I've been talking a lot about vitamin D in the past few years.  New data suggests that inflammation is the culprit for the incredibly high incidence of deficiency of this nutrient.  Low levels of vitamin D have been correlated with high incidences of cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, poorly functioning immune systems, and musculoskeletal disorders.

A new study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 2 days after knee surgery serum levels of vitamin D dropped 40%, and that three months later levels were still 20-30% below presurgery levels.  These researchers showed that this directly correlated with acute inflammation after surgery.  Surprisingly, they also found that the study participants were deficient in vitamin D before the surgery--so deficient that they had secondary hyperparathyroidism!

More research is linking vitamin D to musculoskeletal disorders.  A recent study in Headache shows that headache increases with latitude and during seasons with shorter days.  They correlated this information with evidence that vitamin D has alleviated headaches in some studies to form a hypothesis that Vitamin D deficiency plays a key role in the development of headache in some people.

Another recent study from the Scandinavian Journal of Primary Care  found " a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in patients with non-specific musculoskeletal pain, headache, or fatigue."

Inflammation is likely at the root of many cases of vitamin D deficiency, and all chronic degenerative diseases.  If your D is low, get a test that compares Arachodonic Acid to EPA--this is a sensitive test for inflammation that compares omega-6's to 3's in your body.  If this ration is off it will deplete your vitamin D and erode your health.  For more info on omega-3's in health, search my website.

The moral of the story is, get your D tested!

An excellent new study was just published demonstrating a nearly 50% reduction in the incidence of the flu in children supplementing with vitamin D.  The study followed more than 300 children for 4 months of a school year.  Half of the students received 1200IU of vitamin D3 daily, and the other half received a placebo.  By the end of the study 18.6% of the placebo group had, at some some point, tested positive for flu, compared to 10.8% of the vitamin D3 group.

It was also of note that in children with a previous diagnosis of asthma, "asthma attacks as a secondary outcome occurred in 2 children receiving vitamin D₃ compared with 12 children receiving placebo".  That is 6 times fewer asthma attacks!

It's a good idea to supplement your child with vitamin D during the winter months.  Also, If you have not had a vitamin D test in the past year I recommend that you get one!  Vitamin D can affect your immune system, your thyroid and energy levels, and your bone health. 

I have an excellent vitamin D product in my office, and kids like it!

Read the article here.

A new study shows that people with high blood levels have a 40% reduction in colorectal cancer risk.  This is a very interesting study because it measured blood levels of vitamin D directly.  This creates several questions; was it just the high levels of vitamin D or was it other factors related to vitamin D such as time outdoors in the sun, exercise, food sources of vitamin D such as fish that are high in other nutrients such as omega-3's. 

Hopefully further research will shed light on these questions.  In the meantime, get a vitamin D test.  I'm surprised at how many of my patients who eat well and are out in the sun regularly have low levels of D.  If you are low be sure that you are getiing exposed to sunlight on a regular basis, and supplement with a high quality vitamin D until your levels are normal.  You may then want to supplement with 2,000IU per day periodically as a maintinance dose.  I have an excellent vitamin D product available at my office.

Read the study here.

 I recently posted an article on the benefits of vitamin D, and the recent realization that a high percentage of people are deficient.  Research is showing that among other functions, vitamin D has the ability to up-regulate and down-regulate genes.  In other words, when we have suboptimal levels of vitamin D our genes are not turned and off appropriately.  Genes are used to create proteins which are the building blocks of nearly everything in our body--from our structure (bone, ligament, tendon, etc) to neurotransmitters, hormones, blood, etc.  

This wide range of effects translates a host of problems linked to vitamin D deficiency including poor immune function, less vitality, and decreased athletic function.   Specific to athletic function, a recent New York Times article highlighted the following:

"In one of the studies, four Russian sprinters were doused with artificial, ultraviolet light. Another group wasn’t. Both trained identically for the 100-meter dash. The control group lowered their sprint times by 1.7 percent. The radiated runners, in comparison, improved by an impressive 7.4 percent." (**note that ultraviolet light causes the formation of vitamin D).

"when researchers tested the vertical jumping ability of a small group of adolescent athletes, Larson-Meyer says, “they found that those who had the lowest levels of Vitamin D tended not to jump as high,” intimating that too little of the nutrient may impair muscle power. Low levels might also contribute to sports injuries, in part because Vitamin D is so important for bone and muscle health. In a Creighton University study of female naval recruits, stress fractures were reduced significantly after the women started taking supplements of Vitamin D and calcium."

I highly recommend having your vitamin D level checked with your next blood work.  If it is low supplement with 2,000IU of vitamin D for 6 weeks and recheck.  With my family I have everyone supplement with about 1,000IU for about three weeks, then we take about a three week break.  WE also get plenty of sunshine!  If you are local, I have an excellent product in my office.

A new study found that more than half of pregnant women and their unborn children in the Northern United States are deficient in vitamin D.  This deficiency is associated with future skeletal problems, type 1 diabetes, schizophrenia, and lowered immune function.  Interestingly, more than 90% of the women in the study used prenatal vitamins!

Clearly pregnant women require more information on vitamin D--here it is:

• Get lots of sun!  Your hands and face are the most important parts to expose--if possible get a minimum of 30 minutes of sun per day.
• Fish is an excellent source of vitamin D--unfortunately pregnant women need to avoid fish due to its high mercury content.  Occasional consumption of wild salmon is OK.
• Eggs and liver are good sources of vitamin D.
• Pregnant women should supplement with 200-400IU of vitamin D per day.  If you eat meat and get plenty of sun use 200IU's, if you are vegetarian and get little sun lean toward 400IU's.  Recent research has shown that you need to be sure your supplement has the active form of vitamin D--it is called D3, or cholecalciferol.  D2 (ergocalciferol) is much less effective--it is used to fortify foods--hence the deficiency!
  
• Lastly, get your kids outside.  Not only is it nature's playground and a source of endless fun and growth, its good for them!
  

Read the study.