Vitamin D Deficiency Related to Increased Inflammation in Healthy Women
April 6, 2009(PhysOrg.com) -- According to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 75 percent of Americans do not get enough Vitamin D. Researchers have found that the deficiency may negatively impact immune function and cardiovascular health and increase cancer risk. Now, a University of Missouri nutritional sciences researcher has found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation, a negative response of the immune system, in healthy women.
Increased concentrations of serum TNF-α, an inflammatory marker, were found in women who had insufficient vitamin D levels. This study is the first to find an inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and concentrations of TNF-α in a healthy, non-diseased population. This may explain the vitamin's role in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases, including heart disease, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
"The findings reveal that low vitamin D levels negatively impact inflammation and immune response, even in healthy women," said Catherine Peterson, assistant professor in the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences. "Increased inflammation normally is found in people with obesity or chronic diseases; a small decrease in vitamin D levels may aggravate symptoms in people who are sick."
The results support the need to re-examine the biological basis for determining the dietary reference intake (DRI) of vitamin D, Peterson said. The Institute of Medicine's DRI for vitamin D is 200 IU for people age 50 and younger and 400 IU for people 50 to 70 years old. The guidelines, created in 1997, are being revised to reflect new research, and Peterson is confident the DRI will be increased.
"Adequate vitamin D levels identified in this study are consistent with recent research that suggests the DRI should be increased," Peterson said. "To improve vitamin D status and achieve its related health benefits, most people should get at least 1000 IU of vitamin D per day. Sunlight is a readily-available, free source of vitamin D. Exposing 25 percent of the skin's surface area to 10 minutes of sunlight three days per week will maintain adequate levels in the majority of people; however, people with darkly-pigmented skin need more. Only a few foods contain vitamin D naturally, such as fatty fish; other sources are dietary supplements and vitamin-D-fortified foods, including milk and orange juice."
In future studies, Peterson will determine the effectiveness of Vitamin D in reducing disease symptoms and reducing blood glucose levels in diabetics. The study, "Serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations are negatively correlated with serum 25(OH) D concentrations in healthy women," was published in the July, 2008 issue of the Journal of Inflammation.
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Accidental poisonings of children have also occurred with a number of vitamins, most notably with large doses of fat soluble iron and vitamins A and D.
Small amounts of Drug-nutrient interactions can also be fatal with substances such as MAOI's.
http://www.ajcn.o...l/85/1/6
Explains that up to 10,000iu/daily Vitamin D is a safe upper limit as adverse events have only been recorded above 200ng/mL or 500nmol/l.
The average female living around or above latitude 40 will require 5000iu/daily males 6000iu/d to achieve 150nmol/l 60ng the level associated with least chronic disease incidence.
To get up to the level associated with adverse events requires months and months of taking around 40,000iu/d.
Estimated benefit of increased vitamin D status in reducing the economic burden of disease in western Europe.
http://www.ncbi.n...19268496
explains the range of conditions that occur in the Vitamin D deficient and attempts to quantify the cost burden of vitamin d insufficiency.
A more accessible chart of the diseases associated with 25(OH)D levels below 56ng are set out here
http://www.grassr...2608.pdf
Grassrootshealth is a charity promoting knowledge of D3. The videos from the world's leading Vit d Scientists are all worth watching.
http://www.grassr...lth.net/
They also subsidize 25(OH)D testing.
http://www.grassr...lth.net/d-action
"May as well consult a butcher on the value of vegetarianism as a doctor on the worth of vaccination." - Bernard Shaw
I can add: and on the worth of pharmaceutical products.
http://www.umm.ed...0995.htm