Tuesday, December 02, 2008
- Vitamin D is important in general overall health.
- Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. During the winter months we suffer a deficiency unless we are using a daily sun lamp or are supplementing Vitamin D capsules. I recommend 4,000 IU's a day from now until the spring.
- Increased infections such as colds and flu seem to be associated with low Vitamin D levels. I have had good success with seasonal affective disorder (winter blues) with Vitamin D sometimes in conjunction with St. John's Wort.
- Vitamin D, once linked to only bone diseases such as rickets and osteoporosis, is now recognized as a major player in overall human health.
- Vitamin D contributes to good health in the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and regulation of insulin by the pancreas, the heart and blood pressure regulation, muscle strength and brain activity.
- Access to adequate amounts of vitamin D is also believed to be beneficial towards reducing the risk of cancer.
- 36 organ tissues in the body respond biologically to vitamin D, including bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and uterine tissues.
- Vitamin D deficiency is associated with muscle strength decrease, high risk for falls, and increased risk for colorectal, prostate and breast and other major cancers.
- Low vitamin D is associated with Parkinson's disease. The majority (55 percent) of Parkinson's disease patients have insufficient levels of vitamin D.
- Meanwhile, the American Academy of Pediatrics has doubled its recommendation for a daily dose of vitamin D in children, in the hopes of preventing rickets and promoting other health benefits.
- The new guidelines now call for children to receive 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day, beginning in the first few days of life.