Take The D Train
It’s D time again.
I’ve already sent you three e-Alerts this year (and several last year
as well) regarding the remarkable health benefits we get through
vitamin D intake. And that list of benefits just got a little longer.
Today I’ll tell you about two recent studies that illustrate again just
how vital vitamin D is to our overall health.
Muscle up
Both of the new studies come from researchers at Tufts University
(USDA Human Nutrition Research Center). For the first study –
reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition –
researchers designed a trial to expand on previous research that
indicated a possible association between vitamin D deficiency and
periodontal disease.
The Tufts team analyzed blood tests and dental data on more than
11,000 subjects enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES). Specifically, they were looking
for blood serum concentrations of vitamin D and the incidence of
periodontal attachment loss.
Results showed a significant association between low levels of
vitamin D and an elevated risk of tooth loss due to periodontal
disease.
In the second Tufts study – reported in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition this month – researchers note that a specific
nuclear receptor in muscle tissue may facilitate improved muscle
cell growth and muscle strength when vitamin D levels are high.
About 4,100 subjects, aged 60 to 90, were recruited to compare
levels of vitamin D to lower-extremity function. After taking into
account variables, such as age and individual activity levels,
researchers found that both active and inactive subjects with the
highest levels of vitamin D had better musculoskeletal function in
the lower extremities, compared to subjects with the lowest
vitamin D levels.
Both of these studies help confirm previous reports that adequate
vitamin D intake may be an essential element in keeping muscles
strong and gums healthy as we age.
D’s lengthy checklist
As I mentioned above, we’ve seen quite a run of impressive studies
about vitamin D over the past couple of years. Here are some of
the other vitamin D benefits discussed in previous e-Alerts:
- Depression during winter months was significantly reduced
among study subjects who took high daily doses of vitamin D
(4,000 IU) for a period of one year. - In a study that analyzed the relation of vitamin D levels to insulin
sensitivity in a group of adults with normal glucose-tolerance,
those with the lowest levels of D were more prone to develop
symptoms of type 2 diabetes, including weaker pancreatic function
and greater insulin resistance. - Sufficient levels of vitamin D may cut the risk of heart disease in
older women by as much as one-third, due to the ability of vitamin
D to help prevent the buildup of calcium deposits in the arteries. - When a group of 54 congestive heart failure (CHF) patients was
compared to a group of 34 healthy subjects without CHF,
researchers found that the CHF patients had vitamin D levels
significantly lower than the healthy group, and those with the
lowest vitamin D levels tended to have the most severe symptoms
of CHF. - In the February 2002 issue of Nutrition and Healing newsletter,
Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., wrote: “It’s very likely that if you’re
over 40 and supplement your diet with a generous amount of
vitamin D, you can lower your risk of prostate, breast, and bowel
cancer, along with your risk of ‘essential’ hypertension,
osteoporosis, and tuberculosis.”
Sunshine daydream
To address the questions of vitamin D sources and dosage, we’ll
turn again to Dr. Wright who recommends between 1,600 and
2,000 IU daily, and as much as 4,000 IU for those over 40.
As I’ve noted before, the best source of vitamin D is a moderate
amount of sun exposure each day. But according to Dr. Wright, it’s
impossible for most people to get enough vitamin D from the sun
alone. In fact, for many elderly people the vitamin D deficiency
problem is compounded because our skin becomes less effective in
producing vitamin D as we age.
Contrary to what the milk moustache adds would have us believe,
homogenized and pasteurized dairy products are not good
alternative sources of vitamin D because of the many other health
concerns those products raise. Instead, Dr. Wright suggests food
sources like salmon and sardines, or cod liver oil, which provides
more than 1,300 IU of vitamin D per tablespoon.
So get on the D train and improve your health – from muscles, to
gums, to brain, to heart, to pancreas, and many points in between.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
Sources:
“Association Between Serum Concentrations of 25-
Hydroxyvitamin D3 and Periodontal Disease in the US
Population” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No.
1, July 2004, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
“Gum Health, New Target for Vitamin D?” NutraIngredients.com,
8/31/04, nutraingredients.com
“Higher 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations are Associated with
Better Lower-Extremity Function in both Active and Inactive
Persons Aged 60 y” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol.
80, No. 3, September 2004, ajcn.org
