ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — New research from the University of South Australia gives strong evidence that vitamin D deficiency is associated with premature death, prompting calls for people to follow healthy vitamin D level guidelines. Vitamin D deficiency is already extremely common, affecting approximately 42 percent of the US population, according to research published in the National Institutes of Health database. Because of this, some researchers across the globe have referred to vitamin D deficiency as an “invisible epidemic.” Here are ways to offset the imbalance. Sunshine vitamin
It’s no secret that vitamin D is critical to balancing many areas of health. From pediatric broken bones to cluster headaches, physicians and scientists are still learning just how powerful the “sunshine vitamin” is … especially when it comes to fighting viruses.
Ivan Castro, MD, Internal Medicine, at Private Health MD says, “The main effect that we’re talking about in vitamin D really has to do with the immune system itself in just fighting off the virus rather than counteracting some of these things, such as blood clotting and reversing low oxygen levels.”
Jeffrey Drebin, MD, Chair, Dept. of Surgery, at Memorial Sloan Kettering explains, “We know that in our patients’ specimens that were removed and put into tissue culture, vitamin D shuts down the stromal cells.”
A person can get vitamin D in three ways: through the skin, from their diet, and from medically prescribed supplements. The National Institutes of Health recommends 400 international units of vitamin D for new borns up to 12 months, 600 for children and adults up to 70 years old as well as breastfeeding women, and 800 international units for adults 71 and up. Sunshine vitamin
For people who are very close to the normal vitamin D level, which is 30, experts recommend adding more vitamin D to your diet.
“…for example, mushrooms, salmon, halibut, herring. Milk is fortified with vitamin D, eggs, that sort of thing.” Says Doctor Castro.
The bottom line? Vitamin D is vital for your life!
The standard treatment for vitamin D deficiency involves supplements. Depending on an individual’s condition, their healthcare provider will recommend how much they need to take, how often they need to take it, and how long they need to take it.
Contributors to this news report include: Adahlia Thomas, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.
Sources:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221026102935.htm
https://www.uth.edu/news/story.htm?id=0520d178-ab7a-49af-858e-a7adeec0b30e
SAVE YOUR LIFE WITH THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN!
REPORT #3043
BACKGROUND: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods and available as a dietary supplement. It is also produced when ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight hit the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations to enable normal bone mineralization and prevent involuntary contraction of muscles. It is also needed for bone growth and bone remodeling. Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including reduction of inflammation as well as modulation of such processes as cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and glucose metabolism. Most people in the United States consume less than recommended amounts of vitamin D.
(Source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/)
VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY AND RISKS: People can develop vitamin D deficiency when usual intakes are lower over time than recommended levels. Diets low in vitamin D are more common in people who have milk allergy or lactose intolerance and those who consume an ovo-vegetarian or vegan diet. In children, vitamin D deficiency is manifested as rickets, a disease characterized by a failure of bone tissue to become properly mineralized, resulting in soft bones and skeletal deformities. Screening for vitamin D status is becoming a more common part of the routine laboratory bloodwork ordered by primary-care physicians. Groups of people most at risk for inadequate vitamin D levels are breastfed infants, older adults, those with limited sun exposure, people with dark skin, people with conditions that limit fat absorption, and people who are obese or have undergone gastric bypass surgery.
(Source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/)
VITAMIN D – TOO MUCH OR JUST ENOUGH: Recent findings about vitamin D reveal that high doses do not improve heart and circulatory health for most adults any more than modest doses do. “It takes only small-to-moderate amounts of vitamin D to have optimal cardiovascular function,” said JoAnn E. Manson, MD, PH, a study author and chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Ongoing research found that adults who take either moderate or high-dose daily vitamin D supplements of at least 1,000 IU haven’t had a reduced risk for having a heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular-related death compared to adults taking a placebo without vitamin D. So, researchers have begun shifting their focus to other more nuanced questions about the vitamin such as, why do some people benefit from it more than others; could supplements benefit specific populations, such as those with increased risks for heart disease; and given that VITAL, a randomized trial, showed high-dose vitamin D supplements reduced risks for autoimmune conditions, could they also help reduce the severity of COVID-19?
(Source: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2022/vitamin-d-heart-health-where-benefits-begin-and-end)
* For More Information, Contact:
Ivan Castro, MD
Jeanne D’Agostino
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