Do You Know That Vitamin D Can Make A Big Difference?
Have you started to wonder whether you are one of those people who
, in your efforts to prevent skin cancer, may have impaired your brain function because you have a deficiency of vitamin D.?
This is the sunshine vitamin so called because it is synthesized in our skin when we are exposed to direct sunlight. On the other hand, if you are like me, we wear sun block to prevent cancer and sun block impedes this synthesizing process.
Vitamin D is well known for enhancing bone health and regulating calcium levels, but recent research shows it does a lot more. Scientists now link this fat soluble nutrient to several functions throughout the body including working with your brain. For instance, it is now known that vitamin D activates and deactivates enzymes in the brain and may protect neurons and reduce inflammation.
As recently reported a new European study showed that subjects, aged 65 and older, with lower vitamin D levels were twice as likely to be cognitively impaired compared to those with optimum levels of vitamin D. Another study with subjects, aged 40 to 79, showed that those people with lower vitamin D. levels processed information much slower regardless of their age.
A research project that gave 1,200 healthy postmenopausal women either a placebo or calcium (1,500 mg) plus vitamin D (1,000 IU daily) found that the women who were given both vitamin D and calcium were 77 percent less likely to be diagnosed with cancer, especially breast cancer, over the next four years. A larger trial, the Womans Health Initiative, tested vitamin D (400 IU) and calcium or a placebo on 36,000 healthy women for an average of seven years. Vitamin D takers had no lower risk of breast cancer than the placebo takers. Many physicians say the dosage of Vitamin D in the research was not high enough and recommended more research on dosages of at least 1000 I.U.
Evidence about the benefits of vitamin D in humans is limited and mixed. One study in 2006 and a study early in 2009 in the Midwest, for example, showed a higher rate of pancreatic cancer among those with high blood levels of vitamin D. On the other hand, animal and lab studies report that vitamin D does protect the heart. It seems to suppress inflammation which plays a major role in cardiovascular disease. Subjects from the Framingham Heart Study who had low vitamin D blood levels had a 60 percent higher risk of heart disease than those with higher levels. In still another study there was a suggestion that vitamin D may keep blood pressure from rising.
The conclusion from the scientists is that the studies show an association between low vitamin D levels and a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular disease but they do not prove that one causes the other.
There is a new study in the works called VITAL or Vitamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL The study is designed to see if vitamin D and omega-3s in fish oil can lower the risk of cancer, heart attacks and strokes. This is a huge study which will also look at the supplements' effects on other illnesses. They plan on studying diabetes, high blood pressure, bone density, vision, memory loss, depression, autoimmune disease and other health outcomes.
It is already known that vitamin D can prevent falls and fractures but only if enough vitamin D is taken. How much is enough? In a study with people who had impaired fasting blood sugar they found that those who got vitamin D with calcium had a smaller rise in blood sugar levels than those who received a placebo. Now they want to replicate this study in clinical trials and see if vitamin D can actually lower the risk of diabetes.
Another area the trials plan to cover is depression. There are many qualitative statements that vitamin D helps elevate moods and now VITAL plans to have a clinical trail to determine whether that is fact or wishful thinking.
Because vitamin D does have anti-inflammatory effects, many believe it can be used to lower the risk of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and even multiple sclerosis. Again, more data is needed to reach a firm conclusion.
The VITAL trial launches in January, 2010 with researchers at Harvard University and elsewhere. I believe we are going to hear a lot about VITAL for the next few years. In the meantime, talk to your doctor about how much vitamin D you need.
by: Ruthan Brodsky
Brow Lift Techniques That You Should Know About Before The Surgery What Can Make Living More Livable? What's In Your Barbecue Sauce? Job Background Checks - What Employee Should Know? What Is Heat Loss? Does Infrared Heat Therapy Improve Blood Circulation? Are Right-handed People Right-eared As Well? What Will You Do If Tomorrow Is Doomsday? What You Need To Know About Building Your Own Chicken Coop Criminal records checks- What you need to know Bed Bugs - What You Need to Know What Information You Can Get in Background Checks Criminal Records Nail Technicians Do It Better than You Do - Your Nails, That Is!