Vitamin D for Overall Health

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We often hear the phrase: Wonder Vitamin. Vitamin D may not be the first supplement to be labelled with this phrase, but it is one of the few that can certainly live up to the expectation.

This fat-soluble vitamin is produced by our bodies when the skin is exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. In theory a few minutes exposure to sun each day should generate sufficient vitamin D. However, many individuals don’t receive sufficient sun exposure, particularly in winter and even more so for those of us living in the northern hemisphere. In the winter, the sun in Britain is barely strong enough to make the vitamin, and by springtime, 60 per cent of the population is vitamin D deficient (defined as a blood level below 30ng per millilitre).

The capacity of the body to manufacture vitamin D declines with age, and vitamin D deficiency in the elderly is relatively common. One in seven adults has been reported to be deficient in vitamin D.

Overall mortality?

Earlier studies had suggested that vitamin D played a key role in protecting against cancer, heart disease and diabetes – conditions that account for 60 to 70 per cent of all deaths in the West. Now, an extensive review of the health benefits of vitamin D by researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon and the European Institute of Oncology in Milan found that those who took vitamin D supplements had a 7 per cent lower risk of death overall during the six-year period of the study.

Edward Giovannucci, a professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in the US, said that the research added "a new chapter in the accumulating evidence for the beneficial role of vitamin D on health". He called for a debate on the merits of "moderate sun exposure, food fortification with vitamin D and higher dose supplements for adults".

Colds and Flu

Traditionally we have been advised to swallow large quantities of vitamin C to avoid colds and flu. We may have been turning to the wrong vitamin...

US Researchers from Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, found that giving supplements of vitamin D to a group of volunteers reduced the occurrence of colds and flu by 70 per cent over three years. The researchers said that the vitamin stimulated natural immunity to viruses and bacteria. The decline in vitamin D levels between November and March could be the reason for the peak in colds and flu during winter.

Heart Disease

Vitamin D works by lowering insulin resistance, which is one of the major factors in heart disease. It is also used by the thyroid gland, which secretes a hormone that regulates the body's levels of calcium, which in turns helps regulate blood pressure.

A US study by the University of California, of almost 10,000 women over 65, found that those who took vitamin D supplements had a 31 per cent lower risk of dying of heart disease. German researchers at the University of Bonn also found lower levels of vitamin D in patients with chronic heart failure.

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Differences in sunlight may also explain the higher rates of heart disease in England compared with southern Europe. Some experts believe that the health benefits of life in the Mediterranean may have as much to do with the sun there as with the regional food.

Dr. James H. O'Keefe, director of preventive cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City said: ‘There is a whole array of studies linking increased cardiovascular risk with vitamin D deficiency... It is associated with major risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and stiffening of the left ventricle of the heart and blood vessels. Inflammation is really important for heart disease, and people with vitamin D deficiency have increased inflammation.’

Cancer

US researchers from the University of San Diego reviewed 63 scientific papers published since the 1960s and concluded that there was a need for "public health action" to boost vitamin D levels. They said that a daily dose of 1,000 international units (25 micrograms) was needed. They wrote in the American Journal of Public Health that vitamin D deficiency "may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast, ovarian and other cancers annually.”

In June, the Canadian Cancer Society recommended that adults start taking vitamin D supplements to reduce their risk of cancer.

Diabetes

Researchers followed 12,000 children born in 1966 until 1997 and found that those who developed rickets, indicating vitamin D deficiency, were three times more likely to become diabetic.

In a Finland, a study led by London-based Elina Hypoponen, from the Institute of Child Health, vitamin D supplements given to babies reduced their risk of Type 1 diabetes by 80 per cent. In the same light, in Oxford, the number of five-year-olds with diabetes has increased fivefold, and the number of 15-year-olds with it has doubled. Doctors say that this increase is too steep to be caused by genetic factors, and must be due to changes in the environment.

Elina Hypoponen said: "Our research shows that an alarmingly high number of people in the UK do not get enough vitamin D. In winter, nine out of 10 adults have sub-optimal levels."

Multiple Sclerosis

The idea that sunlight might protect against Multiple Sclerosis (MS) arose because the condition is more common in countries further from the equator: gloomy Chicago has a higher rate than sunny Florida, for example. Cloudy Scotland has the highest rate of MS in the world. Scots born in May, after the long, dark winter, have an above-average risk, while those born in November, after the summer holidays, have the lowest risk.

A study published in 2004 by Sir Donald Acheson, former UK Chief Medical Officer, suggests that people who spent more time in the sun had a lower risk of MS than those who stayed out of it. Published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the study concluded that a certain level of exposure to the sun might be necessary throughout the year.

Autism

John Cannell, a psychiatrist and vitamin D advocate, believes that vitamin D deficiency could be behind the explosion in autism. The evidence is circumstantial, but Cannell says that medical advice to avoid the sun and cover up since the 1980s has paralleled the rise in autism. In support of Cannell, Dr Richard Mills, research director at the National Autistic Society, said: "There has been speculation about autism being more common in high-latitude countries that get less sunlight, and a tie-up with rickets has been suggested – observations which support the theory."

Most healthy individuals get all the vitamins and minerals they need from eating a balanced diet, but vitamin D is the exception. It is made by the action of sunlight on the skin, which accounts for 90 per cent of the body's supply. Very little comes from food.

The increasing use of sunscreens and the decreasing amount of time spent outdoors, especially by children, has contributed to what many scientists believe is an increasing problem of vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D lasts for around 60 days in the body, so it needs regular topping up. Twenty minutes twice a week in the sun with exposed hands, arms and face is adequate to maintain reserves. In the US, the recommended supplementary dose is 400 international units a day, but there is no recommended supplementary dose in the UK. Some scientists say that 1,000 international units of vitamin D a day may be necessary to prevent disease.

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Sources:

‘Vitamin D Vital for the Heart’ by Ed Edleson, published online 01.12.08, businessweek.com

‘D Vitamin’, published online, pharmanord.co.uk

‘The Virtues of Vitamin D’ by Jeremy Lawrence, published online 18.09.07, independent.co.uk

‘Five ways to Curb Cold Feet’ by Dr. Weil, published online, drweil.com