Vitamins: D for disease-free

[Guest guest]

Vitamins: D for disease-free

http://www.worldhealth.net/p/vitamins-d-for-disease-free.html

Dreary winters are infamous for inducing depression. But being starved for

sunlight can do more than kick you into a psychic hole.

A growing body of evidence suggests it can raise your risk of cancer and

increase susceptibility to heart attack, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

The reason is vitamin D, an essential nutrient produced in abundance by skin

exposed to the sun's rays. Long dismissed as being important mainly for strong

bones, the so-called sunshine vitamin is now recognized as a key player

throughout the body, including the immune system.

Increased use of sunscreen has turned a seasonal shortfall into a year-round

condition for many people. A recent survey in Britain found 87 percent of adults

tested during winter, and more than 60 percent in summer, had subpar vitamin D

levels.

Doctors in many parts of the world report a resurgence of childhood rickets,

soft bones caused by lack of vitamin D.

Supplements offer a cheap and easy solution. But Bruce Hollis, a leading vitamin

D researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina, and other researchers

argue the recommended intake is too low to provide many health benefits.

A Canadian medical organization advises that pregnant and nursing women take 10

times the amount suggested in the U.S.

" You're more likely to live longer, and you're less likely to die of serious

chronic disease if you have adequate vitamin D on board, " said Holick of

Boston University School of Medicine. " It may well be the most important

nutrient of the decade. "

When Hill, 54, went to her doctor complaining of joint pain, she was

surprised to get a diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency. " I had never heard of it, "

she said.

Many doctors once scoffed at the notion of vitamin D deficiency, but testing has

become more routine and is covered by most insurance.

University of Washington heart surgeon Jr. tested 78 of his

patients and found three-quarters had " insufficient " levels of vitamin D.

" It was really pretty shocking, " said.

In addition to strengthening bones, muscles and joints, high vitamin D levels

have been linked to lower rates of colon, prostate, breast, esophageal and

pancreatic cancer.

Harvard scientists found that high levels of vitamin D reduced children's odds

of developing asthma, while researchers in Pittsburgh reported that pregnant

women with low vitamin D had greater risk of preeclampsia, a dangerous form of

high blood pressure.

Formed in skin cells exposed to UVB, the invisible form of light that causes

sunburn, vitamin D and its breakdown products act throughout the body.

The compounds are believed to regulate as many as 1,000 genes, including genes

that weed out precancerous cells and genes that slow the runaway reproduction

typical of cancer.

Molecular geneticist White and his colleagues at McGill University in

Montreal discovered vitamin D also switches on an arm of the immune system that

kills bacteria - including the bug responsible for tuberculosis.

" It's a kind of front-line response to infection, " he said.

http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/500707.html

[Guest guest]

So did Vit D cause the kidney stones? Jess

Re: Vitamins: D for disease-free

I started taking 800 IU of Vitamin when winter started because I always

feel so low. Then in January I developed kidney stones. I think the two are

related since Vitamin D affects how calcium is stored or circulated in the

blood. I want to go back to taking Vitamin D but am worried. Passing a

kidney stone is like having a baby without the joy after all the pain. Is

anyone else here taking larger amounts of Vitamin D? If so did you ever have

a kidney stone while doing so?

[Guest guest]

Dr. Mercola recommends a tanning bed with electronic ballast as opposed

to magnetic....

should be safer & a tan is nice in winter. Like all such things, be

prudent.

Nanette Niece wrote:

> I started taking 800 IU of Vitamin when winter started because I

> always feel so low. Then in January I developed kidney stones. I think

> the two are related since Vitamin D affects how calcium is stored or

> circulated in the blood. I want to go back to taking Vitamin D but am

> worried. Passing a kidney stone is like having a baby without the joy

> after all the pain. Is anyone else here taking larger amounts of

> Vitamin D? If so did you ever have a kidney stone while doing so?

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've been taking about 7000 IU per day for more than 6 months. My

vitamin D blood work gives a value of 68 with a lab reference range

between 32 and 100.

I've had kidney stones before and have no worries about it. I suspect

that your 800 IU had very little effect on absolute blood D levels.

Have you had your vitamin D levels tested?

You can get tests fairly cheap at lef.org.

Steve

Nanette Niece wrote:

>

>

> I started taking 800 IU of Vitamin when winter started because I always

> feel so low. Then in January I developed kidney stones. I think the two

> are related since Vitamin D affects how calcium is stored or circulated

> in the blood. I want to go back to taking Vitamin D but am worried.

> Passing a kidney stone is like having a baby without the joy after all

> the pain. Is anyone else here taking larger amounts of Vitamin D? If so

> did you ever have a kidney stone while doing so?

--

Steve - dudescholar4@...

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