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Insulin Pump Info Vitamin D May Prevent MS Dosage Found in Multivitamins Reduces Risk by 40% By Sid Kirchheimer Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MDon Monday, January 12, 2004WebMD Medical News Printer-friendly version Also on Health Exhausted? Find out if you need a sleep doctor The flu epidemic: News, symptoms, treatments, more Seasonal blues or serious depression? Jan. 12, 2004 -- Evidence continues to mount showing that a little vitamin D can do a lot of good. The latest: A new study indicating that women who get doses typically found in daily multivitamin supplements -- of at least 400 international units -- are 40% less likely to develop multiple sclerosis compared with those not taking over-the-counter supplements. This finding, by a team of Harvard researchers and published in this week's issue of Neurology, comes just a few days after another study links vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Like MS, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, a classification for some 80 different ailments in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue and organs in the body. "We've known for some time that vitamin D can affect function of the immune system, which could explain why it seems beneficial to both of these autoimmune conditions," says Kassandra Munger, MSc, of Harvard School of Public Health, a researcher for this study. "In animal studies, vitamin D been shown to suppress the autoimmune response in rats with a disorder very similar to MS." Other recent studies link vitamin D deficiency to a greater risk of other ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, unexplained muscle and joint pain, and various forms of cancer. As with MS and other autoimmune diseases, the secret may be in how this nutrient affects cell activity. "We need adequate amounts of vitamin D to keep cell growth and activity in check," says Holick, MD, PhD, director of the Vitamin D Research Lab at Boston University Medical Center and considered by many to be the nation's leading authority on this vitamin. When the body is deficient in this crucial nutrient -- best known for coming from sunlight -- cells can go haywire, become overly active or multiplying too quickly. That's why the new finding doesn't surprise Holick, who wasn't involved in it. "It's been well-known that if you live at a higher latitude, where there's less sun exposure, you're at a higher risk of developing MS," he tells WebMD. Conversely, if you live in a sunny climate where vitamin D can easily be absorbed year-round from sunlight for your first 10 years, "it imprints on you a decreased MS risk that can last a lifetime," Holick explains. Munger's results are encouraging because 20% to 80% of Americans may already be vitamin D deficient -- at least during winter months. While as little as 10 minutes of sun exposure on bare, unprotected skin can prevent deficiencies in warm and sunny months, it's virtually impossible for most Americans to get that kind of exposure this time of year. Good food sources of vitamin D include: Fortified milk, 8 ounces contain approximately 100 IU of vitamin D Cod liver oil, 1 tablespoon contains approximately 1300 IU of vitamin D Cold-water fish such as salmon and herring, 3 ounces contain approximately 400 to 750 IU of vitamin D respectively. However, Munger says that no matter where they lived (which could help determine their vitamin D exposure from sunlight), her study's participants who got the highest intake of vitamin D from supplements had the lowest risk of developing MS. Interestingly, those whose vitamin D came only from food, but not pills, had no such decreased risk -- no matter their intake. Her study is part of the ongoing Nurses' Health Study that has been tracking, for nearly 20 years, how various nutritional and lifestyle habits impact health in some 190,000 women. It's the latest evidence to show that something as simple as taking a multivitamin can offer significant protection against a disease that afflicts some 400,000 Americans. Although the cause of MS is unknown, experts believe it is partly an autoimmune disease that causes lesions within the brain and spinal cord, slowing or blocking nerve signals that control muscle coordination, visual sensation, and other vital functions. "Very few of the women in our study were taking 'straight' vitamin D supplements," Munger tells WebMD. "Mostly, they got these benefits from a regular multivitamin pill with the standard dosage of vitamin D. While it's too early to conclusively recommend taking multivitamins to prevent MS, certainly many people have advocated taking them for other reasons." Holick has long recommended that most Americans -- especially those living in cold or gray winter climates -- take a multivitamin and an additional vitamin D supplement of between 400 and 1,000 IU to prevent possible deficiencies. "My guess is that these study participants probably consumed closer to 600 IUs in their multivitamins," he tells WebMD. "We found that taking vitamin supplements of 1,000 IUs caused changes in blood chemistry that indicated positive effects for multiple sclerosis patients -- basically, it reduced their symptoms," says Margherita Cantorna, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition at Penn State University who headed that study. A longtime researcher on how vitamin D impacts multiple sclerosis, she was not involved in Munger's study, but like Holick, says she isn't surprised by the findings. "It's pretty clear that when levels of vitamin D are too low, there's a greater tendency for cells that cause autoimmune problems to come out in those genetically susceptible people," Cantorna tells WebMD. "And it's pretty clear that taking supplemental vitamin D is a good idea. You're hard-pressed to get enough vitamin D solely from food or from sunlight in the winter." SOURCES: Munger, K, Neurology; Jan. 13, 2004; vol 62; pp 60-65. Kassandra Munger, MSc, nutrition researcher, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston. Holick, MD, PhD, director, The Vitamin D Research Lab; director, The General Clinical Research Center; professor of medicine, dermatology, physiology and biophysics, Boston University Medical Center, Boston. Margherita Cantorna, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition, Penn State University, State College, Pa. Saag, K. Arthritis and Rheumatism, January 2004; vol. 50; pp. 72-77. Printer-friendly version © 2003 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved. Also in Health Topics. 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