Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/23/09.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Click here for a good video on the swine flu.  It might encourage more people to get the swine flu shot.  In it they talk about autopsies on people who died from it.  They found that fluid builds up in the sacs of the lungs and they slowly suffocated.

Click here for Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld on resveratrol on 9/20/09 - 1:32 - Note:  He's recommending 200 mg per day.  See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.  I take two of them, one in the morning and one in the evening.

Insufficient Levels Of Vitamin D Puts Elderly At Increased Risk Of Dying From Heart Disease - Science Daily, 9/21/09 - "Compared to those with optimal vitamin D status, those with low vitamin D levels were 3 times more likely to die from heart disease and 2.5 times more likely to die from any cause ... Dr. Ginde says the findings suggest that current daily recommendations of vitamin D may not be enough for older adults to maintain optimal health" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Medications Effective In Reducing Risks For Breast Cancer Can Also Cause Serious Side Effects - Science Daily, 9/18/09 - "The most common side effects for tamoxifen are flushing and other vasomotor symptoms (e.g., night sweats, hot flashes), vaginal discharge and other vaginal symptoms such as itching or dryness; for raloxifene, side effects include vasomotor symptoms and leg cramps; and for tibolone, side effects include vaginal bleeding ... Tamoxifen increases risks of endometrial cancer, hysterectomies and cataracts compared with the other drugs. Tamoxifen and raloxifene increase risk of blood clots, although tamoxifen's risk is greater. Tibolone carries an increased risk of stroke"

Health Advice: Do Omega-3 Supplements Affect Mood? - US News and World Report, 9/18/09 - "Researchers have shown that depressed patients have, on average, lower levels of omega-3 in their blood than nondepressed individuals; furthermore, they have found evidence that greater severity of depression is linked to lower levels of omega-3. A number of well-controlled depression treatment studies have found therapeutic benefits following omega-3 supplementation. Omega-3 fatty acids also benefit patients with cardiovascular disease, and there is a very well-known association between depression and cardiovascular disease that may reflect a common factor for both: deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids"

2 Easiest Ways to Catch Swine Flu - WebMD, 9/18/09 - "Having a sick person cough directly into your face ... That gives you more than a 50% chance of getting sick ... Touching something contaminated with flu virus and then touching your nose, mouth, or eyes with your unwashed hand gives you a 31% chance at getting sick"

Heart Risk Factors Cut Life Span by 10 Years - WebMD, 9/18/09 - "A 50-year-old smoker who has a history of high blood pressure and high cholesterol can expect to die a decade earlier than someone of the same age with none of these heart disease risk factors"

Seniors may have immunity to swine flu - msnbc.com, 9/17/09 - "Researchers believe seniors have a partial immunity to swine flu because of exposure to similar viruses in their lifetimes. It is a rare bit of good news before the start of the regular flu season, which generally kills 36,000 people a year, most of them elderly" - Note:  For people that have been reading my newsletters, that first sentence is what I've been saying for some time.

Vitamin D, Calcium Shown to Reduce Mortality - Medscape, 9/17/09 - "Vitamin D and calcium have been shown to help lower mortality risk among older people, but the benefits are not necessarily explained by a reduced risk for hip fracture ... When given with vitamin D, calcium reduced mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.88 [0.81–0.97]; P < .01), whereas studies involving vitamin D alone showed no significant reduction in mortality" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors Drive Significantly Higher Health Care Costs - Science Daily, 9/17/09 - "Risk factors for metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, high blood pressure, and elevated blood lipid levels, can increase a person's healthcare costs nearly 1.6-fold, or about $2,000 per year. For each additional risk factor those costs rise an average of 24%"

Zinc Deficiencies A Global Concern - Science Daily, 9/17/09 - "One new study has found DNA damage in humans caused by only minor zinc deficiency ... Zinc deficiency is quite common in the developing world ... studies have shown that zinc is essential to protecting against oxidative stress and helping DNA repair – meaning that in the face of zinc deficiency, the body's ability to repair genetic damage may be decreasing even as the amount of damage is going up ... When prostate glands become cancerous, their level of zinc drops precipitously, and some studies have suggested that increasing zinc in the prostate may at least help prevent prostate cancer and could potentially be a therapeutic strategy. There are concerns about the relationship of zinc intake to esophageal, breast, and head and neck cancers. And the reduced zinc status that occurs with aging may also contribute to a higher incidence of infection and autoimmune diseases" - See Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com.

New Vitamin K Analysis Supports The Triage Theory - Science Daily, 9/17/09 - "An important analysis conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists suggests the importance of ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K to prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer ... Average intakes of vitamin K in the United States and the United Kingdom are less even than currently recommended intakes, which are primarily based on levels to ensure adequate coagulation. McCann & Ames' analysis supports recommendations by some experts that non-clotting functions requiring vitamin K may need higher intakes than are currently recommended" - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.

Cases Of Liver Cancer Reduced In Younger Population Vaccinated For Hepatitis B - Science Daily, 9/16/09 - "A 20-year follow-up study revealed a dramatic drop in liver cancer cases among 6- to 19-year-olds who were vaccinated for the hepatitis B virus at birth"

New Sign of Diabetes Risk - WebMD, 9/16/09 - "People with the lowest SHBG levels have a tenfold higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those with the highest SHBG levels"

New Evidence That Green Tea May Help Improve Bone Health - Science Daily, 9/16/09 - "The scientists exposed a group of cultured bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) to three major green tea components — epigallocatechin (EGC), gallocatechin (GC), and gallocatechin gallate (GCG) — for several days. They found that one in particular, EGC, boosted the activity of a key enzyme that promotes bone growth by up to 79 percent. EGC also significantly boosted levels of bone mineralization in the cells, which strengthens bones. The scientists also showed that high concentrations of ECG blocked the activity of a type of cell (osteoclast) that breaks down or weakens bones. The green tea components did not cause any toxic effects to the bone cells, they note" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Supplementing Babies' Formula With DHA Boosts Cognitive Development, Study Finds - Science Daily, 9/15/09 - "children who were breast fed as infants have superior cognitive skills compared to those fed infant formula, and it's thought that this is due to an essential fatty acid in breast milk called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ... because infants who display superior performance on the means-end problem-solving task tend to have superior IQ and vocabulary later in childhood, it's possible that the beneficial effects of DHA extend well beyond infancy"

Survival Improves for Prostate Cancer - WebMD, 9/15/09 - "The death rate from prostate cancer within 10 years of diagnosis among men who did not have surgery or radiation was 2% to 6% in the 1990s ... This compares to disease-specific death rates of 15% to 23% in similarly aged men with similar disease characteristics who chose not have these treatments in the pre-PSA era ... PSA screening saves few lives and has led to unnecessary treatment for millions of men. Findings from several recent studies appear to have bolstered the claim"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Independent inverse relationship between serum lycopene concentration and arterial stiffness - Atherosclerosis. 2009 Aug 13 - "brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a marker of arterial stiffness and markers of oxidative stress and inflammation ... Subjects in middle tertile (T2) and upper tertile (T3) had lower baPWV (1263+/-23 and 1265+/-14cm/s vs. 1338+/-21cm/s; p=0.009) and lower oxidized LDL (oxLDL) (53+/-3 and 55+/-3U/L vs. 66+/-3U/L; p<0.001) than those in lower tertile (T1). Subjects in T3 showed higher LDL particle size (24.3+/-0.08nm vs. 24.0+/-0.07nm, p=0.005) and lower C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (0.80+/-0.25mg/dL vs. 1.27+/-0.24mg/dL, p=0.015), compared with those in T1. Logistic regression analysis showed that baPWV decreased with the increment of lycopene concentration; log baPWV decreased by 0.21cm/s (95% CI -0.168;-0.045, p=0.001) per unit change in lycopene ... the estimated effect was attenuated by 35% ... This study supports the presence of an independent inverse relationship between circulating lycopene and baPWV. Additionally, reduced oxidative modification of LDL may be one of mediators on the mechanisms how lycopene reduces arterial stiffness" - See Jarrow Lyco-Sorb (contains Lyco-O-Mato) at Amazon.com.

Green tea consumption and the risk of liver cancer in Japan: the Ohsaki Cohort study - Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Sep 19 - "Over 9 years of follow-up, among 325,947 accrued person-years, the total incidence of liver cancer was 247 cases. We found that green tea consumption was inversely associated with the incidence of liver cancer. In men, the multivariate-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for liver cancer incidence with different green tea consumption categories were 1.00 (reference) for <1 cup/day, 0.83 (0.53-1.30) for 1-2 cups/day, 1.11 (0.73-1.68) for 3-4 cups/day, and 0.63 (0.41-0.98) for >/=5 cups/day (p for trend = 0.11). The corresponding data among women were 1.00 (reference), 0.68 (0.35-1.31), 0.79 (0.44-1.44), 0.50 (0.27-0.90)" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Association of Kidney Function With Coronary Atherosclerosis and Calcification in Autopsy Samples From Japanese Elders: The Hisayama Study - Am J Kidney Dis. 2009 Sep 16 - "The autopsy findings presented here suggest that CKD is associated significantly with severity of coronary atherosclerosis. Patients with CKD should be considered a high-risk population for advanced coronary atherosclerosis"

Visceral Obesity and Insulin Resistance as Risk Factors for Colorectal Adenoma: A Cross-Sectional, Case-Control Study - Am J Gastroenterol. 2009 Sep 15 - "insulin resistance was associated with the presence of colorectal adenoma"

Effects of a Combination of Hypericum perforatum and Vitex agnus-castus on PMS-Like Symptoms in Late-Perimenopausal Women: Findings from a Subpopulation Analysis - J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Sep;15(9):1045-8 - "At the end of the 16-week treatment phase, analyses of covariance showed the herbal combination to be superior to placebo for total PMS-like scores (p = 0.02), PMS-D (p = 0.006), and PMS-C clusters (p = 0.027). The active treatment group also showed significant reductions in the anxiety (p = 0.003) and hydration (p = 0.002) clusters, using paired-samples t tests. Results of trend analyses showed significant treatment group effects across the five phases for total PMS and all subscales, all in the clinically expected direction" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com and chaste berry products at iHerb.  Also see my St. John's wort and chaste tree berry pages.

Erectile function in men with diabetes type 2: correlation with glycemic control - Int J Impot Res. 2009 Sep 17 - "the level of HbA(1c) is significantly higher with declining degrees of potency (P-value=0.003). Also, there is an association between potency degree and glycemic control (P=0.002). We conclude that glycemic control is independently and inversely associated with ED in men with diabetes type 2"

Effect of glucosamine sulfate with or without omega-3 fatty acids in patients with osteoarthritis - Adv Ther. 2009 Sep 4 - "The aim was to see if a combination of glucosamine sulfate (1500 mg/day) and the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (group A), showed equivalence (noninferiority) or superiority as opposed to glucosamine sulfate alone (group B) ... OA symptoms (morning stiffness, pain in hips and knees) were reduced at the end of the study: by 48.5%-55.6% in group A and by 41.7%-55.3% in group B" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com and glucosamine products at Amazon.com.

Obesity, coffee consumption and CRP levels in postmenopausal overweight/obese women: importance of hormone replacement therapy use - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009 Sep 16 - "Plasma CRP was positively associated with BMI (P<0.001) and negatively associated with coffee consumption (P</=0.05). In women using HRT, plasma CRP was positively associated with BMI in women consuming less than one cup of coffee per month (r (2)=0.15 (P<0.001)), one cup per day (0.14 (P=0.02)) and more than one cup per day (0.12 (P=0.03)). In women who did not use HRT, CRP was associated with BMI only in women consuming less than one cup of coffee per day (r (2)=0.16 (P<0.001)) but not in women consuming one cup per day (0.06 (P=0.10)) or more than one daily cup of coffee"

Serum Creatinine and Prostate Cancer Risk in a Prospective Study - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Sep 15 - "Cases had significantly higher prediagnostic serum creatinine concentrations compared with controls (medians of 1.13 versus 1.10 mg/dL, respectively; P = 0.004). Serum creatinine was associated with a significantly greater risk of prostate cancer (multivariate odds ratio, 2.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.33-3.75 for highest versus lowest quartile), with a significant trend (P trend = 0.0008)"

Insulin resistance and risk of incident hypertension among men - J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2009 Sep;11(9):483-90 - "The insulin sensitivity index was 6% lower in the cases compared with the controls (P<.001). The multivariable odds ratio for hypertension comparing the lowest with highest quartile of insulin sensitivity index was 1.09 (0.71-1.65) among the entire sample. However, the association between the insulin sensitivity index and incident hypertension differed significantly by age (P interaction <.001). Among men younger than 60 years, the multivariable odds ratio for the lowest compared with highest quartile was 1.93 (1.01-3.71) but was 0.67 (0.37-1.24) among older men. Insulin resistance is independently associated with incident hypertension among younger men"

Supplement Focus (Vitamin D):

News & Research:

• vitamin D at Amazon.com
• Diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency - vitamindcouncil.org - "It is important to understand that neither the regular consumption of recommended amounts of vitamin D (e.g., 100 IU/8-oz glass of milk) effectively prevents vitamin D deficiency [79,80]. Furthermore, 2000 IU/day for 1 year failed to achieve a 32 ng/ml target 25(OH)D concentration in 40% of 104 African-American women studied [81]. Even the administration of 4000 IU/day for > 6 months to middle-age Canadian endocrinology out-patients, resulted in average 25(OH)D levels of 44 ng/ml and produced no side effects other than an improved mood [70]. Heaney estimated that ~ 3000 IU/day of vitamin D is required to assure that 97% of Americans obtain levels > 35 ng/ml [43]. Healthy adult men use between 3000 and 5000 IU of vitamin D/day, if it is available [82]"
• Why Low Vitamin D Raises Heart Disease Risks In Diabetics - Science Daily, 8/21/09 - "Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes ... When people are deficient in vitamin D, the macrophage cells eat more cholesterol, and they can't get rid of it. The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis"
• Vitamin D may reduce pre-eclampsia risk: Study - Nutra USA, 8/20/09
• Low vitamin D levels linked to metabolic syndrome - Nutra USA, 8/4/09 - "According to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, the lowest levels of the sunshine vitamin were associated with a 31 per cent prevalence of metabolic syndrome, compared to only 10 per cent for people wit the highest average levels"
• 7 in 10 U.S. Kids Have Low Vitamin D - WebMD, 8/3/09 - "Seven out of 10 U.S. children have too-low vitamin D levels, putting them at risk of heart disease, rickets, and weak bones ... Most people need regular vitamin D supplements ... Kids who have low vitamin D levels are at serious risk of heart disease in adulthood ... even after controlling for all kinds of factors that affect heart disease risk -- obesity, exercise levels, race/ethnicity, age, gender, and socioeconomic status -- low vitamin D put kids at risk of heart disease as adults"
• Vit D-curcumin combo offers brain health potential - Nutra USA, 7/27/09 - "The curcuminoids were found to enhance binding of beta-amyloid to macrophages, and that vitamin D could strongly stimulate the uptake and absorption of beta-amyloid in macrophages in most of the patients ... Since vitamin D and curcumin work differently with the immune system, we may find that a combination of the two or each used alone may be more effective — depending on the individual patient" - [Abstract] - See vitamin D at Amazon.comand curcumin products at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D, Curcumin May Help Clear Amyloid Plaques Found In Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily, 7/15/09 - "The team discovered that curcuminoids enhanced the surface binding of amyloid beta to macrophages and that vitamin D strongly stimulated the uptake and absorption of amyloid beta in macrophages in a majority of patients ... Since vitamin D and curcumin work differently with the immune system, we may find that a combination of the two or each used alone may be more effective — depending on the individual patient" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com and vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Study: 88% of GI Cancer Patients Deficient in Vitamin D - oncologystat.com, 7/6/09 - "At baseline, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was nearly 88%, including 61% of patients who met criteria for moderate to severe deficiency"
• Understanding The Anticancer Effects Of Vitamin D3 - Science Daily, 7/6/09 - "the active form of vitamin D3 directly activates the CST5 gene in human colon cancer cell lines, increasing levels of cystatin D protein. Functionally, cystatin D was shown to inhibit the growth of human colon cancer cells lines in vitro and when they were xenotransplanted into mice. As knocking down expression of cystatin D in human colon cancer cell lines rendered them unresponsive to the antiproliferative effects of the active form of vitamin D3, the authors conclude that CST5 is a candidate tumor suppressor gene and that it mediates a large proportion of the anticancer effects of the active form of vitamin D3"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Is Widespread And On The Increase - Science Daily, 6/30/09 - "A new report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and published in the scientific journal Osteoporosis International1, shows that populations across the globe are suffering from the impact of low levels of vitamin D. The problem is widespread and on the increase, with potentially severe repercussions for overall health and fracture rates"
• Successful Weight Loss With Dieting Is Linked To Vitamin D Levels - Science Daily, 6/11/09 - "the authors found that baseline, or pre-diet, vitamin D levels predicted weight loss in a linear relationship. For every increase of 1 ng/mL in level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol—the precursor form of vitamin D and a commonly used indicator of vitamin D status—subjects ended up losing almost a half pound (0.196 kg) more on their calorie-restricted diet. For each 1-ng/mL increase in the active or "hormonal" form of vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol), subjects lost nearly one-quarter pound (0.107 kg) more ... Additionally, higher baseline vitamin D levels (both the precursor and active forms) predicted greater loss of abdominal fat"
• American Academy of Pediatrics announces that it is doubling the amount of vitamin D it is recommending for infants, children and adolescents - ABC News video - 6:09 minutes
• More Vitamin D for all - ABC News Video - 1:11 minutes
• Is Vitamin D Deficiency Linked To Alzheimer's Disease And Vascular Dementia? - Science Daily, 5/26/09 - "Several studies have correlated tooth loss with development of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia. There are two primary ways that people lose teeth: dental caries and periodontal disease. Both conditions are linked to low vitamin D levels, with induction of human cathelicidin by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D being the mechanism ... There is also laboratory evidence for the role of vitamin D in neuroprotection and reducing inflammation, and ample biological evidence to suggest an important role for vitamin D in brain development and function ... those over the age of 60 years should consider having their serum 25(OH)D tested, looking for a level of at least 30 ng/mL but preferably over 40 ng/mL, and supplementing with 1000-2000 IU/day of vitamin D3 or increased time in the sun spring, summer, and fall if below those values" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• New Model Of Cancer Development: Low Vitamin D Levels May Have Role - Science Daily, 5/22/09 - "previous theories linking vitamin D to certain cancers have been tested and confirmed in more than 200 epidemiological studies, and understanding of its physiological basis stems from more than 2,500 laboratory studies ... Vitamin D may halt the first stage of the cancer process by re-establishing intercellular junctions in malignancies having an intact vitamin D receptor ... Vitamin D levels can be increased by modest supplementation with vitamin D3 in the range of 2000 IU/day"
• Vitamin D good for brains and lungs, say new studies - Nutra USA, 5/22/09
• Vitamin D for Quicker Thinking? - WebMD, 5/21/09 - "Men in their 60s and 70s with low levels of vitamin D were the most likely participants to have low scores on the visual scanning and processing test"
• Vitamin D Insufficiency Linked To Bacterial Vaginosis In Pregnant Women - Science Daily, 5/21/09 - "Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection in US women of childbearing age, and is common in pregnant women. BV occurs when the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria ... Overall, women with BV had lower serum 25(OH)D concentrations than those without BV (P < 0.01). The prevalence of BV decreased as vitamin D concentration increased to 80 nmol/L (P < 0.001). Compared with 75 nmol/L, serum 25(OH)D concentrations of 20 nmol/L and 50 nmol/L were associated with 65% and 26% increases, respectively, in the likelihood of BV. In summary, these findings suggest that vitamin D insufficiency is associated with BV in the first 4 mo of pregnancy. Further, poor vitamin D status may contribute to the strong racial disparity in the prevalence of BV in US women"
• Vitamin D May Halt Lung Function Decline In Asthma And COPD - Science Daily, 5/20/09 - "Dr. Damera and his colleagues found calcitriol inhibits HASM in a dose-dependent manner, with a maximum inhibitory effect of 60 percent +/- 3 percent at 100nM"
• Older People Need More Sun, Expert Urges - Science Daily, 5/11/09 - "His team found a high correlation between low vitamin D levels and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. They found 94% of people in the study had a vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) deficiency or insufficiency. The results showed 42.3% of these people also had metabolic syndrome ... Vitamin D deficiency is becoming a condition that is causing a large burden of disease across the globe with particular deleterious impact among the elderly"
• Low Vitamin D Causes Problems For Acutely Ill Patients - Science Daily, 4/30/09 - "45% of people in our ICU were Vitamin D deficient ... When the team correlated the Vitamin D levels with a disease severity score, there was a direct correspondence between sickness and Vitamin D deficiency. In other words, the sicker someone was, the lower the levels of Vitamin D. Out of the 42 patients studied, there were 3 deaths. The 3 patients who died all had the lowest level of Vitamin D in the cohort"
• High Doses of Vitamin D Cut MS Relapses - WebMD, 4/28/09
• Low Vitamin D Linked to Severe Asthma - WebMD, 4/23/09 - "low vitamin D levels were associated with more asthma hospitalizations in the previous year, more airway hyperactivity in lung function tests, more use of anti-inflammatory asthma medications like inhaled steroids in the previous year, and higher blood levels of allergy markers"
• Human Lung Tumors Destroy Anti-cancer Hormone Vitamin D, Pitt Researchers Find - Science Daily, 4/20/09 - "Human lung tumors have the ability to eliminate Vitamin D, a hormone with anti-cancer activity"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Related To Increased Inflammation In Healthy Women - Science Daily, 4/8/09 - "75 percent of Americans do not get enough Vitamin D. Researchers have found that the deficiency may negatively impact immune function and cardiovascular health and increase cancer risk. Now, a University of Missouri nutritional sciences researcher has found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation, a negative response of the immune system, in healthy women ... This may explain the vitamin's role in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases, including heart disease, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis ... To improve vitamin D status and achieve its related health benefits, most people should get at least 1000 IU of vitamin D per day"
• Vitamin D Benefits Dialysis Patients - Medscape, 4/1/09 - "Over-the-counter vitamin D supplementation improves serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, without raising serum calcium or phosphorus levels ... Studies in healthy patients have provided supplementation up to 10,000 IU a day with no observed adverse effects"
• Nonvertebral Fracture Prevention With Vitamin D May Be Dose-Dependent - Medscape, 3/31/09 - "A dose-response relationship between vitamin D and fracture reduction is supported by epidemiologic data showing a significant positive trend between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and hip bone density and lower extremity strength"
• Increasing Number Of Americans Have Insufficient Levels Of Vitamin D - Science Daily, 3/24/09 - "Average blood levels of vitamin D appear to have decreased in the United States between 1994 and 2004 ... Overall, the mean [average] serum 25(OH)D level in the U.S. population was 30 nanograms per milliliter during the 1988-1994 collection and decreased to 24 nanograms per milliliter during the 2001-2004 collection ... These findings have important implications for health disparities and public health"
• Vitamin D Supplements Associated With Reduced Fracture Risk in Older Adults - Doctor's Guide, 3/23/09 - "The authors then pooled the results of only the 9 trials in which participants received doses of more than 400 international units per day. At this dosage, vitamin D supplements reduced non-vertebral fractures by 20% and hip fractures by 18% ... A greater reduction in risk was also seen among trial participants whose blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D achieved a greater increase" - [Science Daily]
• Inadequate Vitamin D Levels Linked To High Use Of Narcotic Medication By Patients In Chronic Pain - Science Daily, 3/20/09 - "Mayo Clinic research shows a correlation between inadequate vitamin D levels and the amount of narcotic medication taken by patients who have chronic pain ... Physicians who care for patients with chronic, diffuse pain that seems musculoskeletal — and involves many areas of tenderness to palpation — should strongly consider checking a vitamin D level ... many patients who have been labeled with fibromyalgia are, in fact, suffering from symptomatic vitamin D inadequacy"
• Not Enough Vitamin D In The Diet Could Mean Too Much Fat On Adolescents - Science Daily, 3/16/09 - "A Medical College of Georgia study of more than 650 teens age 14-19 has found that those who reported higher vitamin D intakes had lower overall body fat and lower amounts of the fat in the abdomen, a type of fat known as visceral fat, which has been associated with health risks such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension"
• Low Vitamin D Hurts Teenagers’ Hearts - WebMD, 3/11/09 - "Compared to the 25% of teens with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood (more than 26 nanograms per milliliter), the 25% of teens with the lowest vitamin D levels (less than 15 ng/mL) had: ... Fourfold greater risk of metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors for diabetes ... 2.54 times greater risk of high blood sugar ... 2.36 times greater risk of high blood pressure"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Prevalent in Children With Chronic Kidney Disease - Medscape, 3/5/09 - "The prevalence of deficiency in this contemporary study group was 39%"
• Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Colds - WebMD, 2/23/09 - "those with the lowest vitamin D levels (less than 10 nanograms per milliliter of blood) were 36% more likely to report having a recent upper respiratory tract infection than those with higher levels (30 ng/mL or higher) ... people with asthma with the lowest vitamin D levels were five times more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection. Among those with COPD, recent respiratory infections were twice as common among those with lowest vitamin D levels"
• Vitamin D may be critical to reduce multiple sclerosis risk - Nutra USA, 2/12/09
• Vitamin D Tied To Muscle Power In Adolescent Girls - Science Daily, 2/10/09 - "Our study found that vitamin D is positively related to muscle power, force, velocity and jump height in adolescent girls ... Vitamin D affects the various ways muscles work and we've seen from this study that there may be no visible symptoms of vitamin D deficiency"
• Genetic Study Shows Direct Link Between Vitamin D And MS Susceptibility 'Gene' - Science Daily, 2/5/09 - "The research suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and the early years may increase the risk of the offspring developing MS later in life"
• Vitamin D Found To Stimulate A Protein That Inhibits The Growth Of Breast Cancer Cells - Science Daily, 2/5/09 - "Calcitrol, the active form of vitamin D, has been found to induce a tumor suppressing protein that can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells"
• Vitamin D Tied To Muscle Power In Adolescent Girls - Science Daily, 2/3/09 - "Vitamin D is significantly associated with muscle power and force in adolescent girls"
• Shedding light on vitamin D deficiency ‘crisis’ - MSNBC, 2/2/09 - "the vitamin D story is much bigger than an unexpected case of rickets. Deficiency in vitamin D, a fat-soluble supplement needed to maintain normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood, does appear to be a growing problem. Some medical experts even claim we are suffering through a vitamin D deficiency "crisis.""
• Low Levels Of Vitamin D Link To Cognitive Problems In Older People - Science Daily, 1/22/09 - "Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan, have for the first time identified a relationship between Vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin", and cognitive impairment in a large-scale study of older people ... as levels of Vitamin D went down, levels of cognitive impairment went up. Compared to those with optimum levels of Vitamin D, those with the lowest levels were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired"
• Vitamin D Is The 'It' Nutrient Of The Moment - Science Daily, 1/12/09 - "Vitamin D is quickly becoming the "it" nutrient with health benefits for diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease and now diabetes ... Diet alone may not be sufficient to manage vitamin D levels"
• Vitamin D Deficiency In Infants And Nursing Mothers Carries Long-term Disease Risks - Science Daily, 12/28/08 - "vitamin D is now viewed not simply as a vitamin with a role in promoting bone health, but as a complex hormone that helps to regulate immune system function. Long-term vitamin D deficiency has been linked to immune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes, and cancer"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Associated With Greater Rates Of Cesarean Sections - Science Daily, 12/23/08 - "pregnant women who are vitamin D deficient are also at an increased risk for delivering a baby by caesarean section as compared to pregnant women who are not vitamin D deficient ... 28 percent of women with serum 25(OH)D less than 37.5 nmol/L had a caesarean section, compared to only 14 percent of women with 25(OH)D greater than 37.5 nmol/L"
• Nearly Three-quarters Of Youths With Diabetes Insufficient In Vitamin D - Science Daily, 12/15/08 - "Three-quarters of youths with type 1 diabetes were found to have insufficient levels of vitamin D, according to a study by researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center – findings that suggest children with the disease may need vitamin D supplementation to prevent bone fragility later in life"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Increases Risk of Cardiovascular Disease - Doctor's Guide, 12/10/08 - "a review article published in the December 9 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology ... patients with vitamin D levels below 15 ng/mL were twice as likely to experience a heart attack, stroke, or other CV event within the next 5 years compared with those with higher levels"
• Lack Of Vitamin D Causes Weight Gain And Stunts Growth In Girls - Science Daily, 12/11/08 - "The high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in young people living in a sun-rich area was surprising," says study lead author, Richard Kremer, co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the MUHC. "We found young women with vitamin D insufficiency were significantly heavier, with a higher body mass index and increased abdominal fat, than young women with normal levels"
• Vitamin D Deficiency and Mortality in Kidney Disease - Medscape, 12/9/08
• Men’s Vitamin D Levels Dipped over Decades - WebMD, 12/8/08 - "men's vitamin D levels have declined between 7% and 12% over the past 15 to 20 years ... She attributes most of the decline to changes in body mass index, decreases in milk intake, and increases in sun protection ... vitamin D deficiency has been linked to cancer, heart disease, depression, and weight gain"
• Too Little Vitamin D Puts Heart at Risk - WebMD, 12/1/08 - "people with low vitamin D levels were twice as likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or other heart-related event during follow-up, compared with those with higher vitamin D levels ... Sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 blocks approximately 99% of vitamin D synthesis by the skin ... The safe upper limit of vitamin D consumption is 10,000 IU per day ... Vitamin D supplements are available in two different forms: Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3. Although both appear effective in raising vitamin D blood levels, Vitamin D3 supplements appear to result in a longer-lasting boost"
• 'Let The Sunshine In' To Protect Your Heart This Winter - Science Daily, 11/26/08 - "The temperature might not be the only thing plummeting this winter. Many people also will experience a decrease in their vitamin D levels ... Chronic vitamin D deficiency may be a culprit in heart disease, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome"
• Vitamin D Can Alter Color Cancer Cells In Many Ways, Through One Pathway - Science Daily, 11/17/08 - "Vitamin D can tame the rogue cell by adjusting everything from its gene expression to its cytoskeleton"
• Vitamin D Insufficiency Linked to Increased Body Fat - Medscape, 11/10/08 - "The study sample consisted of 90 postpubertal women aged 16 to 22 years and living in California ... Insufficiency of 25(OH)D, defined as a serum level of 29 ng/mL or less, was present in approximately 59% of participants, and the remaining 41% had sufficient 25(OH)D levels, defined as a serum level of 30 ng/mL or more. Serum 25(OH)D levels were strongly negatively related to CT measures of visceral and subcutaneous fat and to DXA values of body fat" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Could Vitamin D Save Us From Radiation? - Science Daily, 117/08 - "calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, may protect us from background radiation and could be used as a safe protective agent before or after a low-level nuclear incident"
• Monthly Vitamin D3 Supplementation Safe and Effective - Medscape, 10/22/08 - "A single 45,000-IU dose of vitamin D3 given every 4 weeks is as safe as smaller daily or weekly doses and is as effective in achieving protective levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, according to a study conducted in Israel"
• Vitamin D A Key Player In Overall Health Of Several Body Organs, Says Biochemist - Science Daily, 10/13/08 - "In a paper published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Norman identifies vitamin D's potential for contributions 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. In addition, access to adequate amounts of vitamin D is believed to be beneficial towards reducing the risk of cancer ... Norman also lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond biologically to vitamin D. The list includes bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and the uterus ... deficiency of vitamin D can impact all 36 organs"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Common In Patients With IBD, Chronic Liver Disease - Science Daily, 10/13/08 - "analyzed vitamin D levels of 504 inflammatory bowel disease patients ... almost 50 percent of the patients were Vitamin D deficient at some point, with 11 percent being severely deficient ... 92.4 percent of chronic liver patients had some degree of vitamin D deficiency and at least one third were severely deficient. Severe vitamin D deficiency was more common among cirrhotics"
• Parkinson's Disease Linked to Vitamin D Insufficiency - WebMD, 10/13/08 - "Participants provided blood samples, which showed vitamin D insufficiency in 55% of the Parkinson's disease patients, compared to 41% of the Alzheimer's patients and 36% of the healthy participants"
• Pediatrics Group Doubles Children's Recommended Daily Vitamin D Intake - WebMD, 10/13/08 - "The new guidelines are especially important for breastfed babies, since breast milk isn't rich in vitamin D ... I would have probably gone with 400 IU in the first year or two of life, and after that I would have increased it to at least 1,000 and also monitor the vitamin D [blood] level"
• Vitamin D may protect skin from within: Study - Nutra USA, 10/8/08 - "Atopic dermatitis (AD) ... All of the participants were given daily vitamin D supplements of 4000 IUs for 21 days ... After supplementation, the skin of people with AD showed statistically significant increases in cathelicidin from 3.53 to 23.91 relative copy units (RCU). Moreover, normal skin showed a “modest increase”, said the researchers, from 1.0 to 1.78 RCU"
• Patients With IBD, Chronic Liver Disease at Increased Risk of Vitamin D Deficiencies - Doctor's Guide, 10/7/08 - "conducted analysed vitamin D levels of 504 patients with IBD ... researchers found almost 50% of the patients were vitamin D deficient at some point, with 11% being severely deficient ... with hepatitis C virus (HCV) ... 92.4% of the patients had some degree of vitamin D deficiency and at least one-third was severely deficient" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Oral Vitamin D May Help Prevent Some Skin Infections - Science Daily, 10/6/08 - "use of oral Vitamin D supplements bolsters production of a protective chemical normally found in the skin, and may help prevent skin infections that are a common result of atopic dermatitis, the most common form of eczema"
• Vitamin D again linked to breast cancer protection - Nutra USA, 9/26/08 - "Increased intakes of the vitamin were associated with a 24 per cent reduction in the risk of developing ER+ and PR+ tumours" - [Abstract]
• Vitamin D Linked to Genetic and Environmental Risk for MS - Medscape, 9/26/08 - "Everyone who has examined this from the National Academy of Sciences to the dietary committee of the European Union to a variety of professional organizations all agree pretty much that the amount of vitamin D that people are getting is too low"
• Calcium With or Without Vitamin D May Help Prevent Osteoporosis - Medscape, 8/27/08 - "For best therapeutic effect, we recommend minimum doses of 1200 mg of calcium, and 800 IU of vitamin D (for combined calcium plus vitamin D supplementation)"
• Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency May Lurk in Breastfed Babies - New York Times, 8/25/08 - "Some experts fear that vitamin D deficiency, which can be asymptomatic, may be more common than pediatricians realize and that rickets — perceived to be a 19th-century scourge that was wiped out with the fortification of milk — may be going undetected ... Physicians have known for more than a century that exclusive breast-feeding may be associated with vitamin D deficiency and rickets, and that the condition is easily prevented and treated with inexpensive vitamin drops or cod liver oil. But doctors are reluctant to say anything that might discourage breast-feeding"
• Vitamin D deficiency increases hip fracture risk: researchers - Nutra USA, 8/20/08 - "women with the lowest 25(OH) vitamin D concentrations (47.6 nmol/L) at study entry had a significantly greater increased risk for subsequent hip fracture during the next seven years than did women with the highest concentrations (70.7 nmol/L)" - [Abstract]
• Low Vitamin D Levels Pose Large Threat To Health; Overall 26 Percent Increased Risk Of Death - Science Daily, 8/12/08 - "This translates overall to an estimated 26 percent increased risk of any death, though the number of deaths from heart disease alone was not large enough to meet scientific criteria to resolve that it was due to low vitamin D levels ... Previous results from the same nationwide survey showed that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women are technically deficient in the nutrient, with vitamin D levels below 28 nanograms per milliliter"
• Pain 'linked with low vitamin D' - BBC News, 8/11/08 - "Low levels of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D, may contribute to chronic pain among women ... If I had chronic pain I would certainly check I was getting enough vitamin D"
• Low Level of Vitamin D Ups Death Risk - WebMD, 8/11/08 - "Over an average follow-up period of about nine years, 1,806 participants died. The researchers found a 26% increased risk of death from any cause for the quartile of participants with the lowest vitamin D levels compared to those with the highest levels"
• Low Vitamin D Levels Independent Predictor of Fatal Stroke - Medscape, 7/24/08 - "Low levels of vitamin D appear to be an independent predictor of fatal stroke — a finding that suggests supplementation may be a promising approach for stroke prevention"
• Vitamin D: Builds Bones And Much More - Science Daily, 7/14/08 - "Recently, researchers have found that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of other diseases ... Fall prevention: ... Cancer prevention: ... Chronic pain prevention: ... Protection against autoimmune diseases: ... Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease"
• Vitamin D Levels Tied to Colorectal Cancer Survival - Medscape, 7/14/08 - "Compared with patients with the lowest levels, those with the highest had an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.52 for overall mortality"
• Vitamin D Deficiency and Chronic Migraine - Medscape, 7/7/08 - "New research showing that vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with chronic migraine suggests that this patient group, like other vitamin D deficient populations, is at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, malignancy, and other serious illnesses that have been linked to low levels of this "good-health" vitamin ... 40.7% of patients with chronic migraine were deficient in 25-hydroxyvitamin D. The study also showed that the longer individuals had chronic migraine, the more likely they were to be vitamin D deficient"
• News - Vitamin D Status During Pregnancy Affects Baby's Dental Health - [Science Daily] - Doctor's Guide, 7/3/08 - "Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early childhood tooth decay"
• Some Seek Guidelines to Reflect Vitamin D's Benefits - washingtonpost.com, 7/4/0 - "A flurry of recent research indicating that Vitamin D may have a dizzying array of health benefits has reignited an intense debate over whether federal guidelines for the "sunshine vitamin" are outdated, leaving millions unnecessarily vulnerable to cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other ailments"
• Vitamin D May Up Colon Cancer Survival - WebMD, 6/18/08 - "patients with colon cancer who were among the top 25% in levels of vitamin D before being diagnosed were less likely to die during the study period than those who were among the 25% with the lowest levels of the vitamin" - [Science Daily] - See vitamin D at Amazon.com
• Adults still risk vitamin D deficiency - USA Today, 6/16/08 - "She began screening all of her patients last year and says 95% have come up deficient. "I'm even seeing it in twenty- and thirty somethings," she says"
• Lack of vitamin D rampant in infants, teens - USA Today, 6/16/08 - "Vitamin D deficiency is much more of a health problem than anyone realized ... 40% of infants and toddlers tested below average for vitamin D. In a previous study, Gordon and fellow researchers discovered that 42% of adolescents were vitamin D deficient ... Current recommendations by the Institute of Medicine suggest 200 IUs of vitamin D a day for children and 400 IUs for adults, but Callahan, who serves on an institute committee that aims to update those guidelines, says she suggests higher levels to many of her patients, at least 800 to 1,000 IUs a day"
• Vitamin D: New Way To Treat Heart Failure? - Science Daily, 6/11/08 - "treatments with activated vitamin D prevented heart muscle cells from growing bigger – the condition, called hypertrophy, in which the heart becomes enlarged and overworked in people with heart failure. The treatments prevented heart muscle cells from the over-stimulation and increased contractions associated with the progression of heart failure"
• Low Vitamin D Ups Heart Risk in Men - WebMD, 6/9/08 - "men who had vitamin D levels of 15 ng/mL or less in their blood samples -- an indication of vitamin D deficiency -- had an increased risk for heart attack compared to those whose vitamin D level was considered sufficient (30 ng/mL). The twofold increased risk remained significant even when adjusting for other factors known to contribute to heart disease, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of heart disease"
• Sun Exposure And Vitamin D Levels May Play Strong Role In Risk Of Type 1 Diabetes In Children - Science Daily, 6/5/08 - "This research suggests that childhood type 1 diabetes may be preventable with a modest intake of vitamin D3 (1000 IU/day) for children, ideally with 5 to 10 minutes of sunlight around noontime, when good weather allows"
• Vitamin D Promising Against IgA Nephropathy - Medscape, 6/3/08 - "The patients were given oral calcitriol 0.5 mcg twice weekly for 12 weeks. The team found a progressive decrease in urine protein-creatinine ratio from 1.98 g/g to 0.81 g/g during the first 6 weeks. This persisted throughout the study period ... There was a simultaneous decrease in serum TGF-beta level, and the percentage of decrease in serum TGF-beta level significantly correlated with percentage of change in proteinuria"
• Maternal Vitamin D Deficiency May Increase Risk for Preeclampsia - Medscape, 6/3/08 - "Compared with controls, women who subsequently developed preeclampsia had lower adjusted serum 25(OH)D concentrations in early pregnancy (geometric mean, 45.4 vs 53.1 nmol/L; 95% confidence interval [CI], 38.6 - 53.4 vs 47.1 - 59.9 nmol/L; P < .01) ... After adjusting for potential confounders, a 50-nmol/L decrease in 25(OH)D concentration was associated with twice the risk for preeclampsia (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.4; 95% CI, 1.1 - 5.4). Compared with control newborns, those of women with preeclampsia were twice as likely to have 25(OH)D concentrations less than 37.5 nmol/L"
• Babies, Tots Low on Vitamin D - WebMD, 6/2/08 - "Forty percent of those kids had suboptimal blood levels of vitamin D, including 12% who had vitamin D deficiency. And X-rays showed that a third of kids with vitamin D deficiency had bone demineralization, a sign of thinner bones ... Breastfed babies were particularly likely to be low in vitamin D"
• Current Vitamin D Recommendations Fraction Of Safe, Perhaps Essential Levels For Children - Science Daily, 5/27/08 - "The current recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin D for children is 200 International Units (IUs), but new research reveals that children may need and can safely take ten-times that amount ... Only children given the equivalent of 2,000 IUs a day of vitamin D increased 25-OHD levels from the mid-teens to the mid-thirties (ng/ml)--the level considered optimal for adults. None of the children in either trial showed any evidence for vitamin D intoxication"
• Supplement Your Knowledge of Vitamin D - WebMD, 5/19/08 - "That's not enough, Boston University vitamin D expert Michael Holick, MD, PhD, tells WebMD. Holick recommends a dose of 1,000 IU a day of vitamin D for both infants and adults -- unless they're getting plenty of safe sun exposure ... The Vitamin D Council recommends that healthy adults take 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily -- more if they get little or no sun exposure ... some recent studies suggest that healthy adults can tolerate more than 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day. John Jacob Cannell, MD, executive director of The Vitamin D Council, notes that the skin makes 10,000 IU of vitamin D after 30 minutes of full-body sun exposure. He suggests that 10,000 IU of vitamin D is not toxic"
• Aggressive Vitamin D Treatment for Osteoporosis - Medscape, 5/19/08 - "Singh called the findings "alarming" and said that although many physicians believe vitamin D deficiency is not a problem, with 41% of study patients found to have a vitamin D level of less than 30 ng/mL, "most likely that is not true," he said"
• Link Between Vitamin D Status And Breast Cancer Illuminated - Science Daily, 5/15/08 - "This is the first study, to our knowledge, to show that higher serum levels of vitamin D are associated with reduced incidence rates of breast cancer worldwide"
• Prostates protected by vitamin D: study - Nutra USA, 5/14/08 - "In this study, we have demonstrated that 1,25-(OH)2D can protect nonmalignant human prostate epithelial cells against H2O2-induced cell death through modulating the ROS defense systems, suggesting a possible role of 1,25-(OH)2D in prostate cancer prevention"
• Hypovitaminosis D Appears Common Among Skin Cancer Population - oncologystat.com, 5/12/08 - "Nearly all patients undergoing Mohs surgery for nonmelanoma skin cancer were found to be vitamin D deficient"
• Vitamin D Protects Cells From Stress That Can Lead To Cancer - Science Daily, 5/13/08 - "By inducing a specific gene to increase expression of a key enzyme, vitamin D protects healthy prostate cells from the damage and injuries that can lead to cancer"
• Vitamin D and cancer: maintaining levels key to protection? - Nutra USA, 5/12/08 - "After adjusting for various potential confounding factors, the researchers report that people with the highest level of 25(OH)D (76.3 nanomoles per litre) were 55 per cent less likely to die form fatal cancer than those with the lowest levels (18.1 nmol/L)" - [Abstract]
• Vitamin D Linked to Reduced Mortality Rate in Chronic Kidney Disease - Doctor's Guide, 5/7/08 - "For patients with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease (CKD), treatment with activated vitamin D may reduce the risk of death by approximately one-fourth"
• Many Depressed Older Adults Lack Vitamin D - WebMD, 5/6/08 - "Researchers reporting in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry have linked low blood levels of vitamin D -- the "sunshine vitamin" -- and increased parathyroid hormone levels to depression among older adults"
• Vitamin D3 for 1 Year Is Safe in Adolescents - Medscape, 5/5/08 - "Vitamin D3 at doses equivalent to 2000 IU/day for 1 year is safe in adolescents and results in desirable vitamin D levels"
• A Too-Good-to-Be-True Nutrient? - washingtonpost.com. 4/29/08 - "Among the more intriguing findings is a recent review of 18 studies involving nearly 60,000 people that showed those who took Vitamin D supplements had a 7 percent reduction in mortality from all causes compared with those who didn't take the supplements"
• Low Vitamin D, High CRP Linked to Poorer Function in Heart Failure Patients - Medscape, 4/28/08 - "Lower vitamin D levels and higher C-reactive protein levels are associated with poor aerobic capacity and greater frailty in elderly patients with heart failure"
• High Blood Levels Of Vitamin D Protect Women From Breast Cancer, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 4/22/08 - "Women with a very low blood level of 25(OH)D have a considerably increased breast cancer risk. The effect was found to be strongest in women who were not taking hormones for relief of menopausal symptoms"
• Vitamin D Important In Brain Development And Function - Science Daily, 4/21/08 - "there is ample biological evidence to suggest an important role for vitamin D in brain development and function, and that supplementation for groups chronically low in vitamin D is warranted"
• Vitamin D May Protect Against Peripheral Artery Disease - Science Daily, 4/20/08 - "When the researchers adjusted for age, sex, race and co-existing health problems, they found that PAD was 64 percent more common in the group with the lowest vitamin D levels compared with the group with the highest levels"
• Vitamin D status linked to artery health: study - Nutra USA, 4/17/08 - "Data from 4839 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that the prevalence of PAD was 4.4 per cent lower in people with blood levels of vitamin D above 29.2 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) than in people with blood levels below 17.8 ng/mL"
• Vitamin D And Calcium Influence Cell Death In The Colon, Researchers Find - Science Daily, 4/13/08 - "We were pleased that the effects of calcium and vitamin D were visible enough in this small study to be significant and reportable"
• Vitamin D Deficiency May Be To Blame For Soft Bones In Baby's Skull - Science Daily, 3/26/08 - "Softening of the skull bones in normal-looking babies might reflect vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy"
• Vitamin D May Cut Child Diabetes Risk - WebMD, 3/12/08 - "giving infants vitamin D supplements cuts their risk of type 1 diabetes by 29% ... infants in wintry Finland are 400 times more likely than a child in sunny Venezuela to have childhood diabetes"
• The vitamin D miracle: Is it for real? - globeandmail.com, 3/8/08 - "... Researchers in Australia are testing this hypothesis by studying the brains of rats born to pregnant mothers deprived of vitamin D - with alarming results. The vitamin-D-deprived rodent brains had more cell proliferation, enlarged ventricles and less of a protein necessary for nerve growth ..." - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• A Ray Of Sunshine In The Fight Against Cancer: Vitamin D May Help - Science Daily, 2/13/08 - "It sounds too good to be true … a little inexpensive pill that could block the development of some cancers, strengthen bones, prevent multiple sclerosis and alleviate winter depression ... But it’s not science fiction. The “new aspirin” could be Vitamin D ... during the winter, Canadians take at least 1,000 units a day of Vitamin D"
• Vitamin D Appears to Cut Breast and Colorectal Cancer Risk - Medscape, 2/12/08 - "Compared with a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level less than 10 ng/mL, a level of 50 ng/mL reduced the risk for breast cancer by 50%. This level of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D would require an average intake of 4000 IU of vitamin D per day, although the authors note that intake of 2000 IU per day combined with sun exposure of approximately 12 minutes per day with 50% of the skin exposed could also help patients achieve a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 50 ng/mL ... Compared with a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level less than 12 ng/mL, a level of at least 33 ng/mL or more was associated with a 50% reduction in the risk for incident colorectal cancer ... vitamin D intake of 1000 to 2000 IU per day would confer an appropriate balance between protection against colorectal cancer and adverse events related to hypervitaminosis"
• Lack Of Vitamin D May Increase Heart Disease Risk - Science Daily, 1/7/08 - "those with blood levels of vitamin D below15 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) had twice the risk of a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, heart failure or stroke in the next five years compared to those with higher levels of vitamin D ... Overall, 28 percent of individuals had levels of vitamin D below15 ng/mL and 9 percent had levels below10 ng/mL. Although levels above 30 ng/mL are considered optimal for bone metabolism, only 10 percent of the study sample had levels in this range"
• Sunlight: Good for Bad for Cancer Risk? - WebMD, 1/7/08 - "In populations with similar skin types, the incidence of all kinds of skin cancer increases from north to south, they found ... The incidence of internal cancers -- colon, lung, breast, and prostate -- also increased from north to south. But Setlow's team found that those who lived in southern latitudes -- and who made more vitamin D from sun exposure -- were much less likely to die from those cancers than were the northern latitude residents"
• Lung Cancer Rarer in Sunny Countries? - WebMD, 12/18/07
• Vitamin D2 just as good as D3? - Nutra USA, 1/4/08 - "Previously, researchers from Creighton University in Omaha reported in 2004 that while both forms of the vitamin do produce similar rises in serum concentration of the native vitamin, indicating equivalent absorption, only vitamin D3 sustained 25(OH)D levels over a 14 day period. However, serum 25OHD fell rapidly in the D2-supplemented subjects and was not different from baseline at 14 days"
• Vitamin D2 Is As Effective As Vitamin D3 In Maintaining Concentrations Of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 1/2/08 - Note:  That contradicts previous studies.  I err on the safe side.  See:
  • Vitamin D2 is much less effective than vitamin D3 in humans - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Nov;89(11):5387-91 - "Vitamin D(2) potency is less than one third that of vitamin D(3). Physicians resorting to use of vitamin D(2) should be aware of its markedly lower potency and shorter duration of action relative to vitamin D(3)"
• Vitamin D Supplementation Reduces Fatigue and Muscle Pain in Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 12/17/07 - "Treatment of low levels of vitamin D in women with early stage breast cancer appears to reduce fatigue and muscle pain associated with aromatase inhibitor therapy"
• Lung cancer 'link to lack of sun' - BBC News, 12/18/07 - "Cancer results when cells start to divide in an uncontrolled fashion ... vitamin D stimulated the release of chemicals which, in combination with calcium, formed a glue-like substance which bind these cells tightly together, and put a brake on their division"
• Vitamin D dose study adds weight to intake increases - Nutra USA, 12/12/07 - "Doses of vitamin D3 of 2,000 International Units (IU) - the current tolerable upper intake level (UL) in Europe and the US - are needed to ensure blood levels of the vitamin amongst post-menopausal African-American women ... A recent review of the science reported that the tolerable upper intake level for oral vitamin D3 should be increased five-fold, from the current tolerable upper intake level (UL) in Europe and the US of 2000 International Units (IU), equivalent to 50 micrograms per day, to 10,000 IU" - [Abstract]
• Vitamin D Deficiency Highly Prevalent Among Epilepsy Patients - Medscape, 12/6/07 - "the study showed 44.5% of epilepsy patients — 45.3% of men and 43.7% of women — were vitamin D deficient, putting these patients at potential increased risk for a wide variety of conditions, including osteoporosis, autoimmune disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and infectious disease, among others"
• Higher Vitamin D Levels May Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk - Medscape, 11/19/07 - "During a 17-year follow-up of a Finnish cohort of approximately 4,000 men and women, researchers demonstrated that individuals with a higher serum vitamin D level had a 40% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with lower values"
• Can Calcium & Vitamin D Reduce Diabetes Risk? - Physician's Weekly, 11/19/07 - "found a relatively consistent association between low vitamin D status, calcium or dairy intake, and prevalent type 2 diabetes based on the utilization of vitamin D and/or calcium supplementation ... a combination of vitamin D and calcium supplements may play a role in type 2 diabetes prevention particularly in high-risk populations"
• Low Vitamin D Levels May Worsen Osteoarthritis Of The Knee - Science Daily, 11/15/07 - "Researchers studied 65 women and 35 men in their sixties who showed signs of having knee OA by measuring blood levels of vitamin D, their baseline knee pain, the time needed for arising several times from a chair, and the time needed to walk 20 meters ... Of the 100 participants, 47 percent were vitamin D deficient, with vitamin D levels below 30 ng/ml. This deficiency contributed to increased pain and difficulty walking among the participants" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Deficiency In Exposure To Sunlight Linked To Endometrial Cancer - Science Daily, 11/14/07 - "In general, endometrial cancer incidence was highest at the highest latitudes in both hemispheres ... This is the third environmental paper from this research team to show a strong association between vitamin D and cancer using global incidence data (GLOBOCAN). The first paper, which illuminated a similar pattern for kidney cancer, was published Sept. 15, 2006, in the International Journal of Cancer. The second, on ovarian cancer, was published Oct. 31, 2006, in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine"
• Low Vitamin D Raises Pain and Functional Impairment in Osteoarthritis - Doctor's Guide, 11/12/07 - "Low levels of vitamin D are associated with more knee pain and walking difficulty in persons with knee osteoarthritis (OA)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Live longer with vitamin D, study says - Nutra USA, 11/9/07
• Vitamin D 'may help slow ageing' - BBC News, 11/8/07 - "those with higher vitamin D levels showed fewer ageing-related changes in their DNA ...women with higher levels of vitamin D were more likely to have longer telomeres in these cells, and vice versa" - " See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Relationship between vitamin D and muscle size and strength in patients on hemodialysis - J Ren Nutr. 2007 Nov;17(6):397-407 - "Treatment with active vitamin D was associated with greater muscle size and strength in this cohort of HD patients"
• Exposure To Sunlight May Decrease Risk Of Advanced Breast Cancer By Half - Science Daily, 10/18/07 - "We believe that sunlight helps to reduce women's risk of breast cancer because the body manufactures the active form of vitamin D from exposure to sunlight ... It is possible that these effects were observed only among light- skinned women because sun exposure produces less vitamin D among women with naturally darker pigmentation"
• Vitamin D deficiency linked to greater pain - Nutra USA, 10/15/07 - "Of these patients, 26 per cent had vitamin D inadequacy and needed almost twice the dose of morphine of the group with adequate vitamin D levels"
• Prostate Cancer Survival Varies by Season - washingtonpost.com, 10/7/07 - "Summer and autumn months correspond to times when vitamin D is highest (in Norway). Although the study does not prove vitamin D is the determining factor, it does suggest that this possibility should be studied further ... Compared with men diagnosed in the summer and fall, those diagnosed in the winter and spring were 20 percent more likely to die within three years after diagnosis"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Prevalent, Minimum Recommended Dose May Be Too Low - Doctor's Guide, 9/26/07
• Low Vitamin D Linked To Higher Risk Of Hip Fracture - Science Daily, 9/20/07 - "The risk of hip fractures was 77 percent higher among women whose 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels were at the lowest concentrations ... most experts think that people need at least 800 to 1,000 international units a day"
• As Vitamins Go, D, You Are My Sunshine - washingtonpost.com, 9/18/07 - "the study found no "negative surprises" from taking vitamin D, as long as doses were kept between 300 to 2,000 international units (IU) per day"
• Vitamin D Supplements Appear To Be Associated With Lower Risk Of Death - Science Daily, 9/10/07
• Take Vitamin D, Live Longer? - WebMD, 9/10/07 - "People taking vitamin D were 7% less likely to die during the studies. The precise reason for their lower death rate isn't clear, and the reviewers aren't recommending a specific vitamin D dose"
• Low Vitamin D During Pregnancy Linked To Pre-eclampsia - Science Daily, 9/7/07 - "Low vitamin D early in pregnancy was associated with a five-fold increase in the odds of preeclampsia"
• Vitamin D for Cancer Prevention? - WebMD, 9/5/07 - "The 2,000-IU daily dose of vitamin D suggested by the reviewers is currently considered the "tolerable upper limit" for vitamin D ... a projected 50% reduction in colon cancer incidence would require a universal intake of 2,000 IU per day of vitamin D3 ... A similar reduction in breast cancer incidence would require 3,500 IU per day"
• The Impact of Low Vitamin D on Cardiovascular Outcomes - Physician's Weekly, 8/27/07 - "serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, or vitamin D, appears to be associated with important cardiovascular disease risk factors in adults ... The adjusted prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and high serum triglyceride levels was significantly higher for patients with lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D"
• Low Plasma Vitamin D Linked to Increased Risk of Rectal Cancer - Medscape, 8/22/07 - "We calculated the rectal cancer risk of the lowest quartile compared with the combined category of other quartiles in men and women ... These odds ratios were 4.6 in men and 2.7 in women"
• Study Shines More Light On Benefit Of Vitamin D In Fighting Cancer - Science Daily, 8/21/07 - "For the first time, we are saying that 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancer could be prevented each year worldwide, including nearly 150,000 in the United States alone ... The serum level recommended by the study would correspond to intake of 2000 International Units per day of vitamin D3 for a meaningful reduction in colorectal cancer" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• One Dose of Vitamin D Enhances Immunity to Mycobacteria - Medscape, 8/2/07 - "In healthy people who have been in contact with tuberculosis patients, a single oral dose of vitamin D enhances antimycobacterial immunity"
• Sunshine 'protective' against MS - BBC News, 7/28/07 - "An earlier study found women who took vitamin D supplements were 40% less likely to develop MS ... Depending on the activity, the twin who spent more hours outdoors had up to a 57% reduced risk of developing MS"
• Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Elevated Blood Pressure - Medscape, 7/24/07 - "Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures in subjects in the highest 25OHD quintile (85.7 mmol/L or greater) were 3.0 mm Hg and 1.6 mm Hg lower, respectively, compared with patients in the lowest 25OHD quintile"
• Vitamin D Deficiency: Common And Problematic Yet Preventable - Science Daily, 7/19/07 - "Studies have shown people living at higher latitudes (where the angle of the sun's rays are unable to sufficiently produce adequate amounts of vitamin D in the skin) are more likely to develop and die of Hodgkin's lymphoma, colon, pancreatic, prostate, ovarian, breast and other cancers ... both prospective and retrospective epidemiologic studies have also shown an association between low levels of vitamin D and an increased risk for Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, hypertension and cardiovascular disease ... Holick believes the current recommended Adequate Intakes for vitamin D need to be increased to 800 -- 1000 IU vitaminD3/d"
• Low vitamin D levels may increase metabolic syndrome risk - Nutra USA, 7/17/07 - "The most relevant finding in our study was the association of vitamin D concentrations with lipid levels. Our results are in concordance with the concept that vitamin D appears to be necessary to maintain adequate apolipoprotein A-I concentrations, the main component of HDL cholesterol - [Abstract]
• National Osteoporosis Foundation's Updated Recommendations for Calcium and Vitamin D3 Intake - Doctor's Guide, 7/16/07 - "adults aged 50 years and older should have 1200 mg of calcium/day and 800 to 1,000 I.U. of vitamin D3/day"
• Vitamin D Fights Colon Cancer - WebMD, 7/10/07 - "The findings support a number of previous studies that link vitamin D to colon cancer protection, to protection against breast and ovarian cancer, to protection against pancreatic cancer, and to overall reduction of cancer risk"
• Kids' Bones at Risk From Low Vitamin D - WebMD, 7/9/07 - "55% of the children had lower than recommended vitamin D levels ... Overall, 68% of children had inadequate stores of the vitamin in their blood during the colder months when they spent more time indoors"
• Vitamin D Level May Be Low Despite Adequate Sun Exposure - Medscape, 6/29/07 - "Despite this abundant sun exposure, 51% of the subjects had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations below 30 ng/mL, defined as "low vitamin D status ... Overall, vitamin D level did not correlate with age, skin color, or sun exposure"
• Low Vitamin D Linked to Increased CV Risk Factors - Medscape, 6/15/07 - "Adults with low serum levels of vitamin D are more likely to have hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and high triglycerides than are adults with higher vitamin-D levels"
• Cancer Benefit From Vitamin D? - WebMD, 6/8/07 - "Women in the four-year study took 1,500 milligrams of calcium supplementation either alone or with 1,100 International Units (IU) of vitamin D each day ... women who took both supplements wound up with nearly 60% less risk of cancers at the end of the study compared with women who took placebo"
• Study: Vitamin D Reduces Cancer Risk - washingtonpost.com, 6/8/07 - "Only 13 women, or 3 percent, developed cancer over four years of calcium and vitamin D supplements. With calcium alone, 17 women, or 4 percent, got cancer. With dummy pills, cancer appeared in 20 women, or 7 percent ... That shows a 60 percent lower cancer risk over four years in the group taking both supplements, compared to patients taking placebos"
• Decreased Vitamin D Levels Linked to Shorter Telomeres - Doctor's Guide, 6/5/07 - "Investigators found the difference in TRFL between the highest and lowest tertiles of vitamin D was 92.6 base pairs (P =.006). That result was equivalent to 4.2 years of telomeric aging"
• Calcium/Vitamin D Slows Weight Gain - WebMD, 5/14/07 - "Half the women took 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D every day ... Women not taking enough calcium were getting the greatest benefit. They were 11% less likely to gain weight and more likely to remain weight-stable or lose weight"
• Higher Intake Of Fish And Vitamin D Levels Linked To Lower Risk Of Age-related Macular Disease - Science Daily, 5/14/07 - "When participants were split into five groups based on level of vitamin D in the blood, those in the highest group had a 40 percent lower risk of early AMD than those in the lowest group"
• Nutrients may cut macular degeneration risk - CNN, 5/14/07 - "Taking vitamin D and eating fish -- especially those high in omega-3 fatty acids -- may reduce the risk of the most common cause of blindness among the elderly"
• Vitamin D Supplements May Offer Cheap And Effective Immune System Boost Against TB - Science Daily, 5/14/07 - "a single 2.5mg dose of vitamin D may be enough to boost the immune system to fight against tuberculosis (TB) and similar bacteria for at least 6 weeks"
• The Vitamin D Pandemic and its Health Consequences - Michael Holick, 5/7/08
• High Calcium And Vitamin D Intakes Associated WIth Higher Risk Of Cognitive Impairment In Elderly - Science Daily, 5/1/07 - "we do not know if high calcium and vitamin D intake are involved with the causation of brain lesions, but the study provides support to the growing number of researchers who are concerned about the effects of too much calcium, particularly among older adults, given the current emphasis on promoting high intakes of calcium and vitamin D"
• Low Vitamin D Levels Linked To Poor Physical Performance In Older Adults - Science Daily, 4/23/07 - "physical performance and grip strength were about five to 10 percent lower in those who had low levels of vitamin D ... Current recommendations call for people from age 50 to 69 to get 400 international units (IUs) of vitamin D per day and for those over age 70 ... Higher amounts of vitamin D may be needed for the preservation of muscle strength and physical function as well as other conditions such as cancer prevention"
• Higher Dose of Vitamin D May Reduce Risk for Falls in Nursing Home Residents - Medscape, 3/2/07 - "Compared with residents taking placebo, those taking 800 IU had a 72% lower adjusted-incidence rate ratio of falls during the 5-month study"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Widespread During Pregnancy - Doctor's Guide, 3/1/07 - "Our study shows that current vitamin D dietary intake recommendations are not enough to meet the demands of pregnancy"
• Vitamin D May Reduce Falls In Elderly Nursing Home Residents - Science Daily, 2/22/07 - "seniors taking a high daily dose of vitamin D experienced 72 percent fewer falls compared to those taking a placebo ... The dose that was most effective, 800 International Units per day, is higher than the dose typically prescribed to seniors"
• Vitamin D Appears to Cut Breast and Colorectal Cancer Risk - Medscape, 2/12/07 - "Compared with a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level less than 10 ng/mL, a level of 50 ng/mL reduced the risk for breast cancer by 50%. This level of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D would require an average intake of 4000 IU of vitamin D per day, although the authors note that intake of 2000 IU per day combined with sun exposure of approximately 12 minutes per day with 50% of the skin exposed could also help patients achieve a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 50 ng/mL"
• Vitamin D Backed For Cancer Prevention In Two New Studies - Science Daily, 2/8/07 - "Two new vitamin D studies using a sophisticated form of analysis called meta-analysis, in which data from multiple reports is combined, have revealed new prescriptions for possibly preventing up to half of the cases of breast cancer and two-thirds of the cases of colorectal cancer in the United States ... The serum level associated with a 50 percent reduction in risk could be maintained by taking 2,000 international units of vitamin D3 daily plus, when the weather permits, spending 10 to 15 minutes a day in the sun"
• Could Some Sun Be Good for Your Skin? - WebMD, 1/29/07 - "There is a growing body of research suggesting that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk for a host of human cancers, as well as other disorders including type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, and multiple sclerosis"
• Vitamin D May Protect Against MS - WebMD, 12/19/06 - "Compared with whites with the lowest levels, those with the highest were found to have a 62% lower risk for developing the disease ... Most multivitamins contain 400 IU of vitamin D, which has been thought to be a sufficient daily dosage. But Finn argues that most people need between 800 and 1,000 IU a day, especially in the winter"
• Almost Everyone Needs More of the Sunshine Vitamin - US News, 12/18/06 - "A single nutrient that keeps bones strong, wards off diabetes, and protects against tuberculosis, cancer, colds, and the flu ... the rash of new findings suggests to the experts that the guidelines are way too low ... many people suffering symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia actually have a painful softening of the bones that is caused by a D deficiency ... having too little appears to cause the immune system to weaken as well"
• Deficiency In Exposure To Sunlight Linked To Ovarian Cancer - Science Daily, 11/2/06 - "This new global study shows a link between deficiency of vitamin D and increased incidence of ovarian cancer, suggesting that vitamin D supplementation may reduce the incidence of this aggressive cancer"
• New Study Gives Further Hope That Vitamin D Can Fight Breast Cancer - Science Daily, 10/17/06 - "women with early stage disease had significantly higher levels of vitamin D (15 to 184 mmol/litre) than the women in the advanced stages of the disease (16 to 146 mmol/litre)"
• Vitamin D May Slow Breast Cancer - WebMD, 10/17/06 - "women with early-stage breast cancer had much higher levels of vitamin D in their blood than women with more advanced disease"
• Vitamin D May Cut Pancreatic Cancer Risk By Nearly Half - Science Daily, 9/12/06 - "taking the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin D (400 IU/day) reduced the risk of pancreatic cancer by 43 percent ... Vitamin D has shown strong potential for preventing and treating prostate cancer, and areas with greater sunlight exposure have lower incidence and mortality for prostate, breast, and colon cancers"
• Vitamin D May Cut Pancreatic Cancer - WebMD, 9/12/06
• Sun Exposure Cuts Cancer Risk at 16 Sites, Study Says - Medscape, 8/15/06 - "solar ultraviolet B irradiance is associated with reduced risk at 16 sites of cancer through production of vitamin D. These cancers include 6 sites of gastrointestinal cancers, 3 cancers of female sites, 3 urogenital cancers, 2 types of lymphomas, and 2 upper aerodigestive tract cancers"
• Current Recommended Vitamin D Intake May Not Be Optimal - Medscape, 7/19/06 - "An intake for all adults of >/=1000 IU (40 µg) vitamin D (cholecalciferol)/day is needed to bring vitamin D concentrations in no less than 50% of the population up to 75 nmol/L"
• Increasing Dietary and Supplemental Calcium - Medscape, 6/16/06 - "Postmenopausal women, as reported in many studies, tend to have average serum 25(OH)D values ranging from 50 to 55 nmol/L (20 to 22 ng/mL)[8,10] and are therefore absorbing the calcium they ingest with reduced efficiency ... raising serum 25(OH)D from the typical postmenopausal range up to 75 nmol/L resulted in a 33% reduction in all osteoporotic fractures combined"
• Vitamin D Targets Thrombosis in Cancer Patients - Doctor's Guide, 6/15/06
• New Research Clarifies Roles Of Calcium, Vitamin D, And Protein In Bone Health, Fracture Risk - Science Daily, 6/6/06 - "age has little bearing on the degree of deficiency. "Even young post-menopausal women should take some form of vitamin D supplementation,""
• 5 things you need to know about calcium - MSNBC, 5/26/06 - "You may need more vitamin D. Current federal recommendations for adults aged 51 to 70 still call for the 400 IU daily used in these studies. Yet research now shows that 700 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D a day appears necessary to reach the most healthy blood levels of vitamin D. A daily intake of 400 IU is now considered inadequate to prevent fractures"
• Low Vitamin D May Harm Teens’ Lungs - WebMD, 5/23/06 - "35% of the teens consumed less than 200 IU (international units) of vitamin D per day ... The teens who had low levels of vitamin D in their diets (157 IU or less) also had significantly lower lung function"
• Low Vitamin D Common in Elderly and Associated with Physical Function Loss - Doctor's Guide, 5/8/06 - "Vitamin D insufficiency is universally common in older adults and associated with more physical function loss over time"
• High Vitamin D Serum Levels Associated with Decreased Risk of Breast Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 4/10/06
• Vitamin D Reduces Breast Cancer Risk in Case-Control Study - Doctor's Guide, 4/10/06 - "Women who took cod liver oil for 10 years or more had a 34% reduced risk, relative to those who did not"
• High-dose vitamin D supplements act as anti-inflammatory - Nutra USA, 4/10/06
• Food Antioxidants, Vitamin D Fight Breast Cancer - HealthDay, 4/7/06 - "postmenopausal women who consumed high levels of flavonoids, a class of antioxidants found in plants, had a 45 percent lower risk of breast cancer ... Those who had the highest levels of intake of kaempferol had a 38 percent decrease in the incidence of ovarian cancer compared to women with the lowest levels of this flavonoid ... those with the highest blood levels of a vitamin D metabolite known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D had a 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer"
• Vitamin D And Flavonoids Examined For Impact On Breast And Ovarian Cancers - Science Daily, 4/7/06 - "Vitamin D in blood serum equal to 52 nanograms per milliliter was associated with a 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer. To move closer to a serum concentration of 52 nanograms/milliliter, a typical individual would have to consume no less than 1,000 International Units (IU) of Vitamin D every day, through supplements or vitamin D-fortified foods"
• Vitamin D May Protect Against Cancer - WebMD, 4/4/06 - "At least half of American adults suffer from vitamin D deficiencies that place them at increased risk of cancer ... taking at least 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily can slash the risk of breast, colon, and other cancers"
• Vitamin D linked to lower breast cancer risk - Nutra USA, 4/4/06 - "a serum vitamin D level of 52 nanograms per milliliter was associated with a 50 percent reduction in breast cancer risk. To have such a serum vitamin level would require a daily intake of about 1,000 International Units (IU)"
• Calcium, vitamin D may lower diabetes risk - Nutra USA, 4/3/06 - "A combined daily intake of more than 1,200 milligrams of calcium and more than 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D was associated with a 33 per cent lower risk of type-2 diabetes"
• Vitamin D and Cancer: A Goldilocks Paradox? - Medscape, 3/30/06 - "In laboratory models, vitamin D reduces cell proliferation and increases cell differentiation, improves cell adhesion, and inhibits cancer progression and metastasis"
• Women with Osteoporosis May Need More Vitamin D - Healthwell, 3/16/06 - "More than half of American women receiving drug therapy for osteoporosis are deficient in vitamin D ... The new research suggests that many women with osteoporosis are using drugs to treat a problem that could be helped simply by getting sun more often or by taking a nutritional supplement"
• Researchers Reveal Possibility Of Separating Anticancer Properties Of Vitamin D - Science Daily, 3/18/06
• Maternal Intake of Vitamin D during Pregnancy May Protect against Early Childhood Wheezing Illnesses - Doctor's Guide, 3/6/06
• Kids' Asthma Linked to Maternal Nutrition - HealthDay, 3/4/06 - "expectant mothers who take higher amounts of vitamin D may decrease their child's risk for asthma ... Vitamin D deficiency is common in areas where asthma is also widespread, raising the suspicion that the two are linked"
• Bone Supplements (Calcium and Vitamin D) review - ConsumerLab.com, 3/3/06
• Vitamin D - Cancer Prevention and Other New Uses - Life Extension Magazine, 3/06 - "Once considered little more than a compound that promotes healthy bones, vitamin D is now recognized as an important weapon in the fight against cancer ... While the Institute of Medicine suggests 400-600 IU of vitamin D daily, the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) advises that all men and women over the age of 50 should consume 800-1000 IU of vitamin D each day"
• Vitamin D, calcium supplements could reduce falls in women, not men - Nutra USA, 2/28/06 - "700 IU of cholocalciferol (vitamin D3) plus 500 mg of calcium in the form of calcium citrate malate ... After three years of supplementation the researchers observed: “Long-term dietary cholocalciferol-calcium supplementation reduces the odds of falling in ambulatory (mobile) older women by 46 per cent, and especially in non-active women by 65 per cent.”"
• Calcium Plus Vitamin-D Supplementation Does An Older Body Good - Science Daily, 2/24/06 - "The older the woman, the more likely it is that consistent use of calcium and vitamin-D supplements will play a role in reducing her risk for osteoporosis"
• Vitamin D Protects Against Tuberculosis - Intelihealth, 2/23/06 - "Four years of work led to the finding that the human defense mechanism involves vitamin D"
• Study Finds Calcium Supplements Don't Prevent Broken Bones - New York Times, 2/15/06 - "the participants were randomly assigned to take 1000 milligrams of calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D a day ... When they looked only at the women who took 80 percent of their pills, the supplements reduced hip fractures by 29 percent. The annual rate of hip fractures in adherent women taking the supplements was 10 per 10,000, compared with 14 per 10,000 in adherent women taking placebos"
• Calcium, Vitamin D: Help Women's Hips? - WebMD, 2/15/06 - "Calcium and vitamin D supplements may help protect some older women's hips -- but only when taken regularly"
• Vitamin D Inhibits Progression Of Some Prostate Cancers - Science Daily, 2/8/06 - "vitamin D significantly limits the ability of prostate cancer cells to invade healthy cells by reducing the activity of two enzymes -- proteases called matrix metalloproteinase and cathepsin" [WebMD]
• Vitamin D – sunlight or supplements? - Nutra USA, 2/1/06 - "Supplements and diet, and not sunlight, should be your source of vitamin D, dermatology experts have concluded after reviewing studies from both sides of the on-going debate"
• How to get vitamin D? - USA Today, 1/29/06 - "Adults who consume 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily might lower their risks of colon, breast and ovarian cancers by up to 50% ... Essentially no one in the United States is getting that"
• Epidemiology of Vitamin D and Colorectal Cancer: Recent Findings - Medscape, 1/9/06 - "In vitro, animal and clinical studies strongly indicate that vitamin D may have anticancer benefits, including against progression (such as metastasis) in colorectal cancer and possibly other cancers. Thus improving vitamin D status could be potentially beneficial against either incidence or mortality, or both ... Current recommended intakes of vitamin D (for example, 400 IU/day) may be too low to provide maximal benefits, though the precise optimal dose remains unestablished"
• Pregnant? Vitamin D May Aid Baby's Bones - Doctor's Guide, 1/6/06
• Vitamin D May Lower Some Cancer Risk - WebMD, 12/28/05
• Revealed: the pill that prevents cancer - The Independent, 12/28/05 - "What it can do ... Heart disease ... Lung disease ... Cancers (breast, colon, ovary, prostate) ... Diabetes ... High blood pressure ... Schizophrenia ... Multiple sclerosis ... Rickets and osteoporosis" - See iHerb or Vitacost vitamin D products.
• Vitamin D Needed To Cut Cancer Risk, Researchers Say - Science Daily, 12/28/05 - "Taking 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3 daily appears to lower an individual's risk of developing certain cancers – including colon, breast, and ovarian cancer – by up to 50 percent"
• Be tenacious about soaking up vitamin D - US News, 12/26/05 - "vitamin D deficiency appears to be fairly common. One study in Boston found that of 307 adolescents tested, 75 were vitamin D deficient ... a shortage could even play a role in cancer, type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis"
• Vitamin D May Help Treat Some Asthma - WebMD, 12/8/05 - "vitamin D may help people with steroid-resistant asthma respond better to steroid pills taken for asthma"
• Leading Osteoporosis Experts Reach Consensus on Role of Vitamin D in Bone Health in Americans Over 50 - Doctor's Guide, 11/22/05 - "over 70% of women ages 51-70 and nearly 90% of women over 70 are not getting the recommended adequate intake of vitamin D ... The roundtable panelists expressed concern that current recommendations do not provide for optimal bone health and recommended that intake levels be increased to 800-1,000 IU per day for patients over age 50"
• Vitamin D may cut falls in elderly, further evidence - Nutra USA, 11/22/05 - "According to the report in this month's issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (vol 53, issue 11, pp1881-8), the vitamin D group were between 27-37 per cent less likely to experience a fall compared with the placebo group after two years"
• Vitamin D: Important for Prevention of Osteoporosis, Cardiovascular Heart Disease, Type 1 Diabetes, Autoimmune Diseases, and Some Cancers - Medscape, 11/11/05 - "A multivitamin Containing 400 IU of vitamin D is inadequate to satisfy the body's requirement.[32] It is estimated that at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day is needed to satisfy the body's requirement"
• Vitamin D Intake Vital for Bone Health - Intelihealth, 11/8/05
• Adequate Vitamin D Status Appears More Important than High Calcium Intake for Maintaining Calcium Metabolism - Doctor's Guide, 11/8/05 - "vitamin D sufficiency may be more important than high calcium intake in maintaining desired values of serum PTH ... Vitamin D supplements are necessary to ensure adequate vitamin D status for most of the year in northern climates"
• Vitamin D Compounds May Fight Prostate Cancer - WebMD, 11/1/05 - "Vitamin D compounds may help slow or prevent prostate cancer ... Calcitriol "markedly reduced tumor burden over time,""
• Most Postmenopausal Women Are Vitamin D Deficient: Presented at ASBMR - Doctor's Guide, 9/29/05 - "64% of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis have a vitamin D deficiency" - See iHerb or Vitacost vitamin D products.
• Vitamin D Linked With Neuromuscular Performance in the Elderly - Medscape, 9/28/05 - "The change in performance scores with increasing serum 25(OH)D was significant for all steps ... This is a very important study because it suggests that vitamin D is not only important for bone health, but is important in neuromuscular stability"
• Report highlights the importance of vitamin D for teeth - Nutra USA, 9/22/05
• Vitamin D, NSAIDS Provide Double Whammy Against Prostate Cancer, Stanford Study Finds - Science Daily, 9/1/05 - "The growth of prostate cancer cells can be halted by combining a form of vitamin D, available only by prescription, with low doses of an over-the-counter painkiller ... The combination reduced prostate cancer cell growth in a laboratory dish by up to 70 percent, according to the findings"
• Taking A Break From Fractures: A Closer Look At Vitamin D - Science Daily, 8/11/05 - "The researchers concluded, though, that higher daily doses, in the range of 700 to 800 IU, may reduce the risk of fracture by approximately 25 percent ... only subjects receiving higher doses of vitamin D supplementation had significantly fewer fractures than did subjects in the comparison groups"
• Do Vitamin D Pills Help Blacks? - WebMD, 7/25/05
• Sunlight Lowers Prostate Cancer Risk - HealthDay, 6/15/05 - "the men with high sun exposure were at half the prostate cancer risk of men with low sun exposure ... the body manufactures the active form of vitamin D from exposure to sunlight"
• Calcium, Vitamin D in Diet May Prevent PMS - WebMD, 6/13/05 - "Those who ate about four servings a day of low-fat dairy or yogurt or fortified orange juice had a 40% lower risk of PMS than those who did not. That is about 1,200 milligrams of calcium or 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D each day"
• Vitamin D Supplementation Appears to Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Development in Women: Presented at ADA - Doctor's Guide, 6/13/05 - "When they compared the highest and lowest quintile cohorts of vitamin D intake from all sources, the researchers found the relative risk (RR) of type 2 diabetes was 0.72" - I read that as a 28% reduced risk.
• Physicians Often Overlook Vitamin D Status in Postmenopausal Women - Doctor's Guide, 5/26/05 - "More than half of postmenopausal women are not getting enough vitamin D"
• Study Reveals a Link Between Vitamin D Markers and Bone Density - Doctor's Guide, 5/25/05
• Scientists: Sunshine May Prevent Cancer - CBS 2 Chicago, 5/21/05 - "vitamin D increasingly seems important for preventing and even treating many types of cancer ... In the last three months alone, four separate studies found it helped protect against lymphoma and cancers of the prostate, lung and, ironically, the skin. The strongest evidence is for colon cancer"
• Vitamin D Deficit: Women's Silent Bone Threat - WebMD, 5/20/05 - "The study included 1,554 postmenopausal U.S. women being treated for osteoporosis ... More than half of the women (52%) had less-than-optimal levels of vitamin D ... Doctors need to pay more attention to vitamin D status"
• Vitamin D Does Prevent Fractures in Elderly - HealthDay, 5/10/05 - "If someone did not have a fracture yet, I would recommend 700 to 800 International Units (IU) of vitamin D a day, with at least 700 milligrams of calcium ... If you have had a fracture, you should discuss with your physician whether you may need more. The National Science Foundation says the safe upper limit is 2,000 units a day, so you can go to 1,500 units or higher, especially if you live in a country like the United Kingdom, where you have little exposure to sunlight"
• Get vitamin D from supplements not sunshine - Nutra USA, 5/4/05 - "Their conclusion was reached after data on the relationship between sunlight, tanning booths and vitamin D was reviewed at a conference convened by the American Academy of Dermatology Association"
• Statins Lower Prostate Cancer Risk - WebMD, 4/18/05 - "looked at 450 men and women with early stage non-small-cell lung cancer ... The high-vitamin D group was more than twice as likely to be alive five years later"
• A Deficiency of D? -  WshingtonPost.com, 4/5/05 - "most adults, especially those over 50, fall short on recommended daily levels of vitamin D, an essential nutrient long known to preserve bones and now increasingly tied to protection against ailments from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis ... the most practical way to increase our vitamin D levels is from supplements ... a growing number of scientists believe that vitamin D intake should be at least 1,000 IU or higher"
• Vitamin D Can Help Most Dialysis Patients - HealthDay, 3/24/05 - "At the end of the two-year study, 76 percent of the patients receiving vitamin D injections were still alive, compared with 59 percent of patients who didn't receive vitamin D"
• Osteoporosis and Bone Health - Physician's Weekly, 3/21/05 - "Calcium and vitamin D intakes are far below recommended levels for all ages, sexes, and races in the United States"
• Vitamin D and the Elderly - Medscape, 3/14/05 - "vitamin D insufficiency is related to a number of other disorders frequently observed among the elderly, such as breast, prostate and colon cancers, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders including hypertension ... 800 IU (20 μg) vitamin D per day in combination with calcium reduces systolic blood pressure in elderly women"
• Vitamin D Injections May Significantly Improve Survival In Dialysis Patients - Science Daily, 3/11/05 - "At the end of the two-year study period, 76 percent of those receiving any form of activated vitamin D were still alive, compared with 59 percent of those not receiving the therapy"
• Getting Enough Vitamin D? - Dr. Weil, 3/8/05
• Dialysis Patients: Longer Lives With Vitamin D? - WebMD, 3/1/05 - "vitamin D injections, given to patients with kidney failure, results in a significantly reduced risk of death compared to those who do not receive the treatment"
• Vitamin D May Lower Prostate Cancer Risk - WebMD, 2/18/04
• Vitamin D May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk - CBS 2 Chicago, 2/17/05 - "men with higher levels vitamin D in their blood were half as likely to develop aggressive forms of the disease than those with lower amounts"
• Sun Exposure May Fight Some Cancers - WebMD, 2/1/05 - "The important message is that that this anticancer effect is very unlikely to be sunlight itself. It is more likely to be vitamin D generated by sun exposure"
• Vitamin D may slow prostate tumour growth - CTV.ca, 1/16/05 - "the vitamin D seemed to cut the rise in PSA rates by more than half. Without vitamin D, PSA rates rose by about five per cent. With vitamin D, PSA rates only rose by two per cent"
• Vitamin D deficiency tied to host of dangers - Boston Globe, 12/30/04 - "adequate vitamin D levels reduce cancer risk by 30 percent ... We absolutely have a huge problem with vitamin D deficiency ... vitamin D is important for muscle performance in older people ... vitamin D researchers such as Dr. Joel Finkelstein of Massachusetts General Hospital suggest people of all ages should get 800 units of vitamin D or more"
• Vitamin D May Prevent Falls in Seniors - Healthwell Exchange, 12/9/04
• Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis May Benefit from Increased Levels of Vitamin D - Doctor's Guide, 10/18/04 - "Higher levels of vitamin D appear to increase muscle strength, improving physical function for knee-osteoarthritis patients who are vitamin-D deficient ... increasing serum vitamin D over 30 months correlated directly with an improvement in WOMAC [Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index] disability measures"
• Vitamin D Found To Reduce Age-Related Falls - Science Daily, 10/12/04 - "Elderly people who get supplemental vitamin D in their diets have stronger muscles than those who don't ... elderly people fell down 22 percent less often if they took vitamin D supplements"
• Vitamin D Often Overlooked When Treating Osteoporosis - Medscape, 10/5/04 - "patients with lower levels of vitamin D did worse in the domains of social activities and mobility on the standard Qualeffo-41 questionnaire ... people who are deficient in vitamin D have aches and pains that impact on their activities of daily living, and that impact is independent of their osteoporosis level ... vitamin D deficiency is associated with diabetes; multiple sclerosis; rheumatoid arthritis; colon, prostate, and breast cancer; and high blood pressure ... I would recommend that both children and adults get about 1,000 IU a day"
• Vitamin D Inadequacy Highly Prevalent Among Women Treated for Osteoporosis in North America - Doctor's Guide, 10/4/04 - "More than half of women currently treated for osteoporosis have suboptimal levels of vitamin D"
• Vitamin D May Help Aging Muscles Stay Strong - WebMD, 9/16/04 - "older men and women with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood were an average of 0.27 seconds, or 5.6% faster in completing the walk test compared with those with the lowest levels"
• Higher Vitamin D Levels Associated With Improved Lower Extremity Function - Medscape, 8/31/04
• Gum health, new target for vitamin D? - Nutra USA, 8/31/04 - "the higher the levels of vitamin D in volunteers' blood, the better their gum health ... the lower their vitamin D serum levels, the greater the risk of tooth loss"
• Vitamin D May Ease Depression - WebMD, 8/3/04 - "Vitamin D supplementation ... may also relieve depression ... Basically, what vitamin D does is increase levels of the [chemical] serotonin in the brain ... About 90% of patients in my hospital are vitamin D deficient"
• Scientists call for calcium, vitamin D fortification - Nutra USA, 7/28/04 - "Americans consume inadequate dietary calcium and vitamin D – far below the recommended levels established by the Food Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences"
• Vitamin D3 more potent than D2, further evidence - Nutra USA, 6/21/04 - "Calculating the difference in potency by measuring the area under the curve revealed an even greater difference with D3 more than nine times more effective than D2"
• Vitamin D Cuts Risk of Falls for Elderly - HealthDay, 4/27/04 - "a daily vitamin D dose of 800 units reduces the incidence of falls in people aged 65 and older by 22 percent ... Previous studies have shown vitamin D reduces the number of fractures caused by falls because it strengthens bones"
• Getting Some Sun May Fight Blood Cancer - WebMD, 3/31/04 - "women and men who got the most sun exposure during their off-work hours had the lowest risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma ... What might be causing it? The obvious answer is that vitamin D synthesized in the skin from sun exposure is causing this effect. There is increasing evidence that vitamin D has protective effects against many cancers. The evidence for colorectal cancer protection is pretty solid"
• Vitamin D to protect women - Nutra USA, 3/23/04 - "Now the researchers believe that a contributing factor to high rates of the cancer may be low levels of vitamin D"
• Vitamin D in boys to avoid schizophrenia in men - Nutra USA, 3/11/04
• Vitamin D Appears Beneficial In Reducing The Risk For Rheumatoid Arthritis - Doctor's Guide, 2/12/04 - "Vitamin D has immunologic activity independent of its role in calcium regulation ... overall, greater intake of vitamin D was inversely associated with risk of RA (relative risk [RR] 0.67"
• Sunscreens can block vitamin D - MSNBC, 1/19/04
• Vitamin D May Prevent MS - WebMD, 1/12/04 - "women who get doses typically found in daily multivitamin supplements -- of at least 400 international units -- are 40% less likely to develop multiple sclerosis compared with those not taking over-the-counter supplements"
• Vitamin D May Prevent Arthritis - WebMD, 1/9/04 - "women whose diets were highest in vitamin D had the lowest incidence of rheumatoid arthritis ... Holick says most people need to take 1000 IU of vitamin D each day. And he says even this amount may be inadequate in people who have no exposure to the sun"
• Vitamin D May Protect Against Rheumatoid Arthritis - HealthDay, 1/9/04 - "The greater the intake of vitamin D, the lower the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disorder involving inflammation in the lining of the joints and sometimes other internal organs as well"
• Lack of Vitamin D Linked to Pain - WebMD, 12/10/03
• People with Undetermined Muscle/Bone Pain May be Vitamin D Deficient - Doctor's Guide, 12/10/03 - "Research conducted at the University of Minnesota found that 93 percent of all subjects with non-specific musculoskeletal pain were vitamin D deficient"
• What Causes, Prevents Colon Polyps - WebMD, 12/9/03 - "Just take an aspirin, a multivitamin, and eat a bowl of fiber-packed cereal with some milk ... In this new report, vitamin D shines -- it's associated with a one-third reduced risk of serious colon polyps that often lead to cancer in men getting at least 645 IUs of this nutrient each day"
• Vitamin D concerns on the rise - MSNBC, 12/5/03 - "Inadequate vitamin D isn’t as obvious in adults, but bone weakening can be significant. In one study of women with osteoporosis, those who consumed the most vitamin D from food and supplements developed 37 percent fewer hip fractures than did women who consumed the least"
• Calcium And Vitamin D Collaborate To Reduce Colorectal Cancer Risk - Intelihealth, 12/3/03
• Calcium Intake Plus Vitamin D May Protect Against Colon Adenomas - Medscape, 12/2/03 - "Calcium supplementation reduces the rate of colon adenomas, but only if vitamin D levels are adequate"
• Could Too Little Sun Cause Cancer? - WebMD, 11/20/03 - "there's growing concern that this advice is contributing to another health problem -- a vitamin D deficiency ... This important nutrient is best known for building strong bones and teeth -- key to preventing osteoporosis -- but low levels have also been linked to an increased risk of type 1 diabetes, muscle and bone pain, and perhaps more frightening, a greater chance of cancers of the breast, colon, prostate, ovaries, esophagus, and lymphatic system"
• Scientists concerned about vitamin D levels in the U.S. - USA Today, 10/28/03 - "Heaney cited one study that men needed 1,000 IUs a day during Nebraska winters to keep their vitamin D levels from dropping ... A study of 2,600 healthy Britons given 800 IUs a day saw their risk of bone fractures drop 33%, he said, suggesting today's doses are insufficient to protect bones"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Common in Residency - Clinical Psychiatry News, 10/03 - "Nutritional assessment showed that roughly two-thirds of the house staff had a total vitamin D intake below the Reference Daily Intake of 400 IU/day. One participant with inadequate vitamin D intake in the fall was taking a daily multivitamin, as were 11 with sufficient vitamin D intake"
• Can vitamin D keep the elderly on their feet? - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 10/03
• Vitamin D Deficiency In Kids - CBS News, 9/29/03 - "Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, which is important for the development of strong bones ... The latest research shows that some teens may be at increased risk for vitamin D deficiency because they don't get enough milk on a daily basis or enough sunlight in winter"
• Vitamin D Supplementation and Fracture Prevention - Medscape, 9/11/03 - "Bottom line: Vitamin D supplementation is absolutely critical to bone health in the aging population. Although a number of research questions still need to be addressed, there is currently sufficient evidence to show that all women, living in areas of Northern Latitude, should be taking a vitamin D (and calcium) supplement"
• Teens' Vitamin D Deficiency Brings Worry - Intelihealth, 9/2/03 - "Often undetected and untreated, vitamin D deficiency puts them at risk for stunted growth and debilitating osteoporosis later in life ... There's even evidence that chronic deficiency may be linked with some cancers, diabetes and high blood pressure"
• Low Dietary Calcium May be Major Cause of Nutritional Rickets Among North American Infants - Doctor's Guide, 8/12/03 - "New research shows that some North American infants are not receiving enough dietary calcium and, as a result, are developing rickets -- a disease usually attributed to a lack of vitamin D or insufficient exposure to sunlight -- at a higher level than previously thought"
• Sun Exposure May Reduce Multiple Sclerosis Risk - WebMD, 8/6/03 - "Researchers say the findings suggest there may be a link between multiple sclerosis and insufficient ultraviolet radiation or vitamin D -- or both"
• Long-term Haemodialysis Patients Show Survival Advantage When Treated with Paricalcitol Over Calcitriol for Secondary Hyperparathyroidism - Doctor's Guide, 7/31/03
• Vitamin D Supplements for Kidney Failure Not All the Same - HealthDay, 7/30/03 - "Those taking a relatively new form of the substance, paricalcitol, had a 16 percent lower risk of early death than those on the older version, calcitriol"
• Vitamin D and Calcium Supplementation Effective for Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis - Doctor's Guide, 7/18/03 - "In women over the age of 65, there is increased risk of osteoporotic fracture of the hip and non-vertebral sites. Daily vitamin D intake between 800 and 900 IU and 1200-1300 mg of calcium for this population results in increased bone density, decreased bone turnover, and decreased non-vertebral fractures ... Studies have linked vitamin D supplementation to a decrease in body sway, suggesting that vitamin D supplementation may protect against fracture by preventing falls" - See drugstore.com/GNC calcium plus vitamin D supplements.
• High Incidence of Vitamin D Deficiency Seen in Obese African American Women - Doctor's Guide, 6/23/03
• Vitamin D May Aid Breast Cancer Treatment - HealthDay, 6/6/03 - "a derivative of vitamin D known as EB1089 may yield some powerful anti-cancer properties, particularly when combined with radiation therapy"
• Rickets Rates Rising - Physician's Weekly, 5/26/03
• Vitamin D May Augment Breast Cancer Treatments - Physician's Weekly, 5/19/03 - "treatment with vitamin D was three times more effective in preventing new tumor growth when compared to radiation therapy alone"
• Vitamin D Effective Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain - New Hope Natural Media, 5/1/03 - "new study in Spine (2003;28:177–9) ... All participants with vitamin D deficiency reported improvement in their back pain after taking vitamin D, whereas 69% of those with normal vitamin D levels improved"
• Vitamin D: New Weapon in Battle Against Breast Cancer? - HealthDay, 4/23/03 - "Other studies have shown vitamin D interferes with tumor growth in both cell cultures and animals ... this has been shown for both breast and prostate cancer ... when they treated breast cancer cells in a laboratory setting with normal doses of a vitamin D analog (ILX 23-7553) before radiation, the response to radiation was enhanced"
• Breastfed Babies Need Vitamin D Supplements - WebMD, 4/7/03
• Babies Need More Vitamin D - HealthDay, 4/7/03 - "the nation's leading group of child doctors is recommending that many infants and children be given daily vitamin D supplements ... women are choosing to breast-feed ... people are avoiding the sun"
• Vitamin D Improves Calcium Intake - HealthDay, 4/3/03 - "The Creighton University studies indicate that vitamin D supplements can increase calcium absorption by as much as 65 percent, even when a person's initial level of vitamin D is normal"
• Vitamin D Plus Calcium Supplements Boosts Calcium Absorption - WebMD, 4/1/03 - "We need calcium for good bones, but vitamin D is equally important -- it helps the body with calcium absorption. In fact, calcium supplements plus vitamin D can increase calcium absorption by up to 65%"
• Vitamin D Can Prevent Fractures In Older People - Intelihealth, 2/28/03
• Vitamin D Bolsters Bone Strength in Elderly - HealthDay, 2/28/03
• Vitamin D Helps Elderly Avoid Fractures - WebMD, 2/27/03
• Is Type 1 Diabetes an Environmental Disease? - Dr. Murray's Newsletter, 2/5/03 - "children who regularly took vitamin D had an 80% reduced risk of developing type 1 diabetes while those that had vitamin deficiency actually had a 300% increased risk of developing the disease"
• Shining a Light on the Health Benefits of Vitamin D - New York Times, 1/28/03 - "His proudest accomplishments, he says, include discoveries that show how activated vitamin D can be used to treat osteoporosis, kidney failure and psoriasis ... this vitamin is critically important for maintaining normal calcium in the blood and for bone health. The vitamin plays a crucial role in most metabolic functions and also, muscle, cardiac and neurological functions ... there is evidence that vitamin D may have subtle but profound effects on regulating cell growth and on our cardiovascular and immune systems ... vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk for Type 1 diabetes. The converse is also true. Adequate vitamin D equals less risk for diabetes ... up to 50, 60 percent of free-living adults over the age of 65 were severely vitamin D deficient"
• Vitamin D for Advanced Prostate Cancer - Physician's Weekly, 1/27/03 - "Calcitriol is an active form of vitamin D. Results from a phase II clinical trial suggest that the combination of calcitriol and the chemotherapy agent docetaxel may be twice as effective as the use of docetaxel alone in men with androgen-independent prostate cancer"
• Postmenopausal Women May Need Supplements To Suppress Parathyroid Hormone Levels - Doctor's Guide, 12/20/02 - "These findings may call for widespread supplementation with calcium and vitamin D may be required in postmenopausal women"
• New Form of Vitamin D Builds Bones - WebMD, 10/3/02
• Low Vitamin D Levels Not Restricted To High-risk Groups - Doctor's Guide, 9/23/02 - "Vitamin D insufficiency is far more common than is generally assumed and is not necessarily restricted to high-risk groups such as the elderly ... Low vitamin D levels were found across diagnostic categories and were identified in 88 percent of patients with hip fractures; 67 percent of patients with wrist fractures; 50 percent of patients with vertebral fractures, and 52 percent of patients with other fractures ... This study demonstrates the high frequency of hypovitaminosis D in a UK specialist bone clinic setting and the clear need for vitamin D therapy may not [be] appreciated without [taking] vitamin D measurements"
• Air Pollution Compromises Vitamin D Status - New Hope Natural Media, 9/19/02
• Sunlight, A Cancer Protector In The Guise Of A Villain? - Intelihealth, 8/6/02 - "Their theory was that vitamin D, which the skin produces when exposed to sunshine, somehow prevents the growth of malignant cells ... researchers are looking into vitamin D as a possible remedy. Clinical trials in people are now under way, testing whether the vitamin or similar compounds can treat tumors or bolster chemotherapy"
• Osteoporosis in Elderly Men Underestimated - Doctor's Guide, 6/24/02 - "As many as 30 percent of men over 65 years old may have osteoporosis ... The serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), although normal, was slightly lower in men with osteoporosis, an average of 1.57+/-0.74 in comparison to an average of 2.34+/-1.93 in men with no osteoporosis ... Because both groups of men have low-normal 25-OH vitamin D, and low urinary calcium, the investigators suggest that patients in their situation, could benefit from enhancing their nutritional status"
• People Living In Higher Latitudes Require Fall, Winter Vitamin D Supplements - Doctor's Guide, 6/10/02 - "Given that almost every person in our sample had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels below 80 nmol/L at one point in the year, and that more than one-third of subjects had levels below the most conservative definition of vitamin D insufficiency, our findings support a recommendation for more aggressive vitamin D supplementation, particularly for elderly people and especially during the fall and winter months ... Low levels of vitamin D metabolites are associated with malabsorption of calcium, which results in bone loss"
• Study Shows Benefits of Adding High-Dose Vitamin D to Chemotherapy for Advanced Prostate Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/21/02
• Calcium and Vitamin D3 Effective and Cost-Saving in Preventing Hip Fracture in Elderly European Women - Doctor's Guide, 5/13/02 - "simple dietary supplementation with calcium and vitamin D not only helps prevent hip fracture in institutionalized elderly women, it also saves up to 711,000 Euros (some US $640,000) per 1000 treated ... One group received elemental 1200 mg/day calcium plus 800 IU/day vitamin D3, while the other received a placebo. After three years, 25 percent fewer hip fractures were found among members of the supplemented group ... The savings may even be greater than this: remember, this study only takes into account hip fractures, but supplementation could prevent many other types of fracture as well"
• Calcium, Vitamin D3 Supplementation Reduces Hyperparathyroidism And Hip Fracture - Doctor's Guide, 5/9/02 - "Supplementation with a combination of calcium and vitamin D3 reverses hyperparathyroidism and the risk of hip fracture in elderly women"
• Vitamin D gets an A+ for treating heart disease - americanheart.org, 4/23/03
• Vitamin D Gets High Grade For Treating Heart Disease - Intelihealth, 4/23/02
• Vitamin D Has Heart Benefits - WebMD, 4/23/02
• Exposure To Sunlight Lowers Risks Of Four Cancers - Doctor's Guide, 4/4/02 - "exposure to sunlight contributes to non-melanoma skin cancer. "By contrast, several ecological studies suggest that sunlight may protect against female breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancer, all diseases that contribute to a substantially higher proportion of cancer mortality in the western industrialized world." ... Some studies have suggested an association between circulating vitamin D in blood, which is largely derived from sunlight, or dietary vitamin D and colorectal, prostate and female breast cancers"
• Aging Bone Mineral Density Better With High Protein Diet Plus Extra Calcium, Vitamin D - WebMD, 4/1/02
• Sun May Protect Against Some Cancers - WebMD, 3/14/02 - "new findings from an independent researcher suggest that getting too little sun may increase the risk of dying from a host of other cancers ... Sunlight exposure increases the body's production of vitamin D. People who get lower amounts of sunlight exposure therefore manufacture lower amounts of vitamin D. Grant says vitamin D may have a protective effect and taking vitamin D supplements might offer adequate protection to people who get little natural sunlight"
• Vitamin D Supplementation During Infancy Reduces Risk Of Type 1 Diabetes - Intelihealth, 11/8/01 - "Those who regularly took at least the recommended dose of vitamin D (2000 IU daily) during their first year of life had an 80% reduced risk of type 1 diabetes compared to those who received less than the recommended amount"
• Lack of Vitamin D May Cause Juvenile Diabetes - DrMirkin.com, 11/5/01
• Vitamin D Supplements May Protect Against Diabetes in Kids - WebMD, 11/1/01 - "giving vitamin D supplements to children may help protect them from high blood sugar ... Children who had the recommended supplements of vitamin D (usually in the form of cod-liver oil) were found to have an 80% reduction in diabetes risk, compared to those receiving less than the recommended dose"
• Calcium, Vitamin D Help You Hold on to Those Pearly Whites - WebMD, 10/29/01 - "examined 145 healthy men and women aged 65 and older who had taken either calcium plus vitamin D supplements or placebo ... The calcium was given at a dose of 500 mg and vitamin D at 700 IU daily ... 27% of the placebo group, but only 13% of the supplement group, lost one or more teeth during the three-year study ... Once the study was finished, the researchers continued to count teeth for a couple of more years. Again, they found that those taking in at least 1,000 mg of calcium each day were able to hold on to more teeth"
• Rethinking Vitamin D - Nutrition Science News, 10/01
• Vitamin D Prevents Prostate Cancer - drmirkin.com, 9/1/01
• 'D' Good News for Stroke Patients - WebMD, 7/9/01 - "These patients often have dramatic responses to vitamin D therapy ... Patients who are so weak that they are in a wheelchair will gain significant muscle strength and walk in a few months."
• Too Many Elderly Lacking in Vitamin D, Study: Deficiency All Too Common, Could Be Cause of Muscle Weakness - WebMD, 5/16/01 - "many elderly patients who are bedridden or in wheelchairs may actually be suffering from muscle weakness caused by severe, but easily treatable, vitamin D deficiencies ... The researcher suggests that even twice that amount may not be enough in chronically ill and even healthy older patients, because absorption of the vitamin tends to be impaired with age"
• Elderly Lack Adequate Levels of Vitamin D - Medscape, 5/8/01 - "Despite the fact that most of patients were daily receiving multivitamins containing 400-800 IU of vitamin D, investigators found that the majority had low levels of the nutrient ... Vitamin D increases calcium absorption by 30% to 80% and is therefore crucial in order to maintain strong bones"
• Childhood Rickets Makes A Comeback - Intelihealth, 3/30/01 - "Rickets, a vitamin D deficiency that causes bones to soften and bend and often results in bowlegs, was once a major health problem ... The government attributes the comeback to the popularity of milk substitutes like soy that lack certain nutrients; the failure to supplement breast milk with vitamin D; and a lack of childhood exposure to sunlight. Sunlight stimulates the body to produce vitamin D."
• Childhood rickets is making a comeback - USA Today, 3/30/01
• Food for Thought: Rickets on the Rise? A Smattering of Cases Is Raising Eyebrows -- and Questions - WebMD, 3/29/01 - "Rickets is a disease typically caused by vitamin D deficiency; the classic symptom is weakened or deformed bones. The disease was common a century ago during the Industrial Revolution when children went malnourished and without regular exposure to the sun, which triggers the body to make vitamin D. But now, thanks to a better understanding of nutrition, and fortification of certain foods, rickets is preventable and extremely rare in the U.S."
• Canceling Cancer: New Cancer Prevention Strategies on the Horizon - WebMD, 3/26/01 - "Huerta and his team used a compound similar to vitamin D but with some different properties. Sure enough, this compound, which they call Ro 26-9114, reduced the growth of colon tumors in mice to a similar degree as regular vitamin D but without the problematic side effects"
• Vitamin D Less Effective in Older Women - Nutrition Science News, 3/01
• Rickets is Back - Nutrition Science News, 11/00
• Rickets Making a Comeback in American Kids - WebMD, 10/30/00
• Keep That Smile! Calcium and Vitamin D Prevent Tooth Loss - WebMD, 9/27/00
• Obese People May Be Caught in Vitamin D Dilemma - WebMD, 9/1/00 - ""We now have an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency in our elderly and possibly our younger people." Vitamin D deficiency in the young can also coincide with the peak time in bone formation as well."
• US Physicians Seeing Increasing Number Of Infants Suffering From Rickets - Doctor's Guide, 8/10/00
• Vitamin D Deficiency Significantly Elevates Risk Of Bone Loss In Hyperparathyroidism - Doctor's Guide, 6/27/00
• Vitamin D Plus Calcium Prevents Falls in Elderly Women - Doctor's Guide, 6/17/00
• Vitamin D prevents bone loss in men undergoing treatment for prostate cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/2/00
• Don't Let Vitamin D Level Dip If You Have Bowel Disease - WebMD, 4/18/00
• Vitamin D Is For Cancer Defense - Nutrition Science News, 3/00 - "Few vitamins can provide such an array of health benefits as vitamin D"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Linked To Hip Fractures In Older British Men - Doctor's Guide, 11/16/98
• Study: 40 percent of U.S. may be deficient in vitamin D - CNN, 3/19/98
• Vitamin D Deficiency Common In Hospital Patients - Doctor's Guide, 3/19/98
• Sun Protection Doesn’t Cause Vitamin D Deficiency - Doctor's Guide, 12/2/97
• Calcium, Vitamin D Combo Reduces Bone Loss, Fracture Rate for Older People - Doctor's Guide, 9/4/97
• Animal Study Finds Vitamin D Inhibits Prostate Cancer Growth - Doctor's Guide, 4/10/97

Abstracts:

• Vitamin D deficiency and mortality - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2009 Aug 25 - "Accumulating evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency is linked to excess mortality"
• Effect of vitamin D supplementation on serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels, joint pain, and fatigue in women starting adjuvant letrozole treatment for breast cancer - Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Aug 5 - "Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency may contribute to musculoskeletal symptoms and bone loss observed in women taking aromatase inhibitors (AIs) ... After 16 weeks of letrozole, more women with 25OHD levels >66 ng/ml (median level) reported no disability from joint pain than did women with levels <66 ng/ml (52 vs. 19%; P = 0.026). Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are prevalent in post-menopausal women initiating adjuvant AI. Vitamin D3 supplementation with 50,000 IU per week is safe, significantly increases 25OHD levels, and may reduce disability from AI-induced arthralgias"
• 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D_{3} Interacts with Curcuminoids to Stimulate Amyloid-β Clearance by Macrophages of Alzheimer's Disease Patient - J Alzheimers Dis. 2009 May 11 - "1,25D3 strongly stimulated Abeta phagocytosis and clearance while protecting against apoptosis. Certain synthetic curcuminoids in combination with 1,25D3 had additive effects on phagocytosis in Type I but not Type II macrophages. In addition, we investigated the mechanisms of 1,25D3 and curcuminoids in macrophages. The 1,25D3 genomic antagonist analog MK inhibited 1,25D3 but not curcuminoid effects, suggesting that 1,25D3 acts through the genomic pathway. In silico, 1,25D3 showed preferential binding to the genomic pocket of the vitamin D receptor, whereas bisdemethoxycurcumin showed preference for the non-genomic pocket. 1,25D3 is a promising hormone for AD immunoprophylaxis because in Type I macrophages combined treatment with 1,25D3 and curcuminoids has additive effects, and in Type II macrophages 1,25D3 treatment is effective alone. Human macrophages are a new paradigm for testing immune therapies for AD" - See vitamin D at Amazon.comand curcumin products at Amazon.com.
• Threshold for effects of vitamin D deficiency on glucose metabolism in obese female African American adolescents - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Jun 23 - "Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in obese, AA female adolescents and may promote insulin resistance. Our data suggests that a 25(OH)D concentrations </=15 ng/mL may be the threshold by which vitamin D deficiency confers negative effects on insulin sensitivity"
• Association of Plasma Vitamin D Levels with Adiposity in Hispanic and African Americans - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Jun 23 - "Vitamin D levels were inversely associated with baseline BMI, SAT, and VAT in Hispanic and African Americans, but were not associated with five year change in adiposity"
• Prospective Study of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All-Cause Mortality in Older U.S. Adults - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Jun 22 - "In noninstitutionalized older adults, a group at high risk for all-cause mortality, serum 25(OH)D levels had an independent, inverse association with CVD and all-cause mortality"
• Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is related to indicators of overall physical fitness in healthy postmenopausal women - Menopause. 2009 Jun 6 - "Serum 25(OH)D was the common contributor to physical fitness indices (androidal fat mass, lean mass, balance, handgrip strength) in healthy postmenopausal women"
• Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among patients with prostate cancer - BJU Int. 2009 Apr 4 - "The frequency of vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) and insufficiency (20-31 ng/mL) was 40% and 32% in men with recurrent prostate; 28% had vitamin D levels that were normal (32-100 ng/mL). Among men with localized prostate cancer, 18% were deficient, 50% were insufficient and 32% were normal. Among controls, 31% were deficient, 40% were insufficient and 29% were normal"
• Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in pregnant women: a longitudinal study - Br J Nutr. 2009 Mar 31:1-6 - "Women reporting use of vitamin D-containing supplements had higher vitamin D status, however, vitamin D insufficiency was still evident even in the face of supplement use. Given the potential consequences of hypovitaminosis D on health outcomes, vitamin D supplementation, perhaps at higher doses than currently available, is needed to improve maternal vitamin D nutriture" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D Deficiency in Older Men - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Jan 27 - "Vitamin D deficiency is common in older men, and is especially prevalent in obese, sedentary men living at higher latitudes. Use of vitamin D supplements at levels reported here did not result in adequate vitamin D nutrition"
• Vitamin D Beyond Bones in COPD: Time to Act - Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2009 Jan 22 - "As current respiratory treatments in COPD fail to reverse disease progression, interventional trials that may exploit the broader potential of vitamin D, are warranted"
• Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Is Associated with Markers of the Insulin Resistant Phenotype in Nondiabetic Adults - J Nutr. 2008 Dec 23 - "Among adults without diabetes, vitamin D status was inversely associated with surrogate fasting measures of insulin resistance. These results suggest that vitamin D status may be an important determinant for type 2 diabetes mellitus"
• High-dose oral vitamin D(3) supplementation in the elderly - Osteoporos Int. 2008 Dec 20 - "Sixty-three elderly participants were randomized to three regimens of vitamin D supplementation: a 500,000-IU loading dose; the loading dose plus 50,000 IU/month; or 50,000 IU/month ... Large loading doses of vitamin D(3) rapidly and safely normalize 25OHD levels in the frail elderly. Monthly dosing is similarly effective and safe, but takes 3-5 months for plateau 25OHD levels to be reached"
• Vitamin d, respiratory infections, and asthma - Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2009 Jan;9(1):81-7 - "Emerging evidence indicates that vitamin D-mediated innate immunity, particularly through enhanced expression of the human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (hCAP-18), is important in host defenses against respiratory tract pathogens. Observational studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency increases risk of respiratory infections. This increased risk may contribute to incident wheezing illness in children and adults and cause asthma exacerbations. Although unproven, the increased risk of specific respiratory infections in susceptible hosts may contribute to some cases of incident asthma. Vitamin D also modulates regulatory T-cell function and interleukin-10 production, which may increase the therapeutic response to glucocorticoids in steroid-resistant asthma"
• Differences in vitamin D status as a possible contributor to the racial disparity in peripheral arterial disease - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Dec;88(6):1469-1477 - "Differences in vitamin D status as a possible contributor to the racial disparity in peripheral arterial disease"
• Vitamin D Deficiency An Important, Common, and Easily Treatable Cardiovascular Risk Factor? - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Dec 9;52(24):1949-1956 - "Vitamin D deficiency is a highly prevalent condition, present in approximately 30% to 50% of the general population. A growing body of data suggests that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels may adversely affect cardiovascular health. Vitamin D deficiency activates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and can predispose to hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy. Additionally, vitamin D deficiency causes an increase in parathyroid hormone, which increases insulin resistance and is associated with diabetes, hypertension, inflammation, and increased cardiovascular risk. Epidemiologic studies have associated low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels with coronary risk factors and adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Vitamin D supplementation is simple, safe, and inexpensive. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to firmly establish the relevance of vitamin D status to cardiovascular health. In the meanwhile, monitoring serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and correction of vitamin D deficiency is indicated for optimization of musculoskeletal and general health"
• Vitamin D and Prevention of Colorectal Adenoma: A Meta-analysis - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Nov;17(11):2958-69 - "Circulating 25(OH)D was inversely associated with risk of colorectal adenomas: the OR was 0.70 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.56-0.87] for high versus low circulating 25(OH)D. The highest quintile of vitamin D intake was associated with an 11% marginally decreased risk of colorectal adenomas compared with low vitamin D intake (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.78-1.02). For recurrent adenomas, there was a decreased risk of 12% (95% CI, 0.72-1.07) among individuals with high versus low vitamin D intake. The inverse associations appeared stronger for advanced adenoma [OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.45-0.90 for serum 25(OH)D and OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63-0.95 for vitamin D intake], but the number of studies was small"
• Role of vitamin D treatment in glucose metabolism in polycystic ovary syndrome - Fertil Steril. 2008 Oct 16 - "Treatment with the vitamin D(3) analogue (alphacalcidol) could be of value in the management of PCOS"
• Vitamin D and glucose metabolism in chronic kidney disease - Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens. 2008 Nov;17(6):566-72 - "Vitamin D therapy holds promise for improving health outcomes in chronic kidney disease. Improved glucose metabolism is one potential mechanism through which vitamin D may exert beneficial effects"
• Chemotherapy is linked to severe vitamin D deficiency in patients with colorectal cancer - Int J Colorectal Dis. 2008 Oct 2 - "Chemotherapy is associated with a significant increase in the risk of severe vitamin D deficiency. Patients with colorectal cancer, especially those receiving chemotherapy, should be considered for aggressive vitamin D replacement strategies"
• Vitamin D deficiency and supplementation during pregnancy - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2008 Sep 2 - "180 women (Indian Asian, Middle Eastern, Black and Caucasian) were recruited at 27 weeks gestation and randomised into three treatment groups: a single oral dose of 200,000 IU vitamin D, a daily supplement of 800 IU vitamin D from 27 weeks until delivery and a no treatment group ... The final maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were significantly higher in the supplemented group (daily dose (median) 42 (IQR 31-76) nmol/l, stat dose (median 34 (IQR 30-46) nmol/l vs. median 27 (IQR 27-39) nmol/l in the no treatment; p<0.0001) and significantly fewer women with secondary hyperparathyroidism in the supplemented group ... Single or daily dose improved 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels significantly. However, even with supplementation, only a small percentage of women and babies were vitamin D sufficient. Further research is required to determine the optimal timing and dosing of vitamin D in pregnancy"
• Vitamin D intake and breast cancer risk: a case-control study in Italy - Ann Oncol. 2008 Aug 18 - "The OR for subjects in the three highest deciles of consumption compared with those in the lowest ones combined was 0.79 (95% CI 0.70-0.90). Intake of vitamin D >3.57 mug or 143 IU appeared to have a protective effect against breast cancer. The inverse association was consistent across strata of menopausal status ... This study adds to the existing evidence that vitamin D intake in inversely associated with breast cancer risk"
• Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and risk for hip fractures - Ann Intern Med. 2008 Aug 19;149(4):242-50 - "Low serum 25(OH) vitamin D concentrations are associated with a higher risk for hip fracture" - [Nutra USA]
• Association of vitamin D deficiency with heart failure and sudden cardiac death in a large cross-sectional study of patients referred for coronary angiography - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Aug 5 - "sudden cardiac death (SCD) ... Low levels of 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D are associated with prevalent myocardial dysfunction, deaths due to heart failure and SCD"
• Oral active vitamin D is associated with improved survival in hemodialysis patients - Kidney Int. 2008 Jul 16 - "Our study shows that hemodialysis patients receiving oral active vitamin D had a survival advantage inversely related to the vitamin dose"
• Low Vitamin D Levels Predict Stroke in Patients Referred to Coronary Angiography - Stroke. 2008 Jul 17 - "Low levels of 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D are independently predictive for fatal strokes, suggesting that vitamin D supplementation is a promising approach in the prevention of strokes"
• Vitamin D3 induces autophagy of human myeloid leukemia cells - J Biol Chem. 2008 Jul 15 - "These findings extend our understanding of the action of vitamin D3 in antineoplastic effects and the role of Beclin1 in regulating multiple cellular cascades, and suggest a potentially promising strategy with a significantly better antileukemia effect"
• Vitamin D status and response to treatment in post-menopausal osteoporosis - Osteoporos Int. 2008 Jun 13 - "The adjusted odds ratio for incident fractures in vitamin D deficient as compared to vitamin D repleted women was 1.77 ... Optimal vitamin D repletion seems to be necessary to maximize the response to anti-resorbers in terms of both BMD changes and anti-fracture efficacy"
• Protective role of 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 against oxidative stress in nonmalignant human prostate epithelial cells - Int J Cancer. 2008 Jun 15;122(12):2699-706 - "1,25-VD can protect nonmalignant prostate cells from oxidative stress-induced cell death by elimination of ROS-induced cellular injuries through transcriptional activation of G6PD activity. The antioxidative effect of vitamin D strengthens its roles in cancer chemoprevention and adds to a growing list of beneficial effects of vitamin D against cancer" - I've gone to the vitamin D 2000 IU at Amazon.com.
• Low Serum Levels of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Predict Fatal Cancer in Patients Referred to Coronary Angiography - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 May 7 - "After adjustment for possible confounders, the Cox proportional hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of the fourth 25(OH)D quartile was 0.45 (0.22-0.93) when compared with the first quartile and the hazard ratio per increase of 25 nmol/L in serum 25(OH)D concentrations was 0.66 (0.49-0.89)"
• Low Serum Levels of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Predict Fatal Cancer in Patients Referred to Coronary Angiography - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 May 7 - "our data suggest that low levels of 25(OH)D are associated with increased risk of fatal cancer in patients referred to coronary angiography and that the maintenance of a sufficient vitamin D status might therefore be a promising approach for the prevention and/or treatment of cancer"
• Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels and the Prevalence of Peripheral Arterial Disease. Results from NHANES 2001 to 2004 - Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008 Apr 16 - "After multivariable adjustment for demographics, comorbidities, physical activity level, and laboratory measures, the prevalence ratio of PAD for the lowest, compared to the highest, 25(OH)D quartile (<17.8 and >/=29.2 ng/mL, respectively) was 1.80 (95% confidence interval: 1.19, 2.74). For each 10 ng/mL lower 25(OH)D level, the multivariable-adjusted prevalence ratio of PAD was 1.35 (95% confidence interval: 1.15, 1.59). CONCLUSIONS: Low serum 25(OH)D levels are associated with a higher prevalence of PAD"
• Vitamin D, calcium combo may cut exercise-related stress fractures - Nutra USA, 4/25/08 - "randomly assigned the recruits to receive daily supplements of 2,000 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D, and the other group received a placebo ... Women receiving the vitamin-mineral combination were 20 per cent less likely to experience the fractures" - [Abstract]
• Calcium and vitamin d supplementation decreases incidence of stress fractures in female navy recruits - J Bone Miner Res. 2008 May;23(5):741-9 - "randomized them to 2000 mg calcium and 800 IU vitamin D/d or placebo ... found a 21% lower incidence of fractures in the supplemented versus the control group" - [Nutra USA]
• Vitamin D2 or vitamin D3? - Rev Med Interne. 2008 Apr 10 - "several studies have showed that serum level of 25(OH)D is increased more effectively with vitamin D3 than vitamin D2. Vitamin D2 has shorter plasma half-life and a lower affinity for the vitamin D binding protein, the hepatic vitamin D hydroxylase and the vitamin D receptor"
• Low Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels Associated with Falls Among Japanese Community-Dwelling Elderly - J Bone Miner Res. 2008 Apr 14 - "The rate of falls was significantly higher in the lowest quartile of 25-OH-D level in women (P=0.02), and in women with 25-OH-D insufficiency (P=0.001). Women also showed significant declines in all three fall-related physical performance tests"
• Calcitriol as a chemopreventive and therapeutic agent in prostate cancer: role of anti-inflammatory activity - J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Dec;22 Suppl 2:V74-80 - "Calcitriol, the hormonally active form of vitamin D, inhibits the growth and development of several cancers ... We conclude that calcitriol exerts several anti-inflammatory actions in prostate cells, which contribute to its potential as a chemopreventive and therapeutic agent in PCa"
• Vitamin D toxicity, policy, and science - J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Dec;22 Suppl 2:V64-8 - "The clinical trial evidence shows that a prolonged intake of 250 mug (10,000 IU)/d of vitamin D(3) is likely to pose no risk of adverse effects in almost all individuals in the general population; this meets the criteria for a tolerable upper intake level"
• Vitamin D requirement during pregnancy and lactation - J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Dec;22 Suppl 2:V39-44 - "Current research has shown that the actual dietary requirement during pregnancy and lactation may actually be as high as 6000 IU/d"
• Vitamin D and skin physiology: a D-lightful story - J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Dec;22 Suppl 2:V28-33 - "The major cause of vitamin D deficiency globally is an underappreciation of sunlight's role in providing humans with their vitamin D(3) requirement. Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and those that do have a very variable vitamin D content. Recently it was observed that wild caught salmon had between 75% and 90% more vitamin D(3) compared with farmed salmon. The associations regarding increased risk of common deadly cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease with living at higher latitudes and being prone to vitamin D deficiency should alert all health care professionals about the importance of vitamin D for overall health and well being"
• Vitamin D endocrine physiology - J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Dec;22 Suppl 2:V25-7 - "Vitamin D(3) inputs from all sources required to sustain such a level amount to 3600-4200 IU/d. Daily oral intakes as high as 10,000 IU are safe"
• Associations Between Vitamin D Status and Pain in Older Adults: The Invecchiare in Chianti Study - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2008 Mar 5 - "Lower concentrations of 25(OH)D are associated with significant back pain in older women but not men. Because vitamin D deficiency and chronic pain are fairly prevalent in older adults, these findings suggest it may be worthwhile to query older adults about their pain and screen older women with significant back pain for vitamin D deficiency"
• Vitamin D insufficiency in southern Arizona - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):608-13 - "Despite residing in a region with high chronic sun exposure, adults in southern Arizona are commonly deficient in vitamin D deficiency, particularly blacks and Hispanics"
• Vitamin D improves endothelial function in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and low vitamin D levels - Diabet Med. 2008 Feb 13 - "Vitamin D supplementation significantly decreased systolic blood pressure by 14 mmHg compared with placebo ... Vitamin D insufficiency is common in patients with Type 2 diabetes during winter in Scotland. A single large dose of oral vitamin D2 improves endothelial function in patients with Type 2 diabetes and vitamin D insufficiency"
• Optimal vitamin D status attenuates the age-associated increase in systolic blood pressure in white Americans: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jan;87(1):136-41 - "systolic blood pressure (SBP) ... SBP is inversely associated with serum vitamin D concentrations in nonhypertensive white persons in the United States" - Note:  SBP is the upper number.
• VITAMIN D2 IS AS EFFECTIVE AS VITAMIN D3 IN MAINTAINING CIRCULATING CONCENTRATIONS OF 25-HYDROXYVITAMIN D - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Dec 18 - "1,000 IU of vitamin D2 daily was as effective as 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 in maintaining serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and did not negatively influence serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels. Therefore, vitamin D2 is equally as effective as vitamin D3 in maintaining 25-hydroxyvitamin D status" - That contradicts other studies.  I'd err on the safe side.  See:
  • Vitamin D2 is much less effective than vitamin D3 in humans - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Nov;89(11):5387-91 - "Vitamin D(2) potency is less than one third that of vitamin D(3). Physicians resorting to use of vitamin D(2) should be aware of its markedly lower potency and shorter duration of action relative to vitamin D(3)"
• Effects of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on hip bone mineral density and calcium-related analytes in elderly ambulatory Australian women: a 5-year randomized controlled trial - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Dec 18 - "Addition of vitamin D to calcium has long term beneficial effects on bone density in elderly women living in a sunny climate, probably mediated by a long term reduction in bone turnover rate"
• Vitamin D and cardiovascular disease risk - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008 Jan;11(1):7-12 - "vitamin D deficiency may be a contributor to the development of cardiovascular disease potentially through associations with diabetes or hypertension"
• Diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency - Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2008 Jan;9(1):107-118 - "The recent discovery - in a randomised, controlled trial - that daily ingestion of 1100 IU of colecalciferol (vitamin D) over a 4-year period dramatically reduced the incidence of non-skin cancers makes it difficult to overstate the potential medical, social and economic implications of treating vitamin D deficiency. Not only are such deficiencies common, probably the rule, vitamin D deficiency stands implicated in a host of diseases other than cancer. The metabolic product of vitamin D is a potent, pleiotropic, repair and maintenance, secosteroid hormone that targets > 200 human genes in a wide variety of tissues, meaning it has as many mechanisms of action as genes it targets. A common misconception is that government agencies designed present intake recommendations to prevent or treat vitamin D deficiency. They did not. Instead, they are guidelines to prevent particular metabolic bone diseases ... As a prolonged 'vitamin D winter', centred on the winter solstice, occurs at many temperate latitudes, </= 5000 IU (125 mug) of vitamin D/day may be required in obese, aged and/or dark-skinned patients to maintain adequate levels during the winter, a dose that makes many physicians uncomfortable"
• Dose response to vitamin D supplementation among postmenopausal African American women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;86(6):1657-62 - "Supplementation with 50 mug/d (2000 IU/d) oral vitamin D(3) is sufficient to raise serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations to >50 nmol/L in almost all postmenopausal African American women. However, higher doses were needed to achieve concentrations >75 nmol/L in many women in this population"
• Molecular basis of the potential of vitamin D to prevent cancer - Curr Med Res Opin. 2007 Nov 21 - "Research strongly supports the view that efforts to improve vitamin D status would have significant protective effects against the development of cancer. The clinical research community is currently revising recommendations for optimal serum levels and for sensible levels of sun exposure, to levels greater than previously thought. Currently, most experts in the field believe that intakes of between 1000 and 4000 IU will lead to a more healthy level of serum 25(OH)D, in the range of 75 nmol/L that will offer significant protect effects against cancers of the breast, colon, prostate, ovary, lungs, and pancreas. The first randomized trial has shown significant protection against breast cancer, and other clinical trials will follow and ultimately lead to improved public health policies and significantly fewer cancers"
• Optimal vitamin d status for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis - Drugs Aging. 2007;24(12):1017-29 - "Vitamin D deficiency [as defined by a serum 25(OH)D level of <50 nmol/L (<20 ng/mL)] is pandemic. This deficiency is very prevalent in osteoporotic patients. Vitamin D deficiency causes osteopenia, osteoporosis and osteomalacia, increasing the risk of fracture. Unlike osteoporosis, which is a painless disease, osteomalacia causes aching bone pain that is often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia or chronic pain syndrome or is simply dismissed as depression. Vitamin D deficiency causes muscle weakness, increasing the risk of falls and fractures, and should be aggressively treated with pharmacological doses of vitamin D. Vitamin D sufficiency can be sustained by sensible sun exposure or ingesting at least 800-1000IU of vitamin D(3) daily"
• Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1420-1425 - "Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) ... higher vitamin D concentrations, which are easily modifiable through nutritional supplementation, are associated with longer LTL, which underscores the potentially beneficial effects of this hormone on aging and age-related diseases"
• Vitamin D therapy in clinical practice. One dose does not fit all - Int J Clin Pract. 2007 Nov;61(11):1894-9 - "Vitamin D therapy with conventional treatment improves serum levels of 25 hydroxy vitamin D but still leaves some patients with significant insufficiency and therefore the same dose of vitamin D is not appropriate for all"
• s vitamin D deficiency to blame for the asthma epidemic? - J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007 Oct 3 - "higher vitamin D intake by pregnant mothers reduces asthma risk by as much as 40% in children 3 to 5 years old"
• Efficacy of different doses and time intervals of oral vitamin D supplementation with or without calcium in elderly nursing home residents - Osteoporos Int. 2007 Sep 14 - "Daily vitamin D was more effective than weekly, and monthly administration was the least effective"
• Vitamin D intake and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women: the Iowa Women's Health Study - Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Sep;18(7):775-82 - "The adjusted RR of breast cancer for women consuming >800 IU/day versus <400 IU/day total vitamin D was 0.89 (95% CI: 0.77-1.03). RRs were stronger among women with negative than positive ER or PR status. The association of high vitamin D intake with breast cancer was strongest in the first 5 years after baseline dietary assessment (RR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.46-0.94 compared with lowest-intake group), and diminished over time"
• Vitamin D levels and early mortality among incident hemodialysis patients - Kidney Int. 2007 Aug 8 - "Compared to patients with the highest 25D or 1,25D levels who received therapy, untreated deficient patients were at significantly increased risk for early mortality"
• Sun exposure, vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma - Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Jul 25 - "Our results suggest that the inverse association between UV exposure and NHL risk may be mediated by the vitamin D pathway"
• A Nested Case-Control Study of Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations and Risk of Colorectal Cancer - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Jul 10 - "Our data provide additional support for the inverse association between vitamin D and colorectal and, in particular, colon cancer risk"
• Vitamin D deficiency is associated with the metabolic syndrome in morbid obesity - Clin Nutr. 2007 Jul 9 - "Vitamin D deficiency is associated with the metabolic syndrome in morbidly obese patients"
• Prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy in European postmenopausal women - Curr Med Res Opin. 2007 Jul 12 - "In the whole study population, the prevalence of 25(OH)D inadequacy was 79.6% and 32.1% when considering cut-offs of 80 and 50 nmol/L, respectively and when considering patients aged less than 65 years, the prevalence reached 86% (cut-off of 80 nmol/L) and 45% (cut-off of 50 nmol/L)"
• A Nested Case-Control Study of Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations and Risk of Colorectal Cancer - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Jul 10 - "we observed a non-statistically significant inverse association between higher plasma 25(OH)D concentration and risk of colorectal cancer and a statistically significant inverse association for colon cancer (highest versus lowest quintile: odds ratio [OR] = 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.24 to 0.89; P(trend) = .005). After pooling the results from the HPFS and NHS, higher plasma 25(OH)D concentrations were statistically significantly associated with decreased risks of both colorectal cancer (highest versus lowest quintile, OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.42 to 1.05; P(trend) = .01) and colon cancer (highest versus lowest quintile, OR = 0.54"
• Bone mineral density and bone markers in patients with a recent low-energy fracture: effect of 1 y of treatment with calcium and vitamin D - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jul;86(1):251-9 - "A 1-y intervention with calcium and vitamin D reduced bone turnover, significantly increased BMD in patients younger than 70 y, and decreased bone loss in older patients. The effect of treatment was related to physical performance"
• Correlation between vitamin D(3) deficiency and insulin resistance in pregnancy - Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2007 Jul 2 - "Total prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<25 nmol/L) was found in 70.6% of pregnant women ... These results show that a positive correlation of 25(OH) vitamin D concentrations with insulin sensitivity and vitamin D deficiency could be a confirmative sign of insulin resistance"
• Vitamin D and Parkinson's disease--a hypothesis - Mov Disord. 2007 Mar 15;22(4):461-8 - "We hypothesize, based upon several lines of evidence, that documented chronically inadequate vitamin D intake in the United States, particularly in the northern states and particularly in the elderly, is a significant factor in the pathogenesis of PD. This hypothesis implies that dietary aid for prevention and therapy for PD is possible"
• Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1586-91 - "Improving calcium and vitamin D nutritional status substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women"
• Vitamin D intake and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women: the Iowa Women's Health Study - Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Jun 5 - "Vitamin D intake of >800 IU/day appears to be associated with a small decrease in risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women"
• Association Between Vitamin D and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 Through 1994 - Arch Ophthalmol. 2007 May;125(5):661-669 - "The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for early AMD among participants in the highest vs lowest quintile of serum vitamin D was 0.64 ... This study provides evidence that vitamin D may protect against AMD"
• Calcium plus vitamin d supplementation and the risk of postmenopausal weight gain - Arch Intern Med. 2007 May 14;167(9):893-902 - "Calcium plus cholecalciferol supplementation has a small effect on the prevention of weight gain, which was observed primarily in women who reported inadequate calcium intakes"
• Two-year randomized controlled trial of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin D3 plus calcium on the bone health of older women - J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Apr;22(4):509-19 - "women who took combined vitamin K and vitamin D plus calcium showed a significant and sustained increase in both BMD and BMC at the site of the ultradistal radius"
• Low Vitamin D Status Despite Abundant Sun Exposure - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Apr 10 - "sample of adults in Honolulu, HI, (latitude 21 degrees ) ... These data suggest that variable responsivity to UVB radiation is evident among individuals, causing some to have low vitamin D status despite abundant sun exposure"
• Vitamin d and reduced risk of breast cancer: a population-based case-control study - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Mar;16(3):422-9 - "We found strong evidence to support the hypothesis that vitamin D could help prevent breast cancer. However, our results suggest that exposure earlier in life, particularly during breast development, maybe most relevant"
• Hypovitaminosis D in female patients with chronic low back pain - Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Mar 22 - "Chronic low back pain (LBP) is an extremely common problem in practice ... Patients with LBP had significantly lower 25 OHD levels (p < 0.05) and significantly higher PTH (p < 0.05) and ALP (p < 0.001) than controls"
• Vitamin D and outcomes in chronic kidney disease - Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens. 2007 Mar;16(2):77-82 - "Data currently suggests that the administration of vitamin D confers a survival benefit to patients on dialysis. There is no clear mechanism, however, to explain this association"
• The Effects of Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation on Blood Glucose and Markers of Inflammation in Non-diabetic Adults - Diabetes Care. 2007 Feb 2 - "Among participants with IFG at baseline those who took combined calcium-vitamin D supplements had a lower rise in FPG at 3 years compared to those on placebo"
• Role of ultraviolet B irradiance and vitamin d in prevention of ovarian cancer - Am J Prev Med. 2006 Dec;31(6):512-4 - "Solar UVB irradiance was inversely associated with incidence rates of ovarian cancer in this study, adding new evidence to the theory that vitamin D might play a role in the prevention of ovarian cancer"
• Risk assessment for vitamin D - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jan;85(1):6-18 - "The UL established by the FNB for vitamin D (50 mug, or 2000 IU) is not based on current evidence and is viewed by many as being too restrictive, thus curtailing research, commercial development, and optimization of nutritional policy ... the absence of toxicity in trials conducted in healthy adults that used vitamin D dose >/=250 mug/d (10 000 IU vitamin D(3)) supports the confident selection of this value as the UL"
• Calcitriol and genistein actions to inhibit the prostaglandin pathway: potential combination therapy to treat prostate cancer - J Nutr. 2007 Jan;137(1):205S-10S - "the combination of calcitriol and genistein is an attractive therapeutic option for the treatment of PCa"
• Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels and Risk of Multiple Sclerosis - JAMA. 2006 Dec 20;296(23):2832-8 - "high circulating levels of vitamin D are associated with a lower risk of multiple sclerosis"
• Two randomized vitamin D trials in ambulatory patients on anticonvulsants: Impact on bone - Neurology. 2006 Dec 12;67(11):2005-14 - "In ambulatory adults on antiepileptic drugs, high-dose vitamin D therapy substantially increased bone mineral density at several skeletal sites"
• Vitamin D status and cancer: new insights - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2007 Jan;10(1):6-11 - "Sun exposure and indicators of high vitamin D status were found to be associated with improved survival for cutaneous melanoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and cancers of the lung, breast, prostate and colon. Therapeutic trials of vitamin D are especially prominent in the treatment of prostate cancer"
• How to select the doses of vitamin D in the management of osteoporosis - Osteoporos Int. 2006 Dec 7 - "The dose of vitamin D in the management of osteoporosis should be no less than 700-800 IU per day ... Today, desirable serum 25(OH)D levels of at least 75 nmol/l may only be reached in about one third of US older individuals and even fewer European older individuals"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With Low Mood and Worse Cognitive Performance in Older Adults - Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006 Dec;14(12):1032-1040 - "In a cross-section of older adults, vitamin D deficiency was associated with low mood and with impairment on two of four measures of cognitive performance"
• Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentrations and carotid artery intima-media thickness among type 2 diabetic patients - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2006 Nov;65(5):593-597 - "The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (i.e. 25(OH)D </= 37.5 nmol/l) was higher in diabetic patients (34.0 vs 16.4%, P < 0.001) than in controls. Among diabetic patients, those with hypovitaminosis D (n = 130) had a marked increase in common carotid IMT (1.10 +/- 0.15 vs 0.87 +/- 0.14 mm, P < 0.001) when compared with their vitamin d-sufficient counterparts (n = 260). These patients also had significantly higher haemoglobin A1c, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentrations. In multivariate regression analysis, low 25(OH)D concentrations independently predicted carotid IMT (P < 0.001) in people with type 2 diabetes after adjustment for classical risk factors, diabetes duration, HbA1c, calcium, renal function tests, inflammatory markers, use of medications, and presence of the metabolic syndrome"
• Vitamin d status in a rural postmenopausal female population - J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Oct;25(5):395-402 - "Approximately two-thirds of this rural population fell below 80 nmol/L, a value considered to be the lower end of the optimal range. Based on the slope of 25(OH)D on supplement dose observed in these women, it would require an additional vitamin D input of nearly 2000 IU/d to reach the goal of an RDA for vitamin D, i.e., to bring 97.5% of the cohort to levels of 80 nmol/L or higher"
• A system for improving vitamin D nutrition in residential care - Med J Aust. 2006 Aug 21;185(4):195-8 - "Vitamin D(3) 100 000 IU given orally 3 monthly is a practical, safe, effective and inexpensive way to meet the vitamin D(3) requirements of aged-care residents"
• Vitamin D deficiency in breastfed infants in Iowa - Pediatrics. 2006 Aug;118(2):603-10 - "Vitamin D deficiency, including severe deficiency, was common among breastfed infants in Iowa who did not receive preformed vitamin D. Deficiency occurred mostly during winter but was not completely absent during summer ... Vitamin D supplementation should be provided to all breastfed infants"
• Estimation of optimal serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D for multiple health outcomes - Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jul;84(1):18-28 - "For all endpoints, the most advantageous serum concentrations of 25(OH)D begin at 75 nmol/L (30 ng/mL), and the best are between 90 and 100 nmol/L (36-40 ng/mL). In most persons, these concentrations could not be reached with the currently recommended intakes of 200 and 600 IU vitamin D/d for younger and older adults, respectively ... An intake for all adults of >/=1000 IU (40 mug) vitamin D (cholecalciferol)/d is needed to bring vitamin D concentrations in no less than 50% of the population up to 75 nmol/L"
• Vitamin D and calcium intake in relation to type 2 diabetes in women - Diabetes Care. 2006 Mar;29(3):650-6 - "A combined daily intake of >1,200 mg calcium and >800 IU vitamin D was associated with a 33% lower risk of type 2 diabetes with RR of 0.67 (0.49-0.90) compared with an intake of <600 mg and 400 IU calcium and vitamin D, respectively"
• A positive dose-response effect of vitamin D supplementation on site-specific bone mineral augmentation in adolescent girls: a double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled 1-year intervention - J Bone Miner Res. 2006 Jun;21(6):836-44 = "Bone mineral augmentation in the femur was 14.3% and 17.2% higher in the groups receiving 5 and 10 microg of vitamin D, respectively, compared with the placebo group, but only 10 mug increased lumbar spine BMC augmentation significantly"
• Evaluating vitamin D status. Implications for preventing and managing osteoporosis and other chronic diseases - Joint Bone Spine. 2006 Feb 17 - "recent review articles indicate that current reference ranges for serum 25-OH-vitamin D are too low. An appropriate lower normal limit may be between 50-100 nmol/l (20-40 ng/ml). Standard supplement dosages may fail to provide concentrations above this range"
• Effect of cholecalciferol plus calcium on falling in ambulatory older men and women: a 3-year randomized controlled trial - Arch Intern Med. 2006 Feb 27;166(4):424-30 - "Long-term dietary cholecalciferol-calcium supplementation reduces the odds of falling in ambulatory older women by 46%, and especially in less active women by 65%"
• Prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy in osteoporotic hip fracture patients in London - Curr Med Res Opin. 2005 Dec;21(12):1891-4 - "This study confirms almost universal vitamin D inadequacy among 103 patients admitted to hospital with hip fracture in London, although the prevalence of inadequacy is slightly lower than that seen in a similar study carried out in Glasgow"
• Maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and childhood bone mass at age 9 years: a longitudinal study - Lancet. 2006 Jan 7;367(9504):36-43
• Low Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes - Horm Metab Res. 2005 Nov;37(11):680-683 - "Mean levels of both 25OHD (3) and 1,25-(OH) (2)D (3) were significantly lower in patients compared to controls ... These findings suggest that vitamin D (3) may be an important pathogenic factor in type 1 diabetes"
• Vitamin D: important for prevention of osteoporosis, cardiovascular heart disease, type 1 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and some cancers - South Med J. 2005 Oct;98(10):1024-7 - "Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of many common cancers, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, cardiovascular heart disease, and type I diabetes"
• The High Prevalence of Inadequate Serum Vitamin D Levels and Implications for Bone Health - Curr Med Res Opin. 2005; 21 (4): 579-585 - "Vitamin D toxicity has not been reported from excessive sunlight exposure, and has only been associated with dietary intake when daily doses exceed 10 000 IU (250 µg) ... Vitamin D is of paramount importance for mineral homeostasis and skeletal health, and maintaining adequate vitamin D nutrition is an essential component of management strategies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Nevertheless, inadequate serum vitamin D is currently a highly prevalent, global health issue, especially among elderly adults and osteoporosis patients"
• Should older people in residential care receive vitamin d to prevent falls? Results of a randomized trial - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Nov;53(11):1881-8 - "Older people in residential care can reduce their incidence of falls if they take a vitamin D supplement for 2 years even if they are not initially classically vitamin D deficient"
• Low-Dose Vitamin D Prevents Muscular Atrophy and Reduces Falls and Hip Fractures in Women after Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial - Cerebrovasc Dis. 2005 Jul 27;20(3):187-192 - "48 patients received 1,000 IU ergocalciferol daily ... Vitamin D treatment accounted for a 59% reduction in falls ... There were increases in the relative number and size of type II muscle fibers and improved muscle strength in the vitamin D-treated group"
• Vitamin d for health and in chronic kidney disease - Semin Dial. 2005 Jul-Aug;18(4):266-75 - "In addition to its role in maintaining calcium and phosphorus homeostasis, vitamin D is now being recognized as important for maintaining maximum muscle strength and for the prevention of many chronic diseases, including type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, cardiovascular heart disease, and many common cancers"
• Vitamin D and calcium supplementation prevents severe falls in elderly community-dwelling women: a pragmatic population-based 3-year intervention study - Aging Clin Exp Res. 2005 Apr;17(2):125-32 - "female residents who followed the Calcium and Vitamin D Program had a 12% risk reduction in severe falls"
• Fracture prevention with vitamin D supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - JAMA. 2005 May 11;293(18):2257-64 - "Oral vitamin D supplementation between 700 to 800 IU/d appears to reduce the risk of hip and any nonvertebral fractures in ambulatory or institutionalized elderly persons. An oral vitamin D dose of 400 IU/d is not sufficient for fracture prevention"
• Osteoporosis: the role of micronutrients - Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 May;81(5):1232S-9S - "Higher doses than the current US recommendation (600 IU) of vitamin D in the elderly (age >/= 65 y) may actually be required for optimal bone health (800-1000 IU/d)"
• Vitamin D and calcium deficits predispose for multiple chronic diseases - Eur J Clin Invest. 2005 May;35(5):290-304 - "calcium and vitamin D deficits increase the risk of malignancies, particularly of colon, breast and prostate gland, of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (e.g. insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis), as well as of metabolic disorders (metabolic syndrome, hypertension)"
• Failure of High-Dose Ergocalciferol to Correct Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis - Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005 Apr 28 - "In the 33 CF adults who also completed the recommended second course of 800,000 IU of ergocalciferol over two months, none demonstrated correction of their deficiency" - I threw this in because ergocalciferol is vitamin D(2), with is not absorbed as well as vitamin D(3) (cholecalciferol).  If your taking supplements containing the D(2), you might want to change.
• Pilot Study: Potential Role of Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol) in Patients With PSA Relapse After Definitive Therapy - Nutr Cancer. 2005;51(1):32-6 - "Fifteen patients were given 2,000 IU (50 mug) of cholecalciferol daily and monitored prospectively every 2-3 mo. In 9 patients, PSA levels decreased or remained unchanged after the commencement of cholecalciferol. This was sustained for as long as 21 mo. Also, there was a statistically significant decrease in the rate of PSA rise after administration of cholecalciferol (P = 0.005) compared with that before cholecalciferol. The median PSA doubling time increased from 14.3 mo prior to commencing cholecalciferol to 25 mo after commencing cholecalciferol. Fourteen of 15 patients had a prolongation of PSA doubling time after commencing cholecalciferol. There were no side effects reported by any patient"
• Why we should offer routine vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy and childhood to prevent multiple sclerosis - Med Hypotheses. 2005;64(3):608-18 - "Prevention of MS by modifying an important environmental factor (sunlight exposure and vitamin D level) offers a practical and cost-effective way to reduce the burden of the disease in the future generations"
• Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin d levels indicative of vitamin d sufficiency: implications for establishing a new effective dietary intake recommendation for vitamin d - J Nutr. 2005 Feb;135(2):317-22 - "The current adult recommendations for vitamin D, 200-600 IU/d, are very inadequate when one considers that a 10-15 min whole-body exposure to peak summer sun will generate and release up to 20,000 IU vitamin D-3 into the circulation ... Recent studies reveal that current dietary recommendations for adults are not sufficient to maintain circulating 25(OH)D levels at or above this level, especially in pregnancy and lactation"
• The effects of postmenopausal Vitamin D treatment on vaginal atrophy - Maturitas. 2004 Dec 10;49(4):334-7 - "The mean physical findings score in Vitamin D treatment (VDT) group was significantly lower than the mean physical findings score in the group without treatment ... As maturation indices: in VDT group, superficial cells proportion was significantly higher and basal, parabasal cells proportion was lower than in the group without treatment"
• Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6):1678S-88S - "Vitamin D deficiency is an unrecognized epidemic among both children and adults in the United States. Vitamin D deficiency not only causes rickets among children but also precipitates and exacerbates osteoporosis among adults and causes the painful bone disease osteomalacia. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with increased risks of deadly cancers, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes mellitus"
• Functional indices of vitamin D status and ramifications of vitamin D deficiency - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6):1706S-9S - "For typical older individuals, supplemental oral intakes of approximately 1300 IU/d are required to reach the lower end of the optimal range"
• Vitamin D requirements: current and future - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6):1735S-9S - "Upper levels of vitamin D intake were set at 50 mug/d (2000 IU/d) for all ages. Some individuals would require higher levels than these to achieve serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations for optimal calcium absorption. So much new information on vitamin D and health has been collected since the requirements were set in 1997 that this nutrient is likely the most in need of revised requirements"
• Vitamin D2 is much less effective than vitamin D3 in humans - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Nov;89(11):5387-91 - "Vitamin D(2) potency is less than one third that of vitamin D(3). Physicians resorting to use of vitamin D(2) should be aware of its markedly lower potency and shorter duration of action relative to vitamin D(3)"
• Vitamin D insufficiency and fracture risk - Endocrinology & Diabetes. 11(6):353-358, December 2004 - "There is a growing body of evidence for the alarming prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among healthy adolescents, adults, and elders"
• Vitamin D in Australia. Issues and recommendations - Aust Fam Physician. 2004 Mar;33(3):133-8 - "In cases of established vitamin D deficiency, supplementation with 3000-5000 IU per day for at least 1 month is required to replete body stores"
• Vitamin D Insufficiency and Deficiency in Chronic Kidney Disease. A Single Center Observational Study - Am J Nephrol. 2004 Sep 22;24(5):503-510 - "In the group undergoing maintenance hemodialyis, we found that 97% of the patients had vitamin D levels in the suboptimal range ... vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are highly prevalent in patients with CKD and may play a role in the development of hyperparathyroidism"
• Randomized comparison of the effects of the vitamin D3 adequate intake versus 100 mcg (4000 IU) per day on biochemical responses and the wellbeing of patients - Nutr J. 2004 Jul 19;3(1):8 - "winter wellbeing/depression scores improved with both doses of vitamin D"
• Supplementation with oral vitamin d3 and calcium during winter prevents seasonal bone loss: a randomized controlled open-label prospective trial - J Bone Miner Res. 2004 Aug;19(8):1221-30 - "Supplementation with oral vitamin D(3) and calcium during winter prevents seasonal changes in bone turnover and bone loss in healthy adults. It seems conceivable that annually recurring cycles of low vitamin D and mild secondary hyperparathyroidism during the winter months contributes, at least in part and over many years, to age-related bone loss. Supplementation with low-dose oral vitamin D(3) and calcium during winter may be an efficient and inexpensive strategy for the primary prevention of bone loss in northern latitudes"
• Association between serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and periodontal disease in the US population - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jul;80(1):108-13 - "Low serum 25(OH)D(3) concentrations may be associated with PD independently of BMD. Given the high prevalence of PD and vitamin D deficiency, these findings may have important public health implications"
• Prevalence of vitamin d deficiency among healthy adolescents - Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004 Jun;158(6):531-7 - "Seventy-four patients (24.1%) were vitamin D deficient"
• Why the optimal requirement for Vitamin D(3) is probably much higher than what is officially recommended for adults - J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2004 May;89-90:575-9 - "If 70nmol/L is regarded as a minimum desirable target 25(OH)D concentration, then current recommendations of 15mcg per day do not meet the criterion of an RDA"
• Vitamin D deficiency: new perspectives on an old disease - Endocrinology and Diabetes, 2/04 - "Even though vitamin D deficiency has been thought to be obsolete in developed countries such as the United States, recent data suggest that this diagnosis may exist in epidemic proportions. Chronic vitamin D deficiency may be associated with a susceptibility to hypertension, multiple sclerosis, and various malignancies, problems beyond the more commonly recognized skeletal manifestations"  - See iHerb or Vitacost vitamin D products.
• Vitamin D: importance in the prevention of cancers, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Mar;79(3):362-71 - "Vitamin D deficiency is often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia ... Studies in both human and animal models add strength to the hypothesis that the unrecognized epidemic of vitamin D deficiency worldwide is a contributing factor of many chronic debilitating diseases ... The recommended adequate intakes for vitamin D are inadequate, and, in the absence of exposure to sunlight, a minimum of 1000 IU vitamin D/d is required to maintain a healthy concentration of 25(OH)D in the blood" - See iHerb or Vitacost vitamin D products.
• Vitamin D and prostate cancer prevention and treatment - Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Nov;14(9):423-30 - "The association between either decreased sun exposure or vitamin D deficiency and the increased risk of prostate cancer at an earlier age, and with a more aggressive progression, indicates that adequate vitamin D nutrition should be a priority for men of all ages"
• Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in elderly women in Italy: clinical consequences and risk factors - Osteoporos Int. 2003 Jul 11 - "Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common among elderly Italian women ... Hypovitaminosis D is associated with worsening of the ability to perform activities of daily living and higher hip fracture prevalence. This finding should lead to an urgent population-based strategy to remedy this condition"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Masquerading as Pseudohypoparathyroidism Type 2 - Journal of The Association of Physicians of India, 6/03 - "Phenytoin and phenobarbitone are well known to cause vitamin D deficiency by decreasing intestinal absorption and increasing metabolism of 25 (OH) D in liver ... vitamin D deficiency can mimic PHP-II and therefore before considering this rare diagnosis vitamin D deficiency must be excluded"
• Oral vitamin D3 decreases fracture risk in the elderly - J Fam Pract. 2003 Jun;52(6):431-5 - "Despite a seemingly large dose averaging 800 IU per day, this regimen is a safe, cheap (<$2 per year), and effective therapy for primary prevention of fractures"
• Vitamin D in preventive medicine: are we ignoring the evidence? - Br J Nutr 2003 May;89(5):552-572 - "European children and young adults often have circulating 25(OH)D levels in the insufficiency range during wintertime. Elderly subjects have mean 25(OH)D levels in the insufficiency range throughout the year. In institutionalized subjects 25(OH)D levels are often in the deficiency range. There is now general agreement that a low vitamin D status is involved in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Moreover, vitamin D insufficiency can lead to a disturbed muscle function. Epidemiological data also indicate a low vitamin D status in tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, hypertension, and specific types of cancer. Some intervention trials have demonstrated that supplementation with vitamin D or its metabolites is able: (i) to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive patients; (ii) to improve blood glucose levels in diabetics; (iii) to improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. The oral dose necessary to achieve adequate serum 25(OH)D levels is probably much higher than the current recommendations of 5-15 &mgr;g/d."
• Calcium, vitamin D, milk consumption, and hip fractures: a prospective study among postmenopausal women - Am. J. of Clin. Nutr., 2/03 - "Women consuming 12.5 µg vitamin D/d from food plus supplements had a 37% lower risk of hip fracture (RR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.94) than did women consuming < 3.5 µg/d. Total calcium intake was not associated with hip fracture risk (RR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.68, 1.34 for 1200 compared with < 600 mg/d). Milk consumption was also not associated with a lower risk of hip fracture (P for trend = 0.21)"

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