Vitamin K – A Longevity Vitamin
Written by Wellness Club on November 5, 2015 – 10:59 am -By Nurse Mark
Vitamin K is well known for its role in blood clotting. So much so that otherwise well-meaning but under-informed doctors sometimes warn their patients away from Vitamin K and from foods containing Vitamin K out of fear that it might somehow make them have blood clots. Those are invariably the doctors who are also quick to prescribe Coumadin (AKA “Warfarin” – the rat poison) at the least hint of a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) or atrial fibrillation.
But did you know that Vitamin K – “the clotting vitamin’ – can also help you to live longer, have stronger bones, and have less risk of “hardening of the arteries” (arterial calcification) as you age? Not only that, there are studies that show Vitamin K improves insulin sensitivity in both healthy subjects and in those with Type II Diabetes and that Vitamin K has a powerful cancer-preventative effect!
Here are some quick facts about Vitamin K:
Discovered in 1935 it is actually two related substances: Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) is the main form of the vitamin that we get from diet. Vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7 and menaquinone-4) is obtained in lesser amounts from diet and is mostly a product of our bodies conversion of Vitamin K1 to Vitamin K2. It is becoming clear to researchers that each of these forms of Vitamin K is vital to our health, and that each form has very different actions.
How important is Vitamin K?
In one study published in 2014, in a group of more than 7,000 people at high risk for cardiovascular disease, the people with the highest intake of vitamin K were 36 percent less likely to die from any cause at all, compared with those having the lowest intake. (1)
In another study, researchers found that people with the highest intake of vitamin K2 were 57 percent less likely to die of coronary heart disease compared with those with the lowest intake (2) showing the importance of both forms of Vitamin K.
In yet another study, women with the highest intake of vitamin K2 were found to be at a 20 percent lower risk for coronary artery calcification (hardening of the arteries) than women with the lowest intake. Interestingly, that same study found that vitamin K1 had no significant impact – once again showing the importance of obtaining both forms of Vitamin K. (3)
Vitamin K has been recognized by the European Food Safety Authority (Europe’s version of our FDA) as being important to bone, heart and blood vessel health. (4)
Along with its proven effect at lessening arterial calcification, Vitamin K has been shown in study after study to reduce osteoporosis and bone loss, and to increase bone density (and thus strength) in the spine and in hip bones – two places where osteoporosis is most likely to hit aging people, especially aging women, the hardest. (5, 6, 7, 8)
Diabetes is a condition that is often characterized by high levels of body-wide inflammation. In addition to being at lower risk for fractures related to osteoporosis, diabetics with the highest Vitamin K1 intakes show reduced inflammatory markers related to diabetes. (9) Additional studies related to diabetes have shown increased insulin sensitivity and improved blood glucose control even in non-diabetic, healthy people and even a reduced risk of ever developing Type II diabetes! (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
Cancer is a threat to anyone, young or old – but as we age we run an ever-increasing risk of developing some form of this dread disease. Can Vitamin K come to the rescue? While it is not a “silver bullet” against cancer, Vitamin K was shown in a large European study to slash the risk of death from cancer by a whopping 28 percent for those taking the higher amounts of Vitamin K versus people taking the lowest amounts. (15)
Men, Vitamin K is for you too: A related European study found an amazing 63 percent lower risk of advanced prostate cancer in men taking higher doses of Vitamin K2. (16)
Colon cancer may prove to be vulnerable to the health-giving effects of Vitamin K: a study that placed human colon cancer cells into laboratory mice found that Vitamin K induced apoptosis (cell death) and suppressed the growth of the implanted tumors. (17, 18)
And liver cancer, often a tragic result of AIDS or alcoholism or an infection with the hepatitis B or C virus, can be helped: several human studies have shown that supplementation with Vitamin K after the surgical removal of the hepatocellular carcinoma cancer lesion reduces the recurrence and improves survival in those stricken with this aggressive and deadly cancer. (19, 20)
But is it safe? In a word, YES.
Even for people using blood thinners, Vitamin K supplementation is safe.
The blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) actually works by suppressing the normal, healthy effects of Vitamin D, and recent studies are proving that those using this antiquated “blood thinner” are actually at increased risk for developing arterial calcification – actually putting them at increased risk of having the very cardiac or cardiovascular disasters that the drugs were meant to prevent! (21, 22)
The effects of more modern blood thinners like Pradaxa (dabigatran) and Eliquis (apixaban) are not affected by vitamin K intake and so it is safe and appropriate to take full-dose vitamin K without worry of counteracting the desired anticoagulant effects of the drugs.
In any event – DO NOT stop taking any anticoagulant drug without talking with your doctor first!
You can find a very high quality Vitamin K supplement that provides both the Vitamin K1 and Vitamin K2 (Vitamin K2 in both the longer-acting menaquinone-7 and more immediate-acting menaquinone-4 sub-types. Yes, that is very important!) at Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club. Dr. Myatt recommends one softgel capsule daily of Super K, or as directed by your health care practitioner.
For any of us, and especially those of us who are getting a little older and concerned with atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, diabetes, and cancer, Vitamin K is a great way to help address and minimize many of the leading causes of death facing us in today’s modern American.
Find Dr. Myatt’s recommended Vitamin K supplement here:
References:
1.) Juanola-Falgarona M, Salas-Salvado J, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, et al. Dietary Intake of Vitamin K Is Inversely Associated with Mortality Risk. J Nutr. 2014 May;144(5):743-50.
2.) Geleijnse JM, Vermeer C, Grobbee DE, et al. Dietary intake of menaquinone is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: the Rotterdam Study. J Nutr. 2004 Nov;134(11):3100-5.
3.) Beulens JW, Bots ML, Atsma F, et al. High dietary menaquinone intake is associated with reduced coronary calcification. Atherosclerosis. 2009 Apr;203(2):489-93.
4.) http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1228
5.) Braam LA, Knapen MH, Geusens P, et al. Vitamin K1 supplementation retards bone loss in postmenopausal women between 50 and 60 years of age. Calcif Tissue Int. 2003 Jul;73(1):21-6.
6.) Purwosunu Y, Muharram, Rachman IA, Reksoprodjo S, Sekizawa A. Vitamin K2 treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis in Indonesia. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2006 Apr;32(2):230-4.
7.) Knapen MH, Schurgers LJ, Vermeer C. Vitamin K2 supplementation improves hip bone geometry and bone strength indices in postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2007 Jul;18(7):963-72.
8.) Knapen MH, Drummen NE, Smit E, Vermeer C, Theuwissen E. Three-year low-dose menaquinone-7 supplementation helps decrease bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2013 Sep;24(9):2499-507.
9.) Juanola-Falgarona M, Salas-Salvado J, Estruch R, et al. Association between dietary phylloquinone intake and peripheral metabolic risk markers related to insulin resistance and diabetes in elderly subjects at high cardiovascular risk. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2013;12:7.
10.) Yoshida M, Booth SL, Meigs JB, Saltzman E, Jacques PF. Phylloquinone intake, insulin sensitivity, and glycemic status in men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jul;88(1):210-5.
11.) Ibarrola-Jurado N, Salas-Salvado J, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Bullo M. Dietary phylloquinone intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in elderly subjects at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Nov;96(5):1113-8.
12.) Yoshida M, Jacques PF, Meigs JB, et al. Effect of vitamin K supplementation on insulin resistance in older men and women. Diabetes Care. 2008 Nov;31(11):2092-6.
13.) Choi HJ, Yu J, Choi H, et al. Vitamin K2 supplementation improves insulin sensitivity via osteocalcin metabolism: a placebo-controlled trial. Diabetes Care. 2011 Sep;34(9):e147.
14.) Beulens JW, van der AD, Grobbee DE, Sluijs I, Spijkerman AM, van der Schouw YT. Dietary phylloquinone and menaquinones intakes and risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2010 Aug;33(8):1699-705.
15.) Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Kaaks R, Linseisen J. Dietary vitamin K intake in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: results from the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg). Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 May;91(5):1348-58.
16.) Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Linseisen J. Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg). Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):985-92.
17.) Ogawa M, Nakai S, Deguchi A, et al. Vitamins K2, K3 and K5 exert antitumor effects on established colorectal cancer in mice by inducing apoptotic death of tumor cells. Int J Oncol. 2007 Aug;31(2):323-31.
18.) Kawakita H, Tsuchida A, Miyazawa K, et al. Growth inhibitory effects of vitamin K2 on colon cancer cell lines via different types of cell death including autophagy and apoptosis. Int J Mol Med. 2009 Jun;23(6):709-16.
19.) Kakizaki S, Sohara N, Sato K, et al. Preventive effects of vitamin K on recurrent disease in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma arising from hepatitis C viral infection. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007 Apr;22(4):518-22.
20.) Mizuta T, Ozaki I, Eguchi Y, et al. The effect of menatetrenone, a vitamin K2 analog, on disease recurrence and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after curative treatment: a pilot study. Cancer. 2006 Feb 15;106(4):867-72.
21.) Price PA, Faus SA, Williamson MK. Warfarin causes rapid calcification of the elastic lamellae in rat arteries and heart valves. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1998 Sep;18(9):1400-7.
22.) McCabe KM, Booth SL, Fu X, et al. Dietary vitamin K and therapeutic warfarin alter the susceptibility to vascular calcification in experimental chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int. 2013 May;83(5):835-44.
Posted in Bone and Joint Health, Cancer, Diabetes, Family Health, Senior Health | Comments Off
The Myth Of The One-A-Day Multiple Vitamin
Written by Wellness Club on August 18, 2015 – 11:18 am -By Nurse Mark
“But it’s so many pills…”
We hear that refrain so often… People call us to bargain and wheedle and negotiate over how often and how many Maxi Multi capsules they can take and still get all the benefits.
Believe me – if we could cram all the vitamins, minerals, trace minerals and other ingredients that go into making Maxi Multi the best available Optimal Dose daily multiple vitamin into fewer, smaller capsules, we sure would!
But folks, there is no way that a full compliment of optimal-dose vitamins and minerals and trace minerals can be made to fit into one single tablet or capsule of any size that could possibly be consumed by you or me – it’s just not possible, no matter how hard you squeeze it! An Optimal Daily Dose multiple vitamin will require from six to nine capsules daily.
To learn more about what an Optimal Dose Daily Multivitamin formula should look like please check out Dr. Myatt’s Maxi Multi – a standard by which you can judge your current multiple vitamin.
“Well, gimme one good reason I should swallow that many capsules that often!” (Maxi Multi is 3 caps, 3 times daily – this is hard ? )
Just One? Howzabout A Baker’s Dozen Proven Reasons to take a Good Multiple Vitamin…
While conventional medicine and newspaper headlines continue to preach that nutritional supplementation isn’t important, the results of medical research shows just the opposite. Here are some medical findings that should convince you to keep taking a high-quality, optimal potency multiple vitamin/mineral supplement. If you’re not sure what an “optimal potency” formula consists of or what you should be taking for your age and sex, refer to The Wellness Club web site’s nutritional supplements page for an up-to-date ingredient list and optimal dose recommendations.
- Harvard researchers have found that sub-optimal levels of folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12 are a risk factor for heart disease and colon and breast cancers.
(Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) June 19, 2002) - A six-month study showing that folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 helped prevent recurrence of blocked arteries in patients who have undergone coronary angioplasty.
(Journal of the American Medical Association, August 28, 2002) - Vitamin K is a critical nutrient for skeletal integrity, with evidence of vitamin K supplementation reducing bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women and a significant positive relationship between vitamin K status and indices of bone health in men.
(24th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research, September 20 – 24, 2002, San Antonio, Texas) - Alzheimer’s disease: Association with zinc deficiency and cerebral vitamin B12 deficiency.
(Journal of Orthol. Psychiatry (CANADA), 1984, 13/2 (97-104)) - Supplementation of the elderly with vitamin E has been shown to enhance immune response, delay onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and increase resistance to oxidative injury associated with exercise.
(Proc Nutr Soc. 2002;61:165-171) - Vitamin E intake, from foods or supplements, is associated with less cognitive decline with age.
(Arch Neurol. 2002;59:1125-1132) - Researchers at Cambridge University in England looked at serum vitamin C and how long people lived. People who had the lowest levels of vitamin C were twice as likely to die compared to those with the highest serum vitamin C levels. This study was based on the findings from over 19,000 people.
(Lancet 2001; 357:657-63) - 26.4% of esophageal and gastric cancers are attributable to low selenium levels.
(Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mark et al., 2000) - Calcium supplementation is associated with a significant – though moderate – reduction in the risk of recurrent colorectal adenomas. The effect of calcium was independent of initial dietary fat and calcium intake.
(N Engl J Med (United States) Jan 14 1999, 340 (2) p101-7.) - Data from the Nurses’ Health Study conducted at the Harvard Medical School showed that long-term supplementation with folic acid reduces the risk of colon cancer by 75% in women! 90,000 women participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, making this an especially significant finding. The authors of this study explained that folic acid obtained from supplements had a stronger protective effect against colon cancer than folic acid consumed in the diet.
(Annals of Internal Medicine (1998; 129:517-524) - Regarding asthma, the lowest intakes of vitamin C and manganese (a trace mineral not to be confused with magnesium) were associated with more than five-fold increased risks of bronchial reactivity. Decreasing intakes of magnesium were also significantly associated with an increased risk of hyper-reactivity.
(Thorax (United Kingdom), 1997, 52/2 (166-170)) - Antioxidant supplements reduce the risk of cataract. One study evaluated 410 men for 3 years to ascertain the association between serum vitamin E and the development of cortical lens opacities (cataracts). The men with the lowest level of serum vitamin E had a 3.7 times greater risk of this form of cataract compared to men with the highest serum level of vitamin E.
(American Journal of Epidemiology Sept. 1996) - Encouraging moderate exercise and dietary supplementation with calcium and vitamin D are the major nonpharmacological management measures used to prevent and treat osteoporosis.
(Drugs and Aging (New Zealand), 1996, 9/6 (472-477) - Nutrient intake of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is deficient in pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), zinc, copper, and magnesium.
(Journal of Rheumatology (Canada), 1996, 23/6 (990-994))
OK, OK… a “Baker’s Dozen” is thirteen, and I just listed fourteen good reasons to take an Optimal Dose Daily Multiple Vitamin. So how many good reasons do you need?
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Vitamin Supplement "Facts" That The Media Got Wrong
Written by Wellness Club on May 6, 2015 – 7:46 pm -By Dr. Dana Myatt
There’s a reason that the “mainstream media” has earned a more accurate name “the lamestream media.” Actual journalism is a lost art – most “reporters” now craft their stories to satisfy an agenda – either theirs or their employers. Here are a few examples:
1.) What the Headline said: "Vitamin Pills a Waste of Money"
What the research actually said:
To quote the article directly: “Two large trials [with 27,658 individuals] reported lower cancer incidence in men taking a multivitamin for more than 10 years. High quality studies were scant…" (meaning: not enough data to draw good conclusions about the rest). (1)
Dr. Myatt’s comment: It should be noted that the "multivitamins" examined in the study were low-potency ("one a day") supplements, something that has never been proven to be of much benefit to anyone except those severely deficient.
2.) What the Headline said: "Multivitamins of no benefit to seniors."
What the research actually said:
To quote the article directly: "Multivitamins and mineral supplements were found to reduce the mean annual number of days spent with infection (three studies) by 17.5." (2)
Dr. Myatt’s comment: Again, the "multivitamins" examined in the study were low-potency ("one a day") supplements, something that has never been proven to be of much benefit to anyone except those severely deficient. But even at low potency, there was a decreased risk of infection in the elderly.
3.) What the Headline said: "Vitamins are linked to increased risk of death."
What the research actually said:
The study (if you can call it that) — asking folks to report from memory what supplements they had taken years previously — actually found the following:
- B complex vitamins were associated with a 7% reduction in mortality
- Vitamin C intake associated with a 4% reduction in mortality
- Vitamin D intake associated with an 8% reduction in mortality
- Magnesium intake associated with a 3% reduction in mortality
- Selenium intake associated with a 3% reduction in mortality
- Zinc intake associated with a 3% reduction in mortality
Dr. Myatt’s comment: This study was so poorly done, and the "findings" so misreported, that I wrote an entire article about it here: Vitamins Linked to Increased Risk of Death ?
Now for the Positive Studies Your May Not Have Seen
1.) Multivitamins Decrease Women’s Heart Disease Death.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the "multivitamins don’t help" argument is far from over. Women who took multivitamin-mineral supplements for three years or more were significantly less likely to die from heart disease. (3)
2.) Multivitamin users have lower risk of dying from stroke.
To quote the article directly: "Conclusions— Multivitamin use, particularly frequent use, was associated with reduced risk of total and ischemic stroke mortality among Japanese people with lower intake of fruits and vegetables." (4)
The number of studies showing positive benefit in multivitamin use are so overwhelming that we have written about them numerous times. Please see the following articles with multiple references.
A Dozen Proven Reasons to Take a Good Multiple:
Give Me One Good Reason to Take a Multiple
Dr Myatt’s Bottom Line and Summary
- The preponderance of evidence is far in favor of taking a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement for health.
- "One a day" multiples are of limited value in improving health. Please see "Maxi Multi" for a discussion of optimal potency multiple vitamin formulas.
- Regular users have far more benefit than casual users. Take your multiple every day.
References:
1. Fortmann SP, Burda BU, Senger CA, Lin JS, Whitlock EP. Vitamin and mineral supplements in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer: an updated systematic evidence review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2013 Dec 17;159(12):824-34.
2. El-Kadiki A, Sutton AJ. Role of multivitamins and mineral supplements in preventing infections in elderly people: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.BMJ. 2005 Apr 16;330(7496):871
3. Bailey RL, Fakhouri TH, Park Y, et al. Multivitamin-mineral use is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease mortality among women in the United States. J Nutr. 2015 Mar;145(3):572-8.
4. Shigeki Yamada, MD; Akio Koizumi, MD; Hiroyasu Iso, MD; Yasuhiko Wada, MD, et al. Risk Factors for Fatal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: The Japan Collaborative Cohort Study.
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Gimme One Good Reason… To Take A Multiple Vitamin!
Written by Wellness Club on April 29, 2013 – 1:13 pm -By Nurse Mark
Just One? Howzabout A Baker’s Dozen Proven Reasons to take a Good Multiple Vitamin…
While conventional medicine and newspaper headlines continue to preach that nutritional supplementation isn’t important, the results of medical research shows just the opposite. Here are some recent medical findings that should convince you to keep taking a high-quality, optimal potency multiple vitamin/mineral supplement. If you’re not sure what an “optimal potency” formula consists of or what you should be taking for your age and sex, refer to The Wellness Club web site’s nutritional supplements page for an up-to-date ingredient list and optimal dose recommendations.
- Harvard researchers have found that sub-optimal levels of folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12 are a risk factor for heart disease and colon and breast cancers.
(Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) June 19, 2002) - A six-month study showing that folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 helped prevent recurrence of blocked arteries in patients who have undergone coronary angioplasty.
(Journal of the American Medical Association, August 28, 2002) - Vitamin K is a critical nutrient for skeletal integrity, with evidence of vitamin K supplementation reducing bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women and a significant positive relationship between vitamin K status and indices of bone health in men.
(24th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research, September 20 – 24, 2002, San Antonio, Texas) - Alzheimer’s disease: Association with zinc deficiency and cerebral vitamin B12 deficiency.
(Journal of Orthol. Psychiatry (CANADA), 1984, 13/2 (97-104)) - Supplementation of the elderly with vitamin E has been shown to enhance immune response, delay onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and increase resistance to oxidative injury associated with exercise.
(Proc Nutr Soc. 2002;61:165-171) - Vitamin E intake, from foods or supplements, is associated with less cognitive decline with age.
(Arch Neurol. 2002;59:1125-1132) - Researchers at Cambridge University in England looked at serum vitamin C and how long people lived. People who had the lowest levels of vitamin C were twice as likely to die compared to those with the highest serum vitamin C levels. This study was based on the findings from over 19,000 people.
(Lancet 2001; 357:657-63) - 26.4% of esophageal and gastric cancers are attributable to low selenium levels.
(Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mark et al., 2000) - Calcium supplementation is associated with a significant – though moderate – reduction in the risk of recurrent colorectal adenomas. The effect of calcium was independent of initial dietary fat and calcium intake.
(N Engl J Med (United States) Jan 14 1999, 340 (2) p101-7.) - Data from the Nurses’ Health Study conducted at the Harvard Medical School showed that long-term supplementation with folic acid reduces the risk of colon cancer by 75% in women! 90,000 women participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, making this an especially significant finding. The authors of this study explained that folic acid obtained from supplements had a stronger protective effect against colon cancer than folic acid consumed in the diet.
(Annals of Internal Medicine (1998; 129:517-524) - Regarding asthma, the lowest intakes of vitamin C and manganese (a trace mineral not to be confused with magnesium) were associated with more than five-fold increased risks of bronchial reactivity. Decreasing intakes of magnesium were also significantly associated with an increased risk of hyper-reactivity.
(Thorax (United Kingdom), 1997, 52/2 (166-170)) - Antioxidant supplements reduce the risk of cataract. One study evaluated 410 men for 3 years to ascertain the association between serum vitamin E and the development of cortical lens opacities (cataracts). The men with the lowest level of serum vitamin E had a 3.7 times greater risk of this form of cataract compared to men with the highest serum level of vitamin E.
(American Journal of Epidemiology Sept. 1996) - Encouraging moderate exercise and dietary supplementation with calcium and vitamin D are the major nonpharmacological management measures used to prevent and treat osteoporosis.
(Drugs and Aging (New Zealand), 1996, 9/6 (472-477) - Nutrient intake of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is deficient in pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), zinc, copper, and magnesium.
(Journal of Rheumatology (Canada), 1996, 23/6 (990-994))
OK, OK… a “Baker’s Dozen” is thirteen, and I just listed fourteen good reasons to take an Optimal Dose Daily Multiple Vitamin. So how many good reasons do you need?
And remember – there is no way that a full compliment of optimal-dose vitamins and minerals and trace minerals can be made to fit into one tablet or capsule of any size that could possibly be consumed by you or me – it’s just not possible, no matter how hard you squeeze it! An Optimal Daily Dose multiple vitamin will require from six to nine capsules daily. To learn more about what an Optimal Dose Daily Multivitamin formula should look like please check out Dr. Myatt’s Maxi Multi – a standard by which you can judge your current multiple vitamin.
Posted in Family Health, Nutrition and Health | Comments Off
Once-Ignored Vitamin Now Gets Respect
Written by Wellness Club on December 10, 2012 – 12:18 pm -Vitamin D – An Old Friend Finding New Respect
By Nurse Mark
Vitamin D, once dismissed as little more than “the sunshine vitamin” important only for healthy bone development in children, is suddenly finding new respect – even within the conventional medical world, which is normally quick to pooh-pooh anything natural or vitamin-related as unimportant compared to Big Pharma’s patented toxic offerings.
Vitamin D is suddenly receiving positive press on a number of fronts, and many experts are now acknowledging that vitamin D is actually misnamed; for it is more akin to a hormone than a vitamin.
Long known for it’s relationship to calcium and for it’s importance in preventing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, new research is linking vitamin D to a wide range of other health issues: it may be a major factor in the pathology of many cancers as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more.
In just one of many recent medical news articles about vitamin D, researchers found that babies born to mothers who had low levels of vitamin D were far more likely to have low birth weight and other developmental problems:
“If a mother was vitamin D deficient, the birth weight of her baby was 46 g lower after accounting for other characteristics of the mom. Also if moms were vitamin D deficient in the first trimester, they had twice the risk of delivering a baby that suffered from growth restriction during the pregnancy.”
Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-mother-vitamin-d-linked-birth.html#jCp
There is even evidence that vitamin D, taken in supplement form at 2000 to 5000 IU (International Units) daily, is highly protective against the H1N1 influenza virus (and presumably all other influenza viruses as well!)
So, how can you be sure you are getting enough of this newly respected “wonder-vitamin”? Well, they don’t call it “the sunshine vitamin” for nothing! Perhaps our most important source of vitamin D is from within our own bodies – given adequate exposure to sunlight our own skin produces vitamin D for us in healthy amounts.
Just how much sun and how much vitamin D? Medical scientists have found that the skin produces approximately 10,000 IU of vitamin D in response to as little as 20 to 30 minutes of unprotected summer sun exposure. Amazingly, that is 50 times more than the US government’s recommendation of 200 to 400 IU per day! (Which is why the acronym ‘RDA’ – which the government claims stands for ‘Recommended Daily Allowance’ – actually means ‘Really Dumb Advice’!)
But, you say, you live in Boston, or Seattle, or Nome in Alaska, and the sun goes away in November and isn’t seen again until April (I’m kidding – sort of – I know it really does peek through the gloom of winter once or twice during that time…) or if you live in Minnesota where it’s just too cold to expose any skin for much of the winter – what then?
Well, vitamin D can be obtained from food too. Since rickets in children is such a crippling but preventable condition, governments have long encouraged the “fortification” of dairy products and breads and cereals with token amounts of vitamin D. In the United States and Canada, for example, fortified milk typically provides 100 IU per glass – a far cry from the 10,000 IU of vitamin D made by the skin in response to sunlight! Most kids love milk, but try getting a hundred glasses into a kid; at 16 glasses per gallon… well, you do the math!
Other foods high in vitamin D include fish liver oils: cod liver oil contains around 1,360 IU per tablespoon. Mom was right – and now you know why it was good for you to gag down that awful stuff!
If you don’t care for cod liver oil (and who does?) maybe you like fish better: Herring is the vitamin D champ, with a 3 ounce portion providing around 1383 IU – other fishes lag behind with catfish providing 425 IU from that 3 ounce serving and salmon giving 360 IU from a 3.5 ounce portion.
Don’t care for fish at all? Well, a whole egg will serve up a whopping 20 IU of this important vitamin…
You say you are a vegetarian? You’d better be sure you are getting plenty of sunshine, because other than tiny amounts that may be found in UV-irradiated mushrooms, there just aren’t any vegetable sources of vitamin D.
What to do? Should you just throw your hands in the air and accept the negative health consequences of vitamin D deficiency? No! You can easily achieve meaningful, health-restoring vitamin D levels with supplementation. The Wellness Club offers vitamin D in both capsules of 5000 IU per tab and liquid form that provides 2000 IU per drop. Either of these supplements makes it easy to tailor a daily dosage to your individual needs.
How can you know how much you should take? The Vitamin D Council, a non-profit group dedicated to vitamin D research and education recommends people take 5,000 IU per day for 2–3 months, then perform a vitamin D test. They then suggest adjusting the dosage so that blood levels are between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L) year-round.
But wait – that sounds like big dose – and didn’t someone once tell you that too much vitamin D can be toxic? Maybe they did, but research does not support that concern. One source found that in adults, a sustained intake of 50,000 IU daily could produce toxicity within a few months and 40,000 IU per day in infants has been shown to produce toxicity within 1 to 4 months. That is ten times the recommended dose – so just don’t do that! And, if you are using high doses of vitamin D, vitamin D testing is good insurance and will allow you to fine-tune your dosage to your actual needs. Be careful though, since not all testing is the same and lab references and standards vary – be sure that you are comparing ‘apples to apples’ and obtaining useable results when you are tested.
The 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test (25(OH)D blood test) is a test that measures the amount of calcidiol circulating in the blood. This is the most accurate measure of the amount of vitamin D in the body. The Wellness Club offers this testing too – from a lab that adheres to standardized references and values so that you know what you are getting when you receive your results.
Sources:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D
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