Vitamin D supplements, This weekend’s “fall back” into standard time means dark days are upon us — with zero chance of baring our skin enough to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D.
Health Canada says everyone over one year of age should take at least 600 IU a day during the fall and winter with upper limits rising to 4,000 IU a day by age nine. That’s because it’s known that Vitamin D — readily found in oily fish or dietary supplements — helps keep bones strong by aiding calcium absorption in the body.
Some health professionals say that advice doesn’t go far enough in explaining the other advantages of taking Vitamin D. West Vancouver naturopathic doctor Gaetano Morello says it has a role in preventing flus and colds, inflammation and heart disease.
“It really has a lot of benefits that we’re starting to learn more about and the science is supporting it,” says Morello, who works two days a week at the Complex Chronic Disease Program at BC Women’s Hospital in what he calls a rare joint effort between medical doctors and a naturopathic practitioner.
“With chronic diseases — fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome — one of the things that’s checked is Vitamin D3. Why? Because it’s at play in the immune system. There’s a plethora of literature for cardiovascular health, immune health. It’s evolving medicine ... (but) if it’s doing all these things, everybody should be taking it. I’m not a big pusher of supplements, but this is one I recommend.”
Vitamin D is not really a vitamin at all, but part of a class of “steroid hormones” produced in the body, in this case, when sunlight hits bare skin. We can’t produce enough in the winter in northern climates and in centuries past, Vitamin D deficiencies led to the condition of soft, weakened bones called rickets before cod-liver oil became a common home remedy. Milk, margarine, some soy beverages and orange juices contain added Vitamin D in Canada.
Intense study on the role of Vitamin D in human health has revealed that people with low levels of Vitamin D in their blood are more likely to have heart disease, Alzheimers disease and inflammation. The question yet to be answered is whether the deficiency is the cause of the illness or a result of being sick, according to several expert panels that have reviewed existing research.
Here’s a roundup of the latest science on what Vitamin D may — and may not — do for you:
CANCER
The Cancer Society of Canada recommends Vitamin D supplements, because there is some evidence that it may help to prevent colorectal cancer. But it also explains that the jury is still out because there are few randomized controlled trials in the area. A 2014 summation of research published in Nature Reviews concluded that taking Vitamin D supplements to ward off a deficiency might be a cheap and safe way to prevent cancer or improve treatment outcomes while researchers continue to study.
COGNITIVE DECLINE
A well-publicized study out of England earlier this year found “a substantially increased risk” of all types of dementia in elderly adults five years after their blood tests showed low levels of Vitamin D. At the same time, scientists looking at aging rats found those with higher levels in their blood performed better on mazes than their deficient cage mates.
IMMUNE SYSTEM
Scientists know that various types of white blood cells that fight infection have receptors for Vitamin D, but the exact mechanisms at work aren’t fully understood. Still, researchers looking into conditions as diverse as AIDS and inflammatory bowel syndrome suggest Vitamin D supplements may help patients cope with their conditions.
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Vitamin D receptors are found on specialized cells in blood vessels and it also plays a role in how blood pressure is regulated in the body. But there is no evidence yet that adding Vitamin D supplements will prevent heart attacks or stroke.
A huge Boston, Mass.-based study of 25,875 men and women is examining whether daily dietary supplements of Vitamin D3 or omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil reduce the risk of developing cancer, heart disease or stroke. The trial called VITAL — Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial — will gather preliminary results in 2017.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?
You can take too much Vitamin D, although Morello says he has never witnessed it in a patient. It’s called hypercalcemia and results when an overabundance of Vitamin D throws off our ability to absorb calcium. The result can be nausea, lethargy and ultimately kidney stones.
Health Canada says everyone over one year of age should take at least 600 IU a day during the fall and winter with upper limits rising to 4,000 IU a day by age nine. That’s because it’s known that Vitamin D — readily found in oily fish or dietary supplements — helps keep bones strong by aiding calcium absorption in the body.
Some health professionals say that advice doesn’t go far enough in explaining the other advantages of taking Vitamin D. West Vancouver naturopathic doctor Gaetano Morello says it has a role in preventing flus and colds, inflammation and heart disease.
“It really has a lot of benefits that we’re starting to learn more about and the science is supporting it,” says Morello, who works two days a week at the Complex Chronic Disease Program at BC Women’s Hospital in what he calls a rare joint effort between medical doctors and a naturopathic practitioner.
“With chronic diseases — fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome — one of the things that’s checked is Vitamin D3. Why? Because it’s at play in the immune system. There’s a plethora of literature for cardiovascular health, immune health. It’s evolving medicine ... (but) if it’s doing all these things, everybody should be taking it. I’m not a big pusher of supplements, but this is one I recommend.”
Vitamin D is not really a vitamin at all, but part of a class of “steroid hormones” produced in the body, in this case, when sunlight hits bare skin. We can’t produce enough in the winter in northern climates and in centuries past, Vitamin D deficiencies led to the condition of soft, weakened bones called rickets before cod-liver oil became a common home remedy. Milk, margarine, some soy beverages and orange juices contain added Vitamin D in Canada.
Intense study on the role of Vitamin D in human health has revealed that people with low levels of Vitamin D in their blood are more likely to have heart disease, Alzheimers disease and inflammation. The question yet to be answered is whether the deficiency is the cause of the illness or a result of being sick, according to several expert panels that have reviewed existing research.
Here’s a roundup of the latest science on what Vitamin D may — and may not — do for you:
CANCER
The Cancer Society of Canada recommends Vitamin D supplements, because there is some evidence that it may help to prevent colorectal cancer. But it also explains that the jury is still out because there are few randomized controlled trials in the area. A 2014 summation of research published in Nature Reviews concluded that taking Vitamin D supplements to ward off a deficiency might be a cheap and safe way to prevent cancer or improve treatment outcomes while researchers continue to study.
COGNITIVE DECLINE
A well-publicized study out of England earlier this year found “a substantially increased risk” of all types of dementia in elderly adults five years after their blood tests showed low levels of Vitamin D. At the same time, scientists looking at aging rats found those with higher levels in their blood performed better on mazes than their deficient cage mates.
IMMUNE SYSTEM
Scientists know that various types of white blood cells that fight infection have receptors for Vitamin D, but the exact mechanisms at work aren’t fully understood. Still, researchers looking into conditions as diverse as AIDS and inflammatory bowel syndrome suggest Vitamin D supplements may help patients cope with their conditions.
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Vitamin D receptors are found on specialized cells in blood vessels and it also plays a role in how blood pressure is regulated in the body. But there is no evidence yet that adding Vitamin D supplements will prevent heart attacks or stroke.
A huge Boston, Mass.-based study of 25,875 men and women is examining whether daily dietary supplements of Vitamin D3 or omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil reduce the risk of developing cancer, heart disease or stroke. The trial called VITAL — Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial — will gather preliminary results in 2017.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?
You can take too much Vitamin D, although Morello says he has never witnessed it in a patient. It’s called hypercalcemia and results when an overabundance of Vitamin D throws off our ability to absorb calcium. The result can be nausea, lethargy and ultimately kidney stones.
