Fw: Arthritis: Can Vitamin D Prevent Arthritis?

[Guest guest]

Hi :

     My friend sent me this article today, and thought it would be of interest

to our group.  I hope it was alright to send it.  It is very interesting,

especially since we all take Calcium and Vit. D.

     I hope this will be a good year for you, and that you will have many pain

free days ahead.

 

Hugs,

 

Barbara

From: catherine griff <cm_griff@...>

Subject: Fw: Arthritis: Can Vitamin D Prevent Arthritis?

" Barbara Creedon " <bcreedon@...>

Date: Monday, January 11, 2010, 9:42 AM

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Subject: Arthritis: Can Vitamin D Prevent Arthritis?

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s Hopkins Health Alerts:

Arthritis

Can Vitamin D Prevent Arthritis?

If you have arthritis, you'll want to read our report on the connection between

vitamin D and joint health. Many researchers now believe that vitamin D -- the

" sunshine vitamin " -- may one day play a key role in preventing the development

and progression of arthritis. Read on ...

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Can Vitamin D Prevent Arthritis?

Many researchers now believe that the " sunshine vitamin " may one day play a key

role in preventing the development and progression of arthritis.. Researchers,

including scientists at s Hopkins under the direction of Uzma Haque, M.D.,

Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of

Rheumatology at s Hopkins, have been looking at the effect of vitamin D on

rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and the data are quite suggestive.

Vitamin D is proving to be a most promising area for arthritis research.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that's essential for human health. Vitamin D

levels are assessed with a simple blood test that measures levels of 25-hydroxy

vitamin D, or 25(OH)D, the metabolite that reflects vitamin D stores; results

are expressed in terms of nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).

Although there is continuing debate over what constitutes an optimal level, most

experts now agree that the level should be 30 ng/mL or higher. Yet most

Americans -- up to 60% by some estimates -- have suboptimal blood levels of

vitamin D. In part, that's because we spend less time outdoors and absorb less

vitamin D from sunlight. However, it also may be because we don't get enough

vitamin D from our diet. Only a few foods contain significant amounts of vitamin

D.

It has long been recognized that vitamin D is essential to bone health because

it promotes calcium absorption. Vitamin D regulates as many as 1,000 different

genes, including those that weed out precancerous cells and slow the runaway

reproduction of cancer cells. Vitamin D also helps maintain a healthy immune

system and activates cells that fight infection, including the bacterium that

causes tuberculosis.

During the past decade, there's been an explosion of research suggesting that

vitamin D plays a significant role in joint health and that low levels may be a

risk factor for rheumatologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and

osteoarthritis.

Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D is not just a simple nutrient. It's also an

active steroid hormone that binds to receptors in a host of vulnerable tissues

-- including the joints affected by arthritis -- and works to keep these tissues

healthy. Arthritis patients may be even more likely than the general population

to have low levels of vitamin D. According to a study presented at the 2008

European Union League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) meeting in Paris, nearly 75% of

patients who presented at a rheumatology clinic -- including those who were

subsequently diagnosed with inflammatory joint diseases, soft-tissue rheumatism,

uncomplicated musculoskeletal backache, or osteoporosis -- were deficient in

vitamin D.

If your D level is lower than 30 ng/mL, the parathyroid gland becomes overactive

and sets in motion a process that depletes calcium from bones in order to

maintain normal blood levels of calcium. This currently accepted optimal level

of vitamin D is based solely on vitamin D's calcium function. However, it

ignores other important functions. As we learn more about vitamin D, Dr. Haque

anticipates that the optimal level will be pushed considerably higher, with an

ideal range between 50 and 70 ng/mL.

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