Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
TwitThisRisks of Too Little D
Cancer isn't the only killer disease linked to vitamin D. Getting more of it could protect against heart disease and high blood pressure, both more common in areas of the world where strong sun is in short supply for much of the year. Heart disease deaths are more common in winter than any other season.Heart disease Research on the connection vitamin D has with heart disease isn't as advanced as the connection it has with cancer. But studies have already shown that supplements of D can lower levels of C-reactive protein, a marker for the inflammation now believed to underlie heart disease. And a combination of vitamin D and calcium can reduce blood pressure.
Dr. Holick showed that just a few minutes of UVB exposure on a tanning bed three times a week for six weeks lowered blood pressure. So did other researchers giving 1600 IU of D and 800 mg of calcium to female hypertension patients for eight weeks. To nail down this evidence, D will have to be tested against drugs for high blood pressure to see if it works as well or better than the medicines do.
Meanwhile, the list of diseases affected by D keeps growing and includes some of the most troubling illnesses, those that occur when the immune system mistakenly perceives the body's own tissues as a threat to health and begins producing antibodies to attack them:
Multiple sclerosis Activated vitamin D prevents the mouse version of MS and seems protective in humans. The disease is rare in regions close to the equator. And elsewhere, it seems, the more D you get, the lower the risk. A study including 187,563 nurses showed that those who got at least 400 IU of vitamin D daily had a 40 percent lower risk of MS than those who got less D.
When researchers gave daily supplements of 1000 IUs for six months to women with MS, they saw an increase in body chemicals that put the brakes on the immune system attacks that worsen the disease.
Diabetes If there only were more sunshine in Finland, fewer children might develop type 1 diabetes. That theory gained credence when researchers found that youngsters who took 2000 IU of vitamin D daily during the 1960s had an 80 percent lower risk of developing the disease than kids who got fewer supplements.
Rheumatoid arthritis In Iowa, of the nearly 30,000 women age 55 to 69 followed for 11 years, those who received the most D were the least likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis.
Gum disease Vitamin D may also help prevent gum disease, perhaps because of its ability to check inflammation. When dentists looked at blood levels from 6,700 teens and adults, they saw that those with the highest levels of vitamin D were 20 percent less likely to experience gum bleeding than people with low D levels.
A study to determine if vitamin D supplements change this picture is underway.
8 Warming Soup Recipes
Video: Expired Foods in Your Supermarket
4 Ways to Strengthen Your Immune System
Joke: The burial service for the elderly woman climaxed with…
Advertisement 
