Important Vitamin D Update

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Important Vitamin D Update

A meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials has found that

supplemental vitamin D significantly reduces mortality from all causes.

The analysis emphasizes the medical, ethical, and legal implications

of promptly diagnosing and adequately treating vitamin D deficiency.

Not only are such deficiencies common, but vitamin D deficiency is

implicated in most of the diseases of civilization. Vitamin D's final

metabolic product targets more than 200 human genes in a wide variety of

tissues. One of the most important genes vitamin D up-regulates is for

cathelicidin, a naturally occurring broad-spectrum antibiotic.

Since vitamin D deficiency is both endemic and is associated with

numerous diseases, it is one of the most important medical problems in

modern society. Treatment of vitamin D deficiency in otherwise healthy

patients must be individualized due to the numerous factors affecting

vitamin D levels. Steps should be taken to keep patients with chronic

diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency, especially internal cancers,

in the higher normal range of vitamin D blood levels.

Read More About This Important Vitamin D Update Now

Sources:

a.. Alternative Medicine Review March 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Before I start this comment, please let me strongly emphasize

that if you have not yet viewed my one hour FREE lecture on Vitamin D,

please schedule time to do so. Do it with your family as they all need this

information.

One hour may seem like a long time, but I have studied this

issue for hundreds of hours and personally interviewed the leading vitamin D

experts in the world, and have condensed the most important points for you

in this video.

Click here for the most important video I've ever made

I don't know ANY single physical factor that could improve your

health more than reviewing, understanding and finally applying this

information. Especially important will be to get your blood levels tested so

you can obtain all the thousands of well documented benefits.

In my view, one of the most impressive vitamin D researchers is

Dr. Cannell. Although he isn't a hard core scientist, like most of the

other experts, and is a practicing physician, he has done an absolutely

masterful job of reviewing and compiling the research and coming up with

powerful observations and recommendations.

Without a doubt, he has been my most important mentor in this

area and that is why I feel the article he published earlier this year is

such an important one, and if you have any interest in this area I would

strongly encourage you to carefully review his article. If you actually

care to see what Dr. Cannell looks and sounds like here is a previous video

I have posted on the site.

Benefits FAR More Than Your Bones

The number of diseases found to be impacted by your vitamin D

levels is rising rapidly. As Dr. Cannell points out in his meta-analysis,

vitamin D appears to reduce your risk of dying from virtually ANY disease.

And it's no wonder, really, when you consider what vitamin D

really is.

It's not " just a vitamin, " but rather the only known substrate

for a potent, pleiotropic (meaning it produces multiple effects), repair and

maintenance seco-steroid hormone that serves multiple gene-regulatory

functions in your body.

Just one example of an important gene that vitamin D

up-regulates is your ability to fight infections. It produces over 200 anti

microbial peptides, the most important of which is cathelicidin, a naturally

occurring broad-spectrum antibiotic.

And, when you consider the fact that you only have 30,000 genes

in your body, and vitamin D has been shown to influence more than 2,000 of

them, the bigger picture of its true impact on your health can be easily

understood. It may, in fact, have literally thousands of health benefits! So

it's likely we're just beginning to scratch the surface of its true

potential for reversing the modern disease state.

It's absolutely tragic that dermatologists and sunscreen

manufacturers have done such a thorough job of scaring people out of the

sun - your optimal source for natural vitamin D. Dr. Cannell believes, and

I agree, that this is one of the major influences that has contributed to

the vitamin D epidemic we're now facing, and also the autism increases we

have seen.

Their widely dispersed message to avoid the sun as much as

possible, combined with an overall cultural trend of spending more time

indoors during both work and leisure time, has greatly contributed to the

widespread vitamin D deficiency seen today -- which in turn is fueling an

astonishingly diverse array of common chronic diseases, including:

Cancer

Hypertension

Heart disease

Autism

Obesity

Rheumatoid arthritis

Diabetes 1 and 2

Multiple Sclerosis

Crohn's disease

Cold & Flu

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Tuberculosis

Septicemia

Signs of aging

Psoriasis

Eczema

Insomnia

Hearing loss

Muscle pain

Cavities

Periodontal disease

Osteoporosis

Macular degeneration

Reduced C-section risk

Pre eclampsia

Seizures

Infertility

Asthma

Cystic fibrosis

Migraines

Depression

Alzheimer's disease

Schizophrenia

Researchers have calculated that simply increasing levels of

vitamin D3 could prevent diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives

throughout the world each year!

Where You Live Impacts Your Vitamin D Levels, and Your Disease

Risk

The evidence is very clear that the farther away from the

equator you live, the higher your risk of dying from cancer becomes, for

example. In other words, those who live in higher latitudes have

significantly higher cancer rates than those living in lower latitudes;

directly correlating to the amount of available sunshine you have in your

area.

For example, according to Dr. Grant -- one of the top

vitamin D researchers in the world - the cancer rate in Iceland is 90 per

100,000 people per year. Those in the tropics, meanwhile, have rates of 25

per 100,000!

And, he points out, the majority of cancer deaths in the United

States are from vitamin-D-sensitive cancers. An estimated 150,000 cases of

cancer could be prevented in the United States alone by increasing vitamin D

levels throughout the population.

Are You Vitamin D Deficient, and if so, What Should You Do About

It?

I still firmly believe that the best way to raise your vitamin D

level is not with supplements, but by exposing your bare skin to sunshine.

However, getting sun exposure is not always practical or even feasible,

depending on where you live.

During the winter, or during other times of the year when sun

exposure is not a possibility for you, then supplementation with vitamin D3

(cholecalciferol) is an option that should be seriously considered.

I have often warned my readers to use extreme caution when

taking oral vitamin D supplements in order to avoid overdosing. However,

more and more research is showing that my fears of toxicity may have been

overly cautious.

That said, the way to proceed is to get your vitamin D levels

tested before you begin, and then at regular intervals so that you can tell

when you reach the optimal level, because the amount of vitamin D required

(whether from sun exposure or supplementation) to reach this level is

different for everyone.

It's thought that 85 percent of the American public is deficient

in vitamin D and over 95 percent of African American or deeply pigmented

individuals. And, in the United States, the late winter average vitamin D is

only about 15-18 ng/ml, which is considered a VERY SERIOUS deficiency state.

You can find out what your levels are by asking your doctor for

a blood test called a 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D. (Please

note, there are two types of vitamin D tests, and this one is the one you

want.) There are also two primary labs in the U.S. and you ONLY want to use

Lab Corp, NOT Quest, to perform this test.

The OPTIMAL value of vitamin D that you're looking for has

recently been raised to 50-65 ng/ml, with even higher recommended levels

required for more serious disease prevention.

This is one case where keeping on top of the rapid discoveries

can be truly challenging.

I've already amended my recommendations for optimal vitamin D

levels, the use of cod liver oil for vitamin D supplementation, and guidance

on what labs to use to ensure accurate test results, and I'm sure there will

be further updates and revisions as we move forward. So make sure you

continue to read future updates.

The links below under Related Articles are some of my best

starting points for finding additional sources, to continue your own

exploration of this essential nutrient.

Related Articles:

Vitamin D Resource Page

My One Hour FREE Vitamin D Lecture to Clear Up All Your Confusion on

this Vital Nutrient

Test Values and Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency