http://www.care2.com/greenliving/an-epidemic-of-vitamin-d-deficiency.html
Dangers of Vitamin D Deficiency
It is estimated that anywhere from 30 to 100 percent of Americans, depending upon their age and community living environments, are deficient in Vitamin D. More than half of all American children are vitamin deficient. Supposedly almost 75 percent of pregnant women are vitamin D deficient, predisposing their unborn children to all sorts of problems. Worldwide, it is estimated that the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency affects one billion people. In my practice over 80 percent of patients whose vitamin D levels I check are deficient.
No one is exactly sure why this is happening apart from the fact that we spend too much time indoors, and when we go out into the sun, we lather sunscreen on ourselves. I think it must be more than that. But whatever the reason, the reality is we have a major epidemic on our hands.
What diseases are associated with vitamin D deficiency?
Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to play a role in almost every major disease. This includes:
Osteoporosis and Osteopenia
17 varieties of Cancer (including breast, prostate and colon)
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Obesity
Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes
Autoimmune diseases
Multiple sclerosis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Osteoarthritis
Bursitis
Gout
Infertility and PMS
Parkinson’s Disease
Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder
Alzheimer’s Disease
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Pain
Periodontal disease
Psoriasis
What is vitamin D?
Although it’s called a vitamin, vitamin D is really a hormone and not actually a vitamin. Our bodies cannot produce vitamins; we have to get them from dietary sources, whereas vitamin D is made in your body. It’s your body’s only source of calcitrol (activated vitamin D), the most potent steroid hormone in the body.
What does vitamin D do?
Like all steroid hormones, vitamin D is involved in making hundreds of enzymes and proteins, which are crucial for preserving health and preventing disease. It has the ability to interact and affect more than 2,000 genes in the body. It enhances muscle strength and builds bone. It has anti-inflammatory effects and bolsters the immune system. It helps the action of insulin and has anti-cancer activity. This is why vitamin D deficiency has been linked with so many of the diseases of modern society. Because of its vast array of benefits, maintaining optimal levels of D is essential for your health.
Where do I get vitamin D from?
Only about 10 percent of your vitamin D comes from diet, so it is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from diet alone. The only two reliable sources of vitamin D are the sun and supplements.
Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body. Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. In fact, this is such an efficient system that most of us make 20,000 units of vitamin D after only 20 minutes of summer sun without suntan lotion. That’s 100 times more than the government recommends per day! There must be a good reason why we make so much in so little time. But these rays cannot penetrate glass to generate vitamin D in your skin, so you don’t generate vitamin D when sitting behind a glass window, whether in your car or at home. Also sunscreens, even weak ones, almost completely block your body’s ability to generate vitamin D.
The other reliable source is supplements (read more about vitamin D supplements in part 3 of Dr. Frank’s FAQs Vitamin D series).
Stay tuned for part two of this series, “How to Tell if You Are Vitamin D Deficient,” which answers the following questions: What are the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency? What blood test should I have to check my vitamin D levels? The third and final part of this series addresses how to increase levels of vitamin D.
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19 comments
add your comment »If you are vitamin D deficient, if your level does not rise, check your dietary magnesium. Also check your medications. Low magnesium, anti-seizure med's (valium, gabapentin), thiazides, and glucocorticoids have been found to lower vit D levels. See article with mention of a 1974 Lancet study where children with severe rickets did not respond at all to 600,000 IU's per day for 10 days. Accidentally, low magnesium was found, corrected, and D levels rose. http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/more-vitamin-d-questions-and-answers.shtml
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I am a vitamin D deficiency survivor. I had decreasing energy and increasing pain over a period of 5 years, particularly pelvic floor pain. I had trouble sleeping and instead fell asleep at inopportune times such as at work, in class, and I couldn't drive anymore because I would fall asleep at the wheel. I was told I had pelvic floor inflammation and anxiety. 7 months after collapsing and 50-80% of my time spent bedridden, a vitamin D deficiency was found. My level was 17 ng/ml. I am now recovering and no longer bedridden. I have helped 7 people so far get their deficiency tested and treated correctly by their doctors, who are mostly clueless. This is very real. The key is moderate sun exposure for vit D synthesis at the right time of the year, vit-D-rich food, and supplements. Get re-tested periodically to ensure you are maintaining proper blood levels. Every 100 IU's raises your blood level by 1 ng/ml. You want a blood level of 80 ng/ml per the latest research, particularly for breast cancer prevention, see article at: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/cnw/article.jsp?content=20091104_132502_4_cnw_cnw.
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In Australia here, we have just gone through winter. In a regular 3 monthly blood test I have to have, my doctor added a test for Vitamin D this last time, telling me that many many people suffer a deficiency of this vitamin ( or hormone as mentioned in the article ) during the winter months particularly. My reading came back at just 17 !! ... when it should have been a healthy 75-250 reading. I had been taking Caltrate (Calcium Carbonate) but very quickly added to that one capsule daily of cholecalciferol - Vitamin D, as per the prescribed dosage. I know now that I am getting what I need in the way of both - and one should not be taken without the other. Good advice this - heed it - we need it.
Annie B.
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People in the northern hemisphere turned white to deal with the sun, vit D. They need less than darker skins.
I wonder what the diseases are most common in the muslim world where they tend to hide the whole body. Blocking yourself from the sight of sun can't be too healthy. Anyone has info on this?
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Elizabeth,
Thank you. I have also found some threads online discussing the vit D issues.
I have hens and do consume their eggs (no one is laying right now), do eggs contain vit D?
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General sources of Vitamin D (all animal based, non-supplemented):
http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/vitamindmiracle.html#food
Torula yeast seems to be a "vegan" source of vitamin D, although I haven't found adequate nutritional information.
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Hi Jennifer C. Your dr. will give you a prescription for Vit. D....it is 50,000 units or Mg. Once a week. I am on my second battle with D. I do the sun thing, but am not absorbing the D. Take calicum, too.
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So even though I believe in the benefits of Vit. D, I do have a little concern about overdosing. I had one doctor tell me that it is dangerous to take too much. Do how much is too much?
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one care2 member claims that d3 can only be found in animal products, and is essential. does anyone have knowledge of this?
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Jennifer,
Vitamin D3 is the animal source, but, apparently it is more easily absorbed by/readily accessible to the body.
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