Vitamins
Never-ending Benefits Linked to Vitamin D...
Date: 20/07/10
Lately, vitamin D is enjoying the media spotlight more and more – and rightfully so!
In the past year we’ve reported on several ground-breaking studies proving vitamin D’s frontline-position in the fight against disease. And it’s disease-fighting benefits and immune-enhancing abilities don’t seem to stop...
Vitamin D making headlines around every corner!
First, a study from the University College London Institute of Child Health, starkly contrasted with guidelines given by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Study results showed that pregnant women should be given vitamin D supplements to safeguard their babies' health. NICE does not support the provision of supplements.
Reporting in the British Journal of Nutrition the researchers called for a unified approach from health authorities towards supplements and said that vitamin D deficiency is "largely being overlooked by our health professionals". The Department of Health advises pregnant women to ensure they receive 10 micrograms per day of vitamin D, but the researchers said this cannot be provided by diet and the sun alone.
Then later, a confidential statement prepared by Cancer Research UK along with other health organisations, stated that concerns over the link between rising skin cancer rates and exposure to sunshine may have led to over-zealous precautionary advice given to the public about staying out of the midday sun.
After years of urging us to cover up, Cancer Research UK is now recommending that short spells of exposure to the sun when it is at its highest, without sunscreen, is best. This turn-around reflects concern that current sunbathing recommendations are unnecessarily restrictive and are leading to low levels of vitamin D... Something we’ve been arguing for a long time now. Previously, the charity advised the public to spend between 11am and 3pm in the shade, and to cover their skin with clothing, hats and sunscreen if out.
Although vitamin D is found in some foods, the majority of it is produced by the body through sunlight exposure, and most of us just do not get enough of it.
So get out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts... you’ll be doing your immune system a massive favour!
Vitamin D is helping to win the war against cancer
The link between cancer and vitamin D has sparked a great deal of interest. Numerous studies have proven vitamin D to be a major player in the fight against cancer, either as a preventative measure or as a potential treatment:
* A 2007 US study of more than 30,000 women found those eating food containing high levels of calcium and vitamin D were up to 40 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer before the menopause. The link was found to be strongest for faster growing tumours - which tend to be more commonly diagnosed in younger women.
* In 2009 the results of a study, published in the Journal of the British Association of Urological Surgeons, showed that a daily dose of vitamin D reduced PSA levels - an indicator of severity of prostate cancer - by as much as half in 20 per cent of patients.
* In another study earlier this year, researchers from a number of institutes in Europe, including Imperial College London, discovered that people with the highest concentrations of vitamin D in their blood had a 40 per cent reduced risk of bowel cancer compared with those recording the lowest levels of the vitamin. Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers concluded that vitamin D may be associated with a protective effect against bowel cancer.
It’s not just cancer vitamin D protects against...
* Psoriasis: A recent study tested the effects of vitamin D-rich sunlight on 20 Swedish psoriasis sufferers (men and women with an average age of 47). The participants were taken for a 3-week break in Gran Canaria. The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) was used to measure the severity of psoriasis in the group. The participants’ PASI scores declined, on average, by 73 per cent.
* Infectious disease: 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, and they concluded that the decline in vitamin D levels between November and March could be the reason for the peak in colds and flu during the winter months.
* Multiple Sclerosis: The latest research from Canada suggests a strong link between the “sunshine vitamin” and a gene that increases the risk of the incurable neurological condition, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) - an inflammatory disease of the nervous system.
Professor Ebers, lead researcher said “Our research has married two key pieces of the puzzle. The interaction of vitamin D with the gene is very specific and it seems most unlikely to be a coincidence of any kind... I think it offers the potential for treatment which might prevent MS in the future.”
We’ve just begun to scratch the surface of vitamin D’s numerous health benefits here... The evidence just keeps on mounting!
Vitamin D: related Reading
Vitamin D Protects Against Infectious Diseases
How vitamin D could help you live longer
‘Wrong’ Sunlight Can Lower Your Vitamin D Levels
Sources:
‘Vitamin D hope in prostate cancer’ published online 26.04.2009, news.bbc.co.uk
‘Higher vitamin D levels may be linked to lower risk of bowel cancer’ published online 25.01.10, info.cancerresearchuk.org
'Calcium and Vitamin D cut breast cancer risk by more than a third' published online 13.09. 2007, dailymail.co.uk
‘Sunlight found to bring big benefits for psoriasis sufferers’ by Dr. Briffa, published online 30.05.09, drbriffa.com
‘Could low levels of vitamin D help explain why we’re prone to infections in the winter?’, by Dr. Briffa, published online 12.10.07, drbriffa.com
‘Vitamin D helps to combat tuberculosis, flu and other infections’ by Dr. Briffa, published online 22.06.07, drbriffa.com
‘Vitamin D is ray of sunshine for multiple sclerosis patients’, by Melanie Reid and Oliver Gillie, published online 05/02/09, timesonline.co.uk
‘Vitamin D Deficiency in the Elderly’ by Dr. Derrick DeSilva Jr, published online 08.09.09, alternativehealthjournal.com
‘Vitamin D found to enhance muscle strength in the elderly’ by Dr. Briffa, published online 11.09.09, drbriffa.com
Back to topIn the past year we’ve reported on several ground-breaking studies proving vitamin D’s frontline-position in the fight against disease. And it’s disease-fighting benefits and immune-enhancing abilities don’t seem to stop...
Vitamin D making headlines around every corner!
In the past two weeks, the ‘sunshine vitamin’ enjoyed its moment on the proverbial read carpet twice...
First, a study from the University College London Institute of Child Health, starkly contrasted with guidelines given by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Study results showed that pregnant women should be given vitamin D supplements to safeguard their babies' health. NICE does not support the provision of supplements.
Reporting in the British Journal of Nutrition the researchers called for a unified approach from health authorities towards supplements and said that vitamin D deficiency is "largely being overlooked by our health professionals". The Department of Health advises pregnant women to ensure they receive 10 micrograms per day of vitamin D, but the researchers said this cannot be provided by diet and the sun alone.
Then later, a confidential statement prepared by Cancer Research UK along with other health organisations, stated that concerns over the link between rising skin cancer rates and exposure to sunshine may have led to over-zealous precautionary advice given to the public about staying out of the midday sun.
After years of urging us to cover up, Cancer Research UK is now recommending that short spells of exposure to the sun when it is at its highest, without sunscreen, is best. This turn-around reflects concern that current sunbathing recommendations are unnecessarily restrictive and are leading to low levels of vitamin D... Something we’ve been arguing for a long time now. Previously, the charity advised the public to spend between 11am and 3pm in the shade, and to cover their skin with clothing, hats and sunscreen if out.
Although vitamin D is found in some foods, the majority of it is produced by the body through sunlight exposure, and most of us just do not get enough of it.
So get out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts... you’ll be doing your immune system a massive favour!
Vitamin D is helping to win the war against cancer
The link between cancer and vitamin D has sparked a great deal of interest. Numerous studies have proven vitamin D to be a major player in the fight against cancer, either as a preventative measure or as a potential treatment:
* A 2007 US study of more than 30,000 women found those eating food containing high levels of calcium and vitamin D were up to 40 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer before the menopause. The link was found to be strongest for faster growing tumours - which tend to be more commonly diagnosed in younger women.
* In 2009 the results of a study, published in the Journal of the British Association of Urological Surgeons, showed that a daily dose of vitamin D reduced PSA levels - an indicator of severity of prostate cancer - by as much as half in 20 per cent of patients.
* In another study earlier this year, researchers from a number of institutes in Europe, including Imperial College London, discovered that people with the highest concentrations of vitamin D in their blood had a 40 per cent reduced risk of bowel cancer compared with those recording the lowest levels of the vitamin. Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers concluded that vitamin D may be associated with a protective effect against bowel cancer.
It’s not just cancer vitamin D protects against...
* Psoriasis: A recent study tested the effects of vitamin D-rich sunlight on 20 Swedish psoriasis sufferers (men and women with an average age of 47). The participants were taken for a 3-week break in Gran Canaria. The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) was used to measure the severity of psoriasis in the group. The participants’ PASI scores declined, on average, by 73 per cent.
* Infectious disease: 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, and they concluded that the decline in vitamin D levels between November and March could be the reason for the peak in colds and flu during the winter months.
* Multiple Sclerosis: The latest research from Canada suggests a strong link between the “sunshine vitamin” and a gene that increases the risk of the incurable neurological condition, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) - an inflammatory disease of the nervous system.
Professor Ebers, lead researcher said “Our research has married two key pieces of the puzzle. The interaction of vitamin D with the gene is very specific and it seems most unlikely to be a coincidence of any kind... I think it offers the potential for treatment which might prevent MS in the future.”
We’ve just begun to scratch the surface of vitamin D’s numerous health benefits here... The evidence just keeps on mounting!
Vitamin D: related Reading
Vitamin D Protects Against Infectious Diseases
How vitamin D could help you live longer
‘Wrong’ Sunlight Can Lower Your Vitamin D Levels
Sources:
‘Vitamin D hope in prostate cancer’ published online 26.04.2009, news.bbc.co.uk
‘Higher vitamin D levels may be linked to lower risk of bowel cancer’ published online 25.01.10, info.cancerresearchuk.org
'Calcium and Vitamin D cut breast cancer risk by more than a third' published online 13.09. 2007, dailymail.co.uk
‘Sunlight found to bring big benefits for psoriasis sufferers’ by Dr. Briffa, published online 30.05.09, drbriffa.com
‘Could low levels of vitamin D help explain why we’re prone to infections in the winter?’, by Dr. Briffa, published online 12.10.07, drbriffa.com
‘Vitamin D helps to combat tuberculosis, flu and other infections’ by Dr. Briffa, published online 22.06.07, drbriffa.com
‘Vitamin D is ray of sunshine for multiple sclerosis patients’, by Melanie Reid and Oliver Gillie, published online 05/02/09, timesonline.co.uk
‘Vitamin D Deficiency in the Elderly’ by Dr. Derrick DeSilva Jr, published online 08.09.09, alternativehealthjournal.com
‘Vitamin D found to enhance muscle strength in the elderly’ by Dr. Briffa, published online 11.09.09, drbriffa.com
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