Vitamin D - It Could Help Save Your Life

[Guest guest]

Thirty minutes, in a bathing suit in the mid-day summer sun, will produce 10,000

IUs, or more (for whites). Official recomendations are woefully inadequate.

Get A Little Sun This Summer -- It Could Help Save Your Life, Researcher

Suggests

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080616161111.htm

ScienceDaily (Jun. 18, 2008) - As summer comes and people across America get

ready to start slathering on the sunscreen, a note of caution is in order - a

little sunshine is good for you.

Studies increasingly are suggesting the value of vitamin D - often known as the

sunshine vitamin, because that's one way you can obtain it - in everything from

bone metabolism to maintaining muscle strength, immune function, reducing

hypertension and possibly even playing a role in prevention of cancer and

autoimmune disease.

Summer is a time when most people finally get enough of this vitamin due to

their sun exposure, and also help build stores of it in their fat for use during

the dark days of winter. But research has suggested that, for whatever reason,

as many as a billion people around the world may now be vitamin D deficient,

posing possibly serious threats to their health.

" The old theory was that if you had enough vitamin D to prevent rickets and

osteomalacia, two skeletal disorders, you were okay, " said Drake, a

research associate in the Linus ing Institute at Oregon State University,

and manager of its Micronutrient Information Center. " But new research is now

raising our awareness about the possible relationships between vitamin D and

cancer, particularly colorectal, breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. There are

also potential links to cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune diseases such as

multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. "

Many of the studies are observational, Drake said, and more work needs to be

done with randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. Experts

still argue about how much vitamin D is enough, and some feel that the optimal

amount is several times higher than the adequate intake level set by the Food

and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, which is 200 international

units per day for adults ages 19-50.

What's clear, however, is that many Americans are not getting even those minimal

amounts, especially those with dark skin colors - one study reported that 42

percent of African American women were vitamin D deficient.

As a result, Drake said, many doctors are increasingly starting to test their

patients for deficiency of this vitamin, especially in the temperate zones above

40 degrees latitude - a line running roughly from Philadelphia to Denver and

through Northern California. That includes New York City, Boston, Chicago,

Detroit, Seattle and many other of the nation's most populous cities. Residents

of the Pacific Northwest, with its northern latitudes and eternally cloudy

winters, are especially vulnerable. Inexpensive supplements are frequently

prescribed.

" My own doctor said that he frequently tests for vitamin D status, and that

vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in his patient population, " Drake said.

" Experts are now talking about a phenomenon they call 'Vitamin D Winter.' "

One recent study referred to vitamin D deficiency as " a major unrecognized

epidemic in the older adult population " and recommended routine blood testing

for adequate levels.

Open to speculation, but little in the way of proof, Drake said, is that

deficiencies of vitamin D may have worsened in recent years as more people

became aware of the risks of skin cancer and aggressively avoided sun exposure

or used sunscreen lotions, on themselves and their children. Experts still agree

that a fairly modest amount of sun is enough - perhaps 10-15 minutes of exposure

on your arms and face about three times a week. Sunburn should of course be

avoided and a tan clearly isn't necessary - but some real sun exposure probably

is.

Alternatively, you can also get vitamin D from some foods, including vitamin

fortified milk and some cereals or breads - assuming you don't have a diet rich

in oily fish. For higher levels, supplements are usually necessary.

Among the recent findings and observations about vitamin D:

a.. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that functions as a hormone in the

body, regulating calcium metabolism.

b.. Most people living above 40 degrees latitude do not obtain enough vitamin

D from about mid-November to early March.

c.. Infants who are exclusively breast-fed, and are not supplemented with

vitamin D, are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency, because human milk

generally doesn't have adequate levels.

d.. People with dark-colored skin have significantly less ability to

synthesize vitamin D from sunlight, as do the elderly.

e.. Obesity increases the risk of vitamin D deficiency because obese

individuals cannot easily access the vitamin D stored in body fat.

So if adequate levels of vitamin D are critical to your health, how much is

enough? Depends on who you ask, Drake said. The official government

recommendation is 200 I.U. per day - although moderate sun exposure might

provide about 100 times that much. Many multivitamins provide about 400 I.U. per

day, and it's generally accepted that levels up to 2,000 I.U. per day pose no

health risk. Some studies under way with pregnant women are giving them 4,000

I.U. per day in supplements.

One study last year indicated an adequate level of vitamin D, produced by daily

supplements of up to 2,000 I.U. per day, might prevent 30 percent of the cases

of breast cancer and 50 percent of the colon cancer in the United States - at

extremely low cost and with few or no adverse effects.

The Linus ing Institute recommends a multivitamin supplement with at least

400 I.U. of vitamin D for most healthy adults, and twice that amount for anyone

over age 50. Additionally, at least 10-15 minutes of sun exposure on the arms

and legs, or face and arms, at least three times weekly, between 11 a.m. and 2

p.m. during the spring, summer and fall may help residents of temperate

latitudes avoid vitamin D deficiency at the end of winter.

" There's a lot we still have to learn about this micronutrient, but it's already

clear the role it has in optimal health, and that a lot of people don't get

enough, " Drake said. " Many people may need to consider supplements, especially

in winter. And one thing we would say is, don't be afraid of getting at least a

little sunshine. It's good for you. "

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Adapted from materials provided by Oregon State University.