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May 10, 2010, Last Updated July 24, 2010
By Editorial Staff of CollectiveWizdom and Rory
McClenaghan, Contributing Columnist
You may not know it but you desperately need Vitamin D.
Vitamin D plays a critical role in a wide range of body
functions. The best known function of Vitamin D is in bone
formation. But that's only the start of the story of Vitamin
D's importance. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a host of
illnesses and conditions, including, surprisingly, cancer,
multiple sclerosis, certain kinds of mental illness and diabetes.
One of the sun's many gifts to us is the light needed to make
Vitamin D. If you are light-skinned, lying in the sun on your
front for 10 minutes and your back for another 10 can give
you the equivalent of the Vitamin D found in about 100
glasses of milk. Unfortunately, lying in the sun can bring its
own risks, including of course skin cancer. So, while sunlight
is important for Vitamin D production, you should also eat
foods to help boost your vitamin D levels.
Why Do You Need Vitamin D?
Vitamin D and calcium work in tandem to make sure your
bones grow healthy and strong. In the gut, Vitamin D aids
calcium absorption. Ostepblasts and osteoclasts, which
control bone growth and remodeling also need a good
supply of vitamin D, as mentioned in the Institute of
Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board's 1997 report, Dietary
Reference Intakes: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium,
Vitamin D, and Fluoride.
Vitamin D helps to reduce your risk for developing diabetes.
Vitamin D also helps you to manage your blood sugar levels,
if you already have diabetes. In a landmark 2007 mega-
study jointly conducted by Tufts-New England Medical
Center and the Harvard School of Public Health, researchers
found that Vitamin D helps to manage your body to control
blood sugar levels, called "glycemic control". Diabetics often
have diets low in calcium and Vitamin D.
New studies have even more strongly linked low levels of
Vitamin D with diabetes. A 2010 study from researchers st
Johns Hopskins University discovered that 90% of all
diabetic patients in the study also had Vitamin D deficiency
or Vitamin D insufficiency. The study, to be presented June
27, 2010 at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society,
examined 124 patients between the ages of 36 and 89 with
Type 2 diabetes.
A second study from the Netherlands has found a strong link
between Vitamin D deficiency and metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome describes a cluster of conditions
including high blood pressure, high blood sugar and excess
fat around your waist --sound familiar?. The Dutch study
looked at 1300 Dutch men and womnen over age 65 and
found that half had metablic syndrome, and of those that
did, 37% had low levels of Vitamin D.
Vitamin D also helps to fight nerve pain. A 2008 study from
Concord Repatriation Hospital in Australia found that
supplementation with Vitamin D helps to relieve nerve pain
(neuropathy) in Type 2 diabetics. The optimal level of
Vitamin D appears to be 30 ng/nL over a period of 3
months. That amount of Vitamin D supplementation
significantly reduced nerve pain. Although nerve pain caused
by other conditions such as shingles was not studied,
Vitamin D supplementation is likely to be helpful in reducing
nerve pain from these conditions as well.
Miscellaneous other conditions appear to be helped by
Vitamin D, including chronic fatigue syndrome and
depression.
How Much Vitamin D Should You Take Daily?
What is the recommended daily levels of Vitamin D? It
depends on whom you ask.
The Vitamin D Council recommends 5,000 International Units
(IU) of Vitamin D per day for adults and adolescents.
Although the council suggests that if you take regular
sunlight, you will not need so much.
Across the pond in Europe, the answer is different. The
European Recommended Daily Amount is just 5 micrograms
or 200 IU. The Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) has the same
figure, apart from for those over the age of 51, for whom
400 IU per day of Vitamin D is recommended.
Who's right? The answer is unsettled. But you should err to
the high side of recommendations, especially if you are dark-
skinned, for two reasons. Dark-skinned people do not
convert sunlight into Vitamin D as easily as lighter-skinned
humans. Two, Vitamin D has no apparent toxicity for high
doses.
A 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test will tell you if your Vitamin
D level is correct. If you are not getting enough, your doctor
can help you adjust your intake accordingly. And if you
decide to take a supplement, make sure that the supplement
includes Vitamin D-3 (also known as cholecalciferol), which
is the specific type of Vitamin D found helpful in preventing
cancer and diabetes. Many multivitamins contain Vitamin D-
2, a less effective form of Vitamin D.
What Are the Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency?
Rickets - The best known symptom of Vitamin B deficiency. A
disease affecting children, rickets stops young people's
bones from growing or causes them to grow in a deformed
shape.
Osteomalacia – This is a bone disorder in adults. The bones
begin to thin causing chronic pain to the sufferer, as
referenced in Hollick's 2003 paper Vitamin D: A millenium
perspective.
Diabetes and Various Other Diseases – As I noted above,
several studies have found a link between Vitamin D
deficiency and diabetes. Other studies have linked Vitamin D
deficiency with diseases including cancer, multiple sclerosis
and even mental illness. Low Vitamin D levels have also been
strongly linked with metabolic syndrome.
Top 10 foods rich in Vitamin D
Foods which naturally contain large quantities of Vitamin D
are not particularly easy to find. Here is a list of the Top 10
foods rich in Vitamin D:
1. Cod liver oil – by far the most abundant source of Vitamin
D, just one table spoon of cod liver oil contains 1,360IU of
this vital substance. According to the Food and Nutrition
Board, that's more than enough for one day. But if you're
following the recommendations of the Vitamin Council to
take 5000 IU's a day, you would need 5 tablespoons to
reach your minimum.
2.Salmon – Salmon flesh is rich in Vitamin D and a 3-ounce
cooked serving provides 794 IU.
3.Mackerel – Another Vitamin-D-rich fish, there is 388IU in 3
ounces of cooked mackerel.
4.Tuna – Canned tuna in water is another good source,
containing 154 IU in 3 ounces.
5.Milk – Many countries, including the United States, fortify
their milk with Vitamin D. The fortified versions of nonfat,
reduced fat and whole fat milk contain between 115 and 124
IU of Vitamin D.
6.Orange juice – Again this is fortified in the US. You should
check the label to find out exactly how much has been
added, but the usual figure is 100 IU.
7.Yogurt – A 6-ounce serving of fortified yogurt generally
contains 80 IU, although that figure can vary.
8.Sardines – Eating two sardines from a can will give you a
46 IU helping of Vitamin D.
9.Liver – Cooked liver is a good source of Vitamin D. A
serving of 3.5 ounces contains 46 IU.
10. Eggs – The yoke of an egg has 25 IU of Vitamin D.
Related:
Vitamin D Overload -Top Health Dangers
Vitamin A Overdose Linked to Hair Loss and Osteoporosis
Vitamin A Deficiency-Why It Matters /What to Eat to Keep
your Eyes Healthy / Does Drinking Coffee Affect Diabetes? /
Ideal Breakfast for Diabetics /
Foods That Lower Cholesterol / Foods That Keep Blood
Sugar Lower / Ideal Diet to Reduce Fibroid Tumors / Pelvic
Cancer-Symptoms and Treatments /How to Lose Weight
After Menopause/Best Breakfast to Fight Arthritis/ Health
Dangers of Milk / Lose Weight by Lowering Thermostat /
Lose Belly Fat After the Baby/ Foods That Shrink Your
Waist/ Drinking Cold Water Burns Calories / Six Pack Abs-A
Guided Tour /Top 10 Foods That Fight Anemia / How Much
Is Too Much Salt? /Sugar-The Disease Connection / Are Diet
Sodas Bad for Your Health? / / Ideal Breakfast for Arthritis
/Healing Foods Links / Foods That Shrink Your Waist /
Foods That Lower Cholesterol/ VLDL-The Other Cholesterol/
Foods That Reduce Blood Pressure
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