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Vitamin D Deficiency May Be Symptom Of Disease: Supplements May Make

It Worse

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2008) — Low blood levels of vitamin D have long

been associated with disease, and the assumption has been that vitamin

D supplements may protect against disease. However, this new research

demonstrates that ingested vitamin D is immunosuppressive and that low

blood levels of vitamin D may be actually a result of the disease

process. Supplementation may make the disease worse.

In a new report Trevor Marshall, Ph.D., professor at Australia's

Murdoch University School of Biological Medicine and Biotechnology,

explains how increased vitamin D intake affects much more than just

nutrition or bone health. The paper explains how the Vitamin D Nuclear

Receptor (VDR) acts in the repression or transcription of hundreds of

genes, including genes associated with diseases ranging from cancers

to multiple sclerosis.

" The VDR is at the heart of innate immunity, being responsible for

expression of most of the antimicrobial peptides, which are the body's

ultimate response to infection, " Marshall said.

" Molecular biology is now forcing us to re-think the idea that a low

measured value of vitamin D means we simply must add more to our diet.

Supplemental vitamin D has been used for decades, and yet the

epidemics of chronic disease, such as heart disease and obesity, are

just getting worse. "

" Our disease model has shown us why low levels of vitamin D are

observed in association with major and chronic illness, " Marshall

added. " Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone, and the body regulates the

production of all it needs. In fact, the use of supplements can be

harmful, because they suppress the immune system so that the body

cannot fight disease and infection effectively. "

Marshall's research has demonstrated how ingested vitamin D can

actually block VDR activation, the opposite effect to that of

Sunshine. Instead of a positive effect on gene expression, Marshall

reported that his own work, as well as the work of others, shows that

quite nominal doses of ingested vitamin D can suppress the proper

operation of the immune system. It is a different metabolite, a

secosteroid hormone called 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, which activates

the VDR to regulate the expression of the genes. Under conditions that

exist in infection or inflammation, the body automatically regulates

its production of all the vitamin D metabolites, including

25-hydroxyvitamin D, the metabolite which is usually measured to

indicate vitamin D status.

Vitamin D deficiency, long interpreted as a cause of disease, is more

likely the result of the disease process, and increasing intake of

vitamin D often makes the disease worse. " Dysregulation of vitamin D

has been observed in many chronic diseases, including many thought to

be autoimmune, " said J.C. Waterhouse, Ph.D., lead author of a book

chapter on vitamin D and chronic disease.

" We have found that vitamin D supplementation, even at levels many

consider desirable, interferes with recovery in these patients. "

" We need to discard the notion that vitamin D affects a disease state

in a simple way, " Marshall said. " Vitamin D affects the expression of

over 1,000 genes, so we should not expect a simplistic cause and

effect between vitamin D supplementation and disease. The

comprehensive studies are just not showing that supplementary vitamin

D makes people healthier. "

Journal reference: Marshall TG. Vitamin D discovery outpaces FDA

decision making. Bioessays. 2008 Jan 15;30(2):173-182 [Epub ahead of

print] Online ISSN: 1521-1878 Print ISSN: 0265-9247 PMID: 18200565

Adapted from materials provided by Autoimmunity Research, Inc., via

AlphaGalileo.

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Autoimmunity Research, Inc. (2008, January 25). Vitamin D Deficiency

May Be Symptom Of Disease: Supplements May Make It Worse.

ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from

http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/01/080125223302.htm