Vitamin D Prescription- Health Benefits of Vitamin D

Entries from April 2009

Swine Flu Prevention and Treatment, Can Vitamin D help?

April 26, 2009 · 22 Comments

The Swine Flu and the complications associated with it are concerning  people worldwide.   Officials are warning against a possible epidemic.  However, could vitamin D supplementation also protect one from contracting the swine flu?  Studies have shown that those with higher  vitamin D blood levels are less likely to contract the typical avian influenza most of us are familiar with.   This is why most get the flu in the winter and  spring, when sunlight and blood vitamin D levels are at their lowest.    I suspect the results will be similar for the swine flu.

Fortunately, summer is approaching and the sun will be generating more vitamin D  in people as the UV-B light rays  get absorbed by our skin.  I expect this epidemic will be short lived, pray for a heat wave as it may be the best medicine.  I recommend at least 2,000 IU daily of a vitamin D supplement also for possible prevention.

Below is an excerpt from Vitamin D Prescription by Eric Madrid MD- Purchase Book: Vitamin D Prescription- The Healing Power of the Sun at Amazon.com

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Influenza

Head colds, influenza  infections, and tuberculosis  affect millions of people annually worldwide. Cold and flu viruses commonly infect more people during the winter season. For this reason, many healthcare professionals recommend that those at risk, such as senior citizens and diabetics, take their flu shots annually. As a matter of fact, this is the recommendation of most professional medical associations, including the American Medical Association. Patients flock to their doctors and pharmacies starting in early November asking for the “lifesaving vaccine.” They continue to ask up until about late February.

Our parents and grandparents told us, “Make sure you put on your jacket before you go out or you’re going to catch a cold.” Does cold weather really make people sick? I thought it was only viruses and bacteria that make people sick. At least that is what I learned in medical school. What does cold weather have to do with catching a cold? Many assume that this is an old wives tale.

For years, the “intelligent” countered this tale with the assumption that upper respiratory viruses are passed along more during the cold months because people stay indoors more, allowing more intimate contact, and therefore sharing germs. Whether or not one wore a jacket was irrelevant.

“Vitamin D supplementation could prevent one from developing the flu”

In 1965, Dr. Edgar Hope-Simpson (1908-2003), a general practitioner, was given credit for proposing that the shingles infection was caused by reactivation of the chicken pox virus. In 1981, he proposed that solar radiation (sunshine) could protect against the flu virus.

In 2006, Dr. John Cannell (Vitamin D expert and psychiatrist at Atascadero State Hospital, California) and colleagues published a paper showing evidence that lower vitamin D blood levels during the winter can account for the increased transmissibility of the influenza virus among children  and adults.  This, along with numerous other studies about vitamin D, started a paradigm shift.

Studies show that vitamin D stimulates the immune system and disease-fighting cells, called macrophages and T cells. The cells create proteins that have antiviral and antimicrobial properties. Further, we know that macrophages and T cells have vitamin D receptors (VDRs) on them, enhancing their functions. Dr. Cannell became interested in vitamin D research when he noted that patients in his psychiatric ward who took 2,000 IU of vitamin D did not get the flu, while the patients in other wards (who did not take vitamin D) did. The patients intermingled with each other so cross exposure was certain. The study showed that vitamin D supplementation could prevent one from developing the flu.

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Purchase Book: Vitamin D Prescription- The Healing Power of the Sun at Amazon.com

Categories: Uncategorized
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Swine Flu Infection Symptoms and Vitamin D- Can it help?

April 25, 2009 · 1 Comment

The swine flu is a viral infection that originates from pigs. It was first  isolated from pigs in the 1930s.   Antibiotics do not help.   Symptoms of infection with the swine flu are similar to the the regular influenza virus most are familiar with. Most infected will do fine.  Those who are immune compromised, older  or pregnant may be at higher risk of complications or serious respiratory illness.  The most common symptoms include:

  • Cough
  • Congestion
  • Nasal Congestion
  • Body aches
  • Joint Pains
  • Fevers
  • Sore throat
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Decreased energy
  • Rarely death

The infection is transmitted to humans who are in contact with swine.  Human to human contact occurs with casual contact or airborne transmission  when one sneezes or coughs. Eating pork products will not cause one to develop the swine flu.  Washing hands routinely and wearing a N99 mask, such as the Wein ViraMask may  also be helpful.

If you contract the swine flu, there are 2 flu medications which can be helpful.  The  CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.  These medications can also be used for the usual avian influenza. Remember- most with flu symptoms simply have a viral infection and NOT the swine flu.

A study by Dr. Cannell from California also showed that vitamin D can help prevent influenza infections by strenghtening the immune system.  A daily intake of 2,000 IU daily should be taken- at minimum.  A  dose of up to 10,000 IU of vitamin D  daily for a few days may also be helpful.  Whether vitamin D will  help with the swine flu is yet to be seen- however, I personally took  a higher than usual dose of vitamin D last night after watching news reports on the infection.  Better safe than sorry!

Dr. Eric Madrid

Wein ViraMask may help prevent respiratory transmission of airborne illnesses.

Categories: Infections · Uncategorized
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Vitamin D and Health Risks?

April 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment

By TAMMIE SMITH Richmond Times Dispatch

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 9, 2009

I’m a 30-year-old female who works in health care. Much to my surprise I was diagnosed as vitamin D deficient at a recent checkup. I’ve seen vitamin D deficiency with my patients, but now that it has happened to me, I’m baffled. Though I spend a lot of time indoors, I grew up in Florida so am no stranger to the sun. My family is Greek.

According to research out this week, an increasing number of Americans are not getting enough vitamin D, and a major reason is too little time in the sun. I attended a community forum on prostate cancer about a year ago and was surprised to hear one speaker say that his regimen for battling prostate cancer included spending more time in the sun. He had read about the benefits of vitamin D and evidence linking vitamin D deficiencies to some cancers.

Sun exposure accounts for most of the vitamin D our bodies make, but it is also in some foods and can be taken as supplements. The speaker at the forum also knew that as an African-American, his darker skin put him at greater risk of being vitamin D deficient.

Low vitamin D levels are a well-known risk factor for rickets, a bone softening in children that can cause bowed legs. More recently, low vitamin D levels have been linked to cardiovascular disease, infections and cancer.

In the study out this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers compared average vitamin D levels collected during national nutrition surveys from 1988 to 1994 with those collected from 2001 to 2004.

The average serum vitamin D level decreased from 30 nanograms per milliliter to 24 during that period. While a level of 20 used to be considered fine, many experts now think 30 is a better number to aim for…read more here…

Categories: Cancer · Suppplements · Women's Health
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C-Section and Vitamin D- Is there a Connection?

April 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment

(NaturalNews) A study indicates women who are short on vitamin D are more likely to have a cesarean section delivery. The findings can be attributed to the work of a larger study which looked at the vitamin D levels in women within 72 hours of delivery. None of the women in the study had previous c-sections, and the rate of cesarean deliveries during the study was 17 percent. Researchers found 36 percent of women who had delivered babies to be vitamin D deficient, and 23 percent were found to be severely deficient. The findings indicate that a woman with low vitamin D levels is four times more likely to deliver by cesarean than a woman with higher levels.

Anne Merewood, an assistant pediatrics professor at Boston University School of Medicine and co-author of the study from the Boston Medical Center, says the theory behind these study results involves the connection between vitamin D deficiency and muscle weakness. The uterus, which is made of muscle, may possibly lose some amount of strength if a woman is significantly low on vitamin D. If a woman’s muscles are weak due to a lack of vitamin D, this may hinder her ability to deliver the baby vaginally.

But Merewood adds, “That is really just a theory at this point. We definitely haven’t identified a causal pathway.”

Daniel Hirsch, an assistant pediatrics professor at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, says it is too soon to tell if these findings indicate that pregnant women need extra vitamin D in supplement form. There are too many variables, he says, and larger studies are needed to confirm these results…read more here…

Categories: Pregnancy
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Vitamin D and Fibromyalgia, What is the connection?

April 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment

In my own Southern California practice, where 80% of all my patients have vitamin D deficiency, I have noted  similar findings.  Those patients of mine with chronic pain, non specific bone pain and fibromyalgia  generally have severe vitamin D deficiencies.  I have had several patients improve their chronic pain conditions when they optimized their vitamin D levels.

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ROCHESTER, Minn., March 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Mayo Clinic research shows a correlation between inadequate vitamin D levels and the amount of narcotic medication taken by patients who have chronic pain. This correlation is an important finding as researchers discover new ways to treat chronic pain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic pain is the leading cause of disability in the United States. These patients often end up taking narcotic-type pain medication such as morphine, fentanyl or oxycodone.

This study found that patients who required narcotic pain medication, and who also had inadequate levels of vitamin D, were taking much higher doses of pain medication — nearly twice as much — as those who had adequate levels. Similarly, these patients self-reported worse physical functioning and worse overall health perception. In addition, a correlation was noted between increasing body mass index (a measure of obesity) and decreasing levels of vitamin D. Study results were published in a recent edition of Pain Medicine.

“This is an important finding as we continue to investigate the causes of chronic pain,” says Michael Turner, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study. “Vitamin D is known to promote both bone and muscle strength. Conversely, deficiency is an under-recognized source of diffuse pain and impaired neuromuscular functioning. By recognizing it, physicians can significantly improve their patients’ pain, function and quality of life.”

Researchers retrospectively studied 267 chronic pain patients admitted to the Mayo Comprehensive Pain Rehabilitation Center in Rochester from February to December 2006. Vitamin D levels at the time of admission were compared to other parameters such as the amount and duration of narcotic pain medication usage; self-reported levels of pain, emotional distress, physical functioning and health perception; and demographic information such as gender, age, diagnosis and body mass index...read more here..

Categories: Chronic Pain · Fibromyalgia
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Vitamin D and Fractures

April 1, 2009 · Leave a Comment

March 31, 2009 — Prevention of nonvertebral fractures with vitamin D is dose-dependent for individuals aged 65 years or older, according to the results of a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reported in the March 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

“A dose-response relationship between vitamin D and fracture reduction is supported by epidemiologic data showing a significant positive trend between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and hip bone density and lower extremity strength,” write Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, DrPH, from University of Zurich, University Hospital in Switzerland, and colleagues. “Antifracture efficacy with supplemental vitamin D has been questioned by recent trials. We performed a meta-analysis on the efficacy of oral supplemental vitamin D in preventing nonvertebral and hip fractures among older individuals (≥65 years).”

The reviewers identified 12 double-blind RCTs for nonvertebral fractures, enrolling a total of 42,279 subjects, and 8 RCTs for hip fractures, enrolling a total of 40,886 subjects, which compared the effects of oral vitamin D, with or without calcium, with those of calcium alone or of placebo. As a measure of treatment adherence, the reviewers calculated the mean received dose for each trial by multiplying the dose by the percentage of adherence.

There was significant heterogeneity for both end points. For prevention of nonvertebral fractures, the pooled relative risk (RR) was 0.86 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77 – 0.96), and RR was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.78 – 1.05) for the prevention of hip fractures. When all trials were included, antifracture efficacy for both endpoints increased significantly with a higher dose and higher achieved blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels…..read more here..

Categories: Osteoporosis
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Vitamin D and Cancer Prevention

April 1, 2009 · 1 Comment

Getting enough vitamin D can significantly reduce the risk of several different types of cancer, and ecological studies done over the past decade have confirmed that sun exposure is a critical source of this vitamin, according to a recent report in Annals of Epidemiology.

Researchers have been looking at the connection between vitamin D from sunlight and cancer risk since 1980, when researchers Cedric and Frank Garland looked at geographic maps of cancer deaths and found that mortality from colon cancer was highest in places where residents got the least amount of sun exposure (such as in high latitudes).

William B. Grant, PhD., Director of the Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC) in San Francisco, California, has been one of the foremost researchers on vitamin D and cancer incidence since 2000. In a 2002 study, he identified 14 different types of cancers that were linked to insufficient UVB exposure, and estimated that between 17,000 and 23,000 people die prematurely each year in the U.S. due to a lack of vitamin D from the sun.

The strongest associations between vitamin D from the sun and cancer have been with colon and breast cancers, but links have also been found with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian cancer, and kidney cancer. Studies have also connected vitamin D to a reduced incidence of other diseases, such as colds and flu, coronary heart disease, stroke, and congestive heart failure.

People can get vitamin D in two ways: from the diet (in foods such as salmon, milk, and eggs) and through sunlight exposure (the skin produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun’s UVB rays). Yet diet supplies only about 200 to 300 IU of vitamin D each day; a fraction of the recommended dose for cancer prevention, according to Dr. Grant. “The amount of vitamin D in diet is just not sufficient to have an impact, he says.

The sun is a much more potent source of vitamin D. “In the United States in the summer, people can make 1,500 IU of vitamin D just from casual [sun] exposure,” Dr. Grant says. For people who are relatively young, as little as five to 10 minutes of midday sun exposure without sunscreen is enough to produce the 4,000 IU of vitamin D he recommends daily for disease prevention. Those who are over age 60 may need to spend a few extra minutes outside each day because their bodies don’t produce the vitamin as efficiently.

Despite the mounting evidence that a few minutes of daily sun worshipping is good for the health, dermatologists and cancer investigators have been at odds when it comes to sun advice. For years, dermatologists have been warning Americans to stay out of the sun when possible, and to wear sunscreen when exposed, to avoid developing melanoma—the deadliest form of skin cancer. Yet Dr. Grant says melanomas tend to be caused by UVA rays, which are highest during the morning hours, rather than the cancer-protective UVB rays, which increase at around 1 p.m. “You go out for a shorter time at midday and make your vitamin D, and then cover up,” he advises.

During the winter months or in more northern climates where sun exposure is generally lower, Dr. Grant advises taking vitamin D supplements to ensure that you’re getting enough.

To learn more about getting the optimum levels of vitamin D for your individual situation talk to your licensed healthcare provider.

Source:
Grant WB, Mohr SB. Ecological studies of ultraviolet B, vitamin D and cancer since 2000. Annals of Epidemiology, 2009.

Other sources:
Garland CF, Garland FC. Do sunlight and vitamin D reduce the likelihood of colon cancer? International Journal of Epidemiology. 1980;9:227-231.

http://www.cancermonthly.com/iNP/view.asp?ID=244

Categories: Cancer
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