Vitamin D, that is. Are you getting enough?
Many Canadians are deficient in this essential vitamin, and the most recent research shows that it can be a major factor for helping to prevent some of the top chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. Optimal Vitamin D levels (100-150nmol/L) plays a very important role in making sure that your body functions the way it is intended - this one vitamin interacts with over 3,000 of your genes (The Vitamin D Society)!
You probably knew that Vitamin D is important for your bones, but did you know that it can help to prevent many other diseases, including: tuberculosis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, type-1 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, myopathy, breast and other cancers? In fact, it is projected that the incidence of many of these diseases could be reduced by 20-50% or more by increasing blood levels of Vitamin D (www.grassrootshealth.net/epidemic).
According to Michael F. Holick, Ph.D, M.D., by achieving blood levels of 125nmol/L, we can expect...
- Rickets, reduced by 100%
- Osteomalacia, reduced by 100%
- Cancers, all combined, reduced by 75%
- Breast Cancer, reduced by 50%
- Ovarian Cancer, reduced by 25%
- Colon Cancer, reduced by 67%
- Non-Hodgkins, reduced by 30%
- Kidney Cancer, reduced by 67%
- Endometrial Cancer, reduced by 35%
- Type 1 Diabetes, reduced by 80%
- Type 2 Diabetes, reduced by 50%
- Fractures, all combined, reduced by 50%
- Falls, women reduced by 72%
- Multiple Sclerosis, reduced by 50%
- Heart Attack, men, reduced by 50%
- Peripheral Vascular Disease, reduced by 80%
- preeclampsia reduced by 50%
- Cesarean Section, reduced by 75%
Holick, Michael F., PhD., M.D., Boston University School of Medicine,
textbook - Physiology, Molecular Biology, and Clinical Applications
(2nd Ed 2010 Humana Press). Page 12.
textbook - Physiology, Molecular Biology, and Clinical Applications
(2nd Ed 2010 Humana Press). Page 12.
People in colder regions form their year's supply of natural Vitamin D in the summer months, when UV-B rays are most direct. With less sun exposure (like where I live, in Toronto), darker skin, and increased sunscreen use, less Vitamin D is formed and the lower the blood levels of the vitamin. People who are sun-phobic, babies who are exclusively breast-fed, the elderly and those living in nursing homes are particularly at risk of a serious Vitamin D deficiency (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/health/27brod.html?_r=3&).
Be sure to get your kids levels checked, too! Japanese researchers found that Vitamin D supplementation, particularly through the winter months, may reduce the incidence of influenza in schoolchildren (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20219962).
I recommend Vitamin D supplementation to all of my patients, friends and family members. Have your levels checked with a 25(OH)D blood test. Aim for levels of 100-150nmol/L and enjoy all the health benefits that go along with it!
