Guest guest Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 If these people were low in vitamin D, chances are that they were low in many other areas of nutrition also so the results could be from other nutritional deficiencies too. When vitamins act synergistically it is difficult to say decisively which caused what sometimes. Make sure that you take them all and in sufficient amounts to do the job. Frank Wed, 7 Jan 2004 08:41:59 -0500 HSI - Jenny Thompson D Does It D Does It Health Sciences Institute e-Alert January 7, 2004 ************************************************************** Dear Reader, When you head out to the store, if you don't have fish or another good source of vitamin D on your shopping list, you'll be picking up some D anyway because exposure to sunlight prompts your body to create vitamin D naturally. But as I've told you in previous e-Alerts, sunlight alone can't provide you with all the vitamin D you need for optimal health. And this is especially true for older people who often don't (or can't) get outdoors enough. Now a new study from Australia demonstrates just how critical it is for us to get plenty of vitamin D as we age. ---------------------------- Falling down under ---------------------------- University of Melbourne researchers designed a trial with two goals: to reveal the degree of vitamin D deficiency in older people living in residential care, and to determine if there might be a statistical association between vitamin D levels and incidence of falls. (Previous studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency may contribute to muscle weakness as well as poor bone metabolism, increasing the risk of falls and fractures.) The researchers recruited 952 women in high-level care facilities, and 667 women in low-level care. The average age of the subjects was about 84 years. Serum vitamin D levels were determined with blood tests, while falls were recorded in diaries by residential care staff over a period of about five months (and for slightly longer with the high-level care group). The data showed that almost a quarter of the low-level care group were vitamin D deficient, while 45 percent of the high-level subjects were deficient. And according to the diaries, vitamin D deficiency was shown to be a reliable predictor of falls. After adjusting for weight, cognitive function, walking ability and other factors, a statistical analysis determined that doubling the vitamin D level in those who were deficient might reduce the risk of falling by as much as 20 percent. For many elderly people the vitamin D deficiency problem is compounded by the fact that as we age our skin becomes less effective in producing vitamin D. That, coupled with generally less sun exposure, sets the stage for a variety of health problems associated with low levels of vitamin D. ---------------------------- What the heart wants ---------------------------- In the e-Alert " Does Your Heart Good " (3/11/03), I told you about research that demonstrated how low levels of vitamin D may play a role in heart failure. Researchers at the Department of Nutrition Science, University of Bonn, Germany, collected fasting blood samples from 54 congestive heart failure (CHF) patients over a period of five months. Their samples were compared to similar samples taken from a group of 34 healthy subjects that did not have CHF. An analysis of the samples revealed that the CHF patients had vitamin D levels significantly lower than the healthy group. In fact some in the CHF group had D levels that were only half of the average level found in the other group. Furthermore, those with the lowest vitamin D levels tended to have the most severe symptoms of CHF. And in the e-Alert " D's Day " (4/30/02), I told you about a University of California, San Francisco, study that showed how sufficient levels of vitamin D may cut the risk of heart disease in older women by as much as one-third, primarily due to the ability of vitamin D to prevent the buildup of calcium deposits in the arteries. Most mainstream authorities, including the American Heart Association, still insist that you don't need to supplement with vitamin D. But studies like these continue to confirm the benefits that nutritionally oriented physicians have known about for years. ---------------------------- In a cod's liver ---------------------------- Just last month, in the e-Alert " Sunny Side of the Street " (12/22/03), I told you about Dr. Jonathan Wright's recommendations for vitamin D intake: Between 1600 and 2000 IUs daily, and as much as 4000 IUs for those over 40. According to Dr. Wright, it's impossible for most people to get enough vitamin D from the sun alone, and he discourages the use of dairy products because of the many other health concerns they raise. Instead, he suggests other food sources like salmon and sardines, or cod liver oil, which provides more than 1300 IUs of vitamin D per tablespoon. In the February 2002 issue of Nutrition and Healing newsletter, Dr. Wright says, " 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. " And when you add to that list the reduced risks of congestive heart failure and of taking a fall in advanced years, it's clear that a little extra vitamin D may go a long way in keeping healthy for the long run. ************************************************************** To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit: http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopy.html Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert. ************************************************************** ... and another thing You are what you eat... and drink. In the e-Alert " Orange Express " (12/17/03) I told you about Australian research that examined the results of almost 50 different studies of citrus fruits. Among the collected data, researchers determined that those with the highest intake of citrus fruits reduced their risk of stomach, mouth, esophageal, and larynx cancers by as much as 40 to 50 percent. In response to that e-Alert I received an e-mail from an HSI member named Joan who had this to say: " My parents who lived on the ocean in Florida drank Florida orange juice, by the big glassful, for twenty years. My mother died from lung cancer, my dad from liver cancer. It seems to me that the best answer to whether or not it will do you any lasting good is to find your blood-type and check out the book Live for Your Type. Because in that, for certain 'types,' it's not recommended. " Joan makes a good point: Foods that are healthy for one person may not be healthy for another. And in addition to the blood-type theory there's also the genetic type theory, both of which are intended to tailor nutrition choices to whatever type you may be. And I think we'll be hearing more and more about these theories in the next few years, especially as more detailed reports are filed from the Human Genome Project. But I need to single out one important detail in Joan's e-mail. She says that her parents both drank a lot of orange juice. But the e-Alert didn't discuss drinking orange juice, which is not at all the same as eating oranges. Unlike orange juice, the fruit of an orange is high in unrefined, water-soluble fiber; a factor that makes it a very different (and healthier) food than orange juice. I'm certainly not going to dismiss orange juice as " bad for you, " but the Australian research that found citrus fruit intake to have so many health benefits didn't include a review of fruit juice studies. So drink orange juice if you enjoy it. But remember that you could be missing out on the cancer-fighting benefits that may be available if you eat your orange instead of drinking it. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson Health Sciences Institute ************************************************************** Sources: " Serum Vitamin D and Falls in Older Women in Residential Care in Australia " Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, v. 51, no. 11, November 2003, Blackwell-synergy.com " Vitamin D supplements Recommended for Elderly Women " D. Dye, Life Extension Foundation, 12/5/03, lef.org " Vitamin D May Cut Women's Heart Disease Death Risk " Reuters Health, 4/24/02 " Vitamin D Treats Congestive Heart Failure " Dr. Joseph Mercola, 3/5/03, mercola.com " Low Vitamin D Status: A Contributing Factor in the Pathogenesis of Congestive Heart Failure? " Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2003 Jan 1;41(1):105-12 Copyright ©1997-2003 by www.hsibaltimore.com, L.L.C. 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