Showing posts with label vitamin D deficiency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vitamin D deficiency. Show all posts

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Nutritional Status and Orthopedic Disturbances

Vitamin D Synthesis http://www.globalrph.com/vitamin_d.htm

Yes, Vitamin D is a very important nutrient.  And we know that the years of non-fat/low-fat diets and staying out of the sun takes a toll on this vital nutrient, and perhaps has become the basis of an epidemic and increased dis-ease states.

While it always seems that the lineal model is favored by so many in healthcare, it can certainly lead to other problems.

I say this because I have not seen the following information in any other the vitamin D data I have reviewed over the past several years.

Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets.  However, when taking high doses of vitamin D people do need to be cautioned that this too may lead to a deficiency state.

The pro-calcium action of vitamin D can increase absorption and retention of calcium as compared to magnesium.

If you have a magnesium deficiency, as most people these days truly seem to have, high doses of vitamin D can contribute to soft tissue calcium deposits and reduced
  • Cortical bone activity
  • Muscular contraction
  • Recurring vertebral or other joint subluxation

 More to consider -

Vitamin D health warning for the children who shun the sun

Paranoia about sun exposure and indoor lifestyles are causing life-threatening health problems for children due to vitamin D deficiency, a new study claims.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 5:32PM BST 10 Sep 2010
Casualty departments are dealing with dozens of emergency cases where infants are having seizures as a direct result of not getting enough vitamin D, which is essential for healthy teeth and bones.
In one case, a baby suffered brain damage after a fit.
The study said the extreme cases are part of an escalating problem of a deficiency of the vitamin, which the body makes when exposed to sunlight.
The report in the London Journal of Primary Care blames indoor lifestyles and the use of high sun protection factor creams for a health issue unheard of a decade ago.
The findings have prompted experts to call for vitamin D pills to be made more widely available on the NHS, especially for pregnant women.
The study reveals the introduction of schemes offering mothers supplements has been slow. Some areas of London have no vitamin packs available and people are ignorant about the benefits of vitamin D, which is also found in oily fish, liver and eggs.
Colin Michie, a co-author of the study, said vitamin D deficiency was no longer a “poor” problem and the middle classes are just as vulnerable.
The consultant paediatrician, who works at Ealing Hospital and BMI Clementine Churchill, said GPs should be more alert to symptoms such as muscle aches and pains.
He told the Evening Standard: “This is a totally avoidable condition which is now a public health issue. It's affecting middle-class children because they're overprotecting with sunscreen and not going out as much.
SPF is also increasingly in cosmetics used by young women.
“The more dramatic cases tend to be in people who wear traditional clothing and so are covered up.”
However, he added, GPs also see a growing number of low-level cases in other groups.
Warnings over the links between sunburn and skin cancer have prompted some people to shun the sun
The actress Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed recently that she was diagnosed with very poor vitamin D levels after years of keeping her skin covered.
A special investigation is being launched into the extent of emergency admissions for patients with vitamin D deficiency.
The British Paediatric Surveillance Unit will gather data from hospitals from next year.
Mr Michie analysed the cases of 17 babies and infants treated at Ealing Hospital for a severe lack of vitamin D between 2006 and 2008. He found many experienced a delay in walking, a problem last common in Victorian times.
Cancer Research UK is considering changing it guidelines concerning sun exposure because of the problem.
Instead of advising people to stay out the midday sun completely, it may suggest that a few minutes exposure could be healthy.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Yes, you do need more D

It is heartening to see more good coverage about the importance of Vitamin D to health in MSM.
You'll see a comment in this story about D and diabetes.  For decades we have been recommending low dose zinc with vitamin D 3 for Type 1; this combination may help reverse it.
Many people fall short in consumption of vitamin D, studies show
By Michael Hastings, Winston-Salem Journal
August 15, 2010

Vitamin D fortifies a lot of foods, including milk, cereal and orange juice. And it's naturally found in wild-caught oily fish such as salmon and tuna.
That suggests that most people get plenty of Vitamin D.
But that's wrong.
Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread problem.
"Probably 90 percent of my patients are low," said Dr. Victoria Nnadi, a physician at Forsyth Internal Medicine Kernersville, owned by Novant Health.
Dr. Michael F. Holick, a Vitamin D expert at the Boston University School of Medicine, has been quoted as saying that Vitamin D is the most common nutritional deficiency and probably the most common medical problem in the world.
Getting adequate Vitamin D would seem easy. We need to spend only a few minutes a day in the sun.
In general, 5 to 10 minutes a day between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. with minimal clothing is considered good. But cloud cover, sunscreen, skin pigmentation and even northern latitudes can reduce the penetration of ultraviolet-B rays.
And with sedentary lifestyles and concerns about skin cancer, many people never get enough sun to provide adequate amounts of Vitamin D.
Similarly, most people don't eat enough food with Vitamin D. Kathie Sigler, a registered dietitian with Diabetes and Nutrition Services at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, said that someone would have to drink a quart of milk a day to get the 400 IUs (International Units) for people from birth to age 50. This the current amount recommended by the Institute of Medicine, an independent organization.
That leaves supplements as the best alternative. But experts disagree about the optimum level of Vitamin D. The National Institutes of Health currently considers 15 nanograms per millimeter of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the blood as adequate. But last year, the Institute of Medicine started a 24-month review of current recommendations.
The 2000-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted by the federal government, acknowledged the disagreement by publishing results for three different levels of Vitamin D. The survey found that 50 percent to 78 percent of all three groups surveyed (whites, Hispanics and blacks) fell below the highest level (30 ng/ml).
The nonprofit Vitamin D Council says that the level considered good should be 50 ng/ml. And many doctors, including Nnadi, agree.
Nnadi typically sees people with chronic illnesses, and many of them have multiple illnesses. And Vitamin D affects every part of the body. It is associated with the health of bones, the heart, muscles, the immune system and the prevention of cancer.
"I often will see (Vitamin D deficiency) in people who come in all achy, with low-back pain, arm pain or pain all over," Nnadi said.
Sigler said that Vitamin D is involved with the onset of diabetes. "It helps the pancreas make insulin. It helps the cells use that insulin," she said. "If the cells can't use that insulin, if there's not enough Vitamin D there, then diabetes can develop."
Sigler also said that improved Vitamin D can help people manage the complications of diabetes. For instance, the pain of neuropathy, a burning sensation in the feet, can be eased when Vitamin D levels are improved.
Sigler also said that good Vitamin D levels can promote healing after radiation therapy and help with fatigue and mild forms of depression.
It is possible to take too much Vitamin D, but that rarely happens, Nnadi and Sigler said. The NIH currently recommends a maximum of 1,000 IU of Vitamin D for infants and 2,000 IU for anyone age 1 or older.
"I would not start taking supplements (beyond a multivitamin) without getting your blood tested and without talking to your doctor," Sigler said.
Still, studies clearly show that many of us could use more Vitamin D -- and the many health benefits it can provide.
"The take-home message," Nnadi said, "is to get the Vitamin D level checked."

Monday, June 14, 2010

Warning for People who have had Bariatric Surgery

The very high incidence of vitamin D deficiency noted in participants of this study indicates that an urgent effort to educate patients about this critical health issue must be undertaken. And more effective methods of supplying vitamin D in this population must be found in the very near future.

This may have implications for anyone with pancreatic dis-orders or for those who have had other types of bariatric surgery.

72.3% of patients had 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels less than or equal to 30 ng/mL (insufficient), and 46.8% of patients had 25(OH)D levels less than or equal to 20 ng/mL.

High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Biliopancreatic Diversion Patients

Reference:"Prevalence and Persistence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Biliopancreatic Diversion Patients: A Retrospective Study," Khandalavala BN, Fang X, et al, Obes Surg, 2010 May 7; [Epub ahead of print]. Department of Family Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.

Summary: In a retrospective study involving 219 patients who underwent biliopancreatic diversion (a form of bariatric surgery), results showed a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency. 72.3% of patients had 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels less than or equal to 30 ng/mL (insufficient), and 46.8% of patients had 25(OH)D levels less than or equal to 20 ng/mL. Thus, the authors conclude, "This study gives evidence that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is prevalent in BPD patients. Despite excess weight loss and oral vitamin D supplementation, the data shows that vitamin D levels continue to decrease over time in BPD patients. Since the current method of vitamin D supplementation is not producing ideal results, other protocol needs to be developed."

 
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