FAQS About Vitamin D
There’s been a lot of press lately regarding Vitamin D deficiency. And I just recently received notice of a study showing a 77% reduction in the risk of Cancers by supplementing Vitamin D. Study participants came from the Nebraska counties of Douglas, Colfax, Cuming, Dodge, Saunders, Washington, Sarpy, Burt and Butler.
Subjects were randomly assigned to take daily dosages of 1,400-1,500 mg supplemental calcium plus 1,100 IU of vitamin D3. The RDA recommendations for vitamin D are 200 IU/d, birth-age 50; 400 IU/d, 50-70 years; and 600 IU/d, 70 years and older. This amount is just enough to prevent you from getting rickets.
There is a current study being conducted, which you can participate in and get your Vitamin D tested at a reduced rate, you can check it out at grassrootshealth.net.
On that site they have a down-loadable chart showing past studies and the level of Vitamin D required to prevent certain diseases, such as cancer, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.
Natural sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D, 10-15 minutes a few times per week mid-day will supply all the Vitamin D you need. But, Who gets that? We put on clothing, sunscreen, hats, scarfs, sunglasses, etc.
If you live above San Francisco, you don’t get any of the rays that give us the Vitamin D in the winter. So it seems that we have to supplement to even get enough.
Precautions should be taken not to get sunburned, these rays are the ones that can cause skin cancer.
The scientists that study Vitamin D are saying that it isn’t really a vitamin, but that it is a hormone and necessary for many chemical pathways in the body. This is why it is influential in helping to reduce the risk of cancers and other diseases in our bodies.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
What other vitamins should we have each day?
Will eating the proper amount of servings of fruit and
vegetables each day give us enough vitamins? Is a
multivitamin sufficient to meet our daily needs?
If you would like to know about vitamin D, Read the article titled “10 Reasons Why You Should Be Tested for Vitamin D” by by Nalini Chilkov, L.Ac., O.M.D.
You can find this article at:
http://doctornalini.com/2010/02/10-reasons-you-should-be-tested-for-vitamin-d/
Penny,
Thanks for the question. The short answer to your question is that we need all vitamins every day. The more complicated and complex answer is that some of them can come from food and some from supplements. This is a subject that will take years to explore, but I will attempt to discuss some of the issues in future posts.
As far as eating the proper amount of servings(5) of fruits and vegetables, these are the questions I would ask. Are the fruits and vegetables grown organically? Do you really eat 5 servings per day, every day? What other foods do you eat that may be interfering with your absorption and utilization of these foods. Do you have a dis-ease or some other condition that you are trying to correct?
So, again, the simple answer is Yes, we should get enough vitamins from the proper amount of servings, but it is more complicated than just that!
No, I would NOT rely on a multivitamin to meet your daily needs. Several things need to be considered again, as per above.
We will be covering certain conditions in future posts and my recommendations for these.
Asthmatic children with low blood vitamin D levels may have a greater risk of suffering severe asthma attacks.
A study followed more than 1,000 children with asthma for four years, and found those with vitamin-D insufficiency at the outset were more likely to have an asthma attack that required a trip to the hospital. Read More on Dr. Mecola’s website regarding a new study regarding Asthma and Vitamin D. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/13/insufficient-vitamin-d-tied-to-severe-asthma-attacks.aspx