Guide: Vitamin-D

 Vitamin D Deficiency Could Kill You-II

previous research has linked low vitamin D with high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, which all can contribute to heart disease.

The new research "provides the strongest evidence for a link between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular mortality," in the Harvard study of 18,225 men.

Low vitamin D levels also have been linked with several kinds of and some researchers believe the vitamin could even be used to help prevent malignancies.

At least 50 percent of older adults worldwide have low vitamin D levels. Possible reasons include decreased outdoor activities, air pollution and, as people age, a decline in the skin's ability to produce vitamin D from ultraviolet rays, use of sunscreens the study authors said. The use of statin drugs and low fat diet are to blame read more in the bottom section.

Outside exposure 50-60 minutes daily in the sun without sunscreen is safe and enough to ensure adequate vitamin D, although there's no consensus on that.

Diet sources include fortified milk, which generally contains 100 international units of vitamin D per cup, and fatty fish 3- ounces of canned tuna has 200 units.

Current vitamin D recommendations are 1000 units daily for children. For adults up to age 50, need  5000 units dialy .

CIDPUSA RECOMMENDS 5000 UNITS DAILY for adults, children can use cod liver oil daily according to instructions on formulation. This prevents blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

We are in the midst of an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency of immense proportion. Study after study of nursing home populations, of nursing mothers, of healthy male and female volunteers and of various children groups have consistently documented Vitamin D deficiency

This high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, even in those taking multivitamins, indicates that a critical review of vitamin D needs is a major priority.

A vitamin D precursor is synthesized in the skin from cholesterol in response to absorbing UVB rays. It then gets converted in the liver to an intermediate form. In the kidneys it joins with an important enzyme for conversion into its active hormonal form.

Many factors potentially interfere with the UVB conversion. People having darker skins are much more likely to have vitamin D deficiency. The aged skin of the elderly impairs cholesterol conversion as does the presence of obesity Use of statins lowers vitamin-D. Using sun-screens and blockers, cuts down on the ability of UVB to convert cholesterol to vitamin D. Last but not least, one needs UVB exposure.

Without sun exposure you need 5,000 units of vitamin D a day. You would need 40 glasses of milk or ten multi-vitamins capsules daily to supply your vitamin D needs. Most of us make about 20,000 units of vitamin D after 60 minutes of summer sun due to UVB conversion of cholesterol.

Cholesterol must be available in our bodies in amounts sufficient to allow UVB conversion to vitamin D. We are all genetically blessed with a “natural level” of cholesterol. What is natural for one person may be completely inadequate for another. Into this heterogenous pool we dump statins indiscriminately in a misguided attempt to bring everyone’s natural level of cholesterol down to some artificially low level.

Statins aggravate our already immense, vitamin D deficient state. There is little doubt that the availability of statins drugs these past two decades have made a major contribution to this problem.