed before the age of 15.... Natural News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268023/posts#comment Tue, 9 Jun 2009 15:20:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2257899/posts Wow. Had a doctor's appointment last week for a completely different issue. First thing the doc says is, "the weight loss is great!" That's when I explained that the 30-35 pounds I had lost had all been in the last month or so. That I was constantly thirsty, and "peeing like a race horse." That's when the original reason for the appointment got pushed to the back and that's when life changed. That's when we tested my blood sugar and found it at 297, and shortly after that was when I did my first injection of insulin. Yes, the symptoms... Self http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2257899/posts#comment Mon, 25 May 2009 18:33:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2242132/posts Father John Corapi gets on a phone in his Montana office and asks someone to boost the volume. The assistant who helped arrange an interview with him had warned about this. “Speak loudly,” she said, “he’s hard of hearing.” Father Corapi himself has never been hard to hear. For nearly two decades, his thundering voice has preached the Gospel with a forceful, meat-and-potatoes theology that’s made him among the most recognizable priests in the world.But since August 2007, that voice has been relatively silent. At first, that was by choice — having traveled more than 2 million miles spreading the... NCR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2242132/posts#comment Fri, 1 May 2009 16:46:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2241818/posts Vitamin D Tied to Hypertension, Hyperglycemia: Teens with the lowest vitamin D levels had low HDL, metabolic syndrome, and high triglicerides. Low serum levels of vitamin D were linked to increased blood pressure, hyperglycemia, and obesity in an analysis of more than 3,500 American teenagers, a link previously seen in adults. “Vitamin D plays a useful role in general human health. We are just now beginning to understand the role that vitamin D may play in cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Jared P. Reis, who presented a poster on the associations of vitamin D levels and cardiovascular risk factors at a... Family Practice News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2241818/posts#comment Fri, 1 May 2009 06:10:34 GMT