The Miracle of Vitamin D Goes On

Just when you thought you knew it all about Vitamin D, here comes some more of its amazing powers. It prevents premature births. Keep in mind that in America a very high percentage of Blacks have a deep deficiency of Vitamin D. This is in part due to poor nutrition, but also because pigmented skin converts less Vitamin D than lighter skin does. In the tropics that is protective, in temperate climes it is a health disadvantage.

Large dose of vitamin D in pregnancy cuts premature births: research

Women should take up to ten times the current recommended dose of vitamin D during pregnancy, experts have said after it was found to cut premature birth by half.

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor

High dose of vitamin D in pregnancy could cut premature births, researchers have said. Photo: PA

In Britain pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are recommended to take ten micrograms of vitamin D daily but a study has suggested higher doses may be more beneficial.

Lack of vitamin D, which the body can make from sunlight in summer months in Britain, can cause rickets.

It has been estimated that two in ten adults in Britain could be deficient in vitamin D.

Vitamin D is found in foods like fortified cereals, eggs and fish but most people also need around 15 minutes of sunshine three times a week to ensure sufficient levels.

In the 1950s and 1960s it was thought vitamin D could cause birth defects but it is now known that it is vital for good health of the mother and the developing feotus.

Some pregnant women are advised to take doses of up to 25 micrograms a day but doctors have been cautious of higher doses as there is evidence that very high doses can cause calcium levels in the blood to rise causing nausea, thirst, dizziness and headaches.

In the study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada, pregnant women were randomly assigned to take one of three doses of vitamin D daily.

The women took either ten microgram doses, 50 microgram doses, or 100 microgram doses.

They were monitored throughout, including calcium levels in their blood, and there were no ill effects at any of the prescribed doses. Their vitamin D levels before the study were the same.

The team from University of South Carolina found the women taking the highest dose were 50 per cent less likely to suffer from problems including premature labour, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and infections, than those on the lowest dose.

Dr Carol Wagner, lead author of the study, said: "The spectacular part of the study was it showed women replete in vitamin D had lower rates of preterm labor and preterm birth, and lower rates of infection."

She said the results showed the high dose was safe and effective so they could recommend all pregnant women take 1,000 micrograms of vitamin D daily.

Patrick O'Brien, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the study was interesting but the full data was needed before drawing conclusions.

"He added: "When giving vitamin D supplements in pregnancy there needs to be a degree of caution as there have been some theorectical concerns in the past that too much vitamin D could be harmful but the initial data from this study appears reassuring on this aspect.

Vitamin D Makes You Smart

Vitamin D prevents the flu.
Vitamin D cures asthma.

Now it seems, vitamin D makes you smart!

Want to prevent or improve mental decline? Try vitamin D. The following study shows a clear cut association between cognitive decline and vitamin D levels. The lower the vitamin D, the lower the cognitive ability.

Vitamin D, the 'sunshine vitamin', tends be be very deficient in darker skinned people. Studies show a vast majority of blacks in the US are vitamin D deficient. Could this be why blacks tend to score lower on tests of mental ability?
Could it really be related to vitamin D?
Could it really be so simple? Poor nutrition makes you dumb. Wow!

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Low Vitamin D Level Tied to Cognitive Decline
Study Shows Elderly People With Higher Vitamin D Levels Performed Better on Mental Tests
By Charlene LainoWebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
April 16, 2010 (Toronto) -- Two new studies add to evidence that older people with low levels of vitamin D may be more likely to suffer from cognitive impairment.
The hope is that vitamin D supplements may be able to slow mental decline -- an intervention that one research team plans to put to the test this summer.
Vitamin D is best known for helping the body absorb calcium, which restores and strengthens bone, protecting against fracture.
But vitamin D also seems to have anti-inflammatory effects that may help keep blood vessels healthy, ensuring nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood flow to brain cells, says Amie Peterson, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
In addition, the presence of vitamin D receptors throughout the brain suggests that it may directly affect brain tissue, she tells WebMD.
Testing Cognitive Impairment
Still, whether vitamin D has a role in memory and cognition is unclear at this point, Peterson says, and studies have had conflicting results.
To help answer the question, Peterson and colleagues studied about 150 people aged 70 and older living on their own. Their average age was 85, and about three-fourths were women.
Participants' vitamin D levels ranged from 9 to 90 nanograms per milliliter of blood. Levels of 30 or higher are considered normal, according to Peterson.
All participants were given a standard 30-point test that is used to screen for cognitive impairment.
Results showed that the lower their score on the test, the lower their vitamin D levels.
The average vitamin D level was 42.8 for the 42 participants with a perfect score of 30 on the test; 36.7 for the 89 participants who scored between 27 and 29 ("still normal but lower," says Peterson), and 34.8 for the 21 people with scores of 22 to 26 ("mild cognitive impairment").
The study also showed that lower vitamin D levels were associated with a greater risk of falling.
This summer, Peterson and colleagues plan to embark on a study of people with Parkinson's disease to look at the effect of vitamin D supplementation on cognition, balance, and gait. Still to be tested is whether the intervention will help older people who are otherwise healthy.
Vitamin D Deficiency Common in Elderly
The second study involved 752 women, aged 75 and older, in France.
A total of 129 of the women had vitamin D levels that were below 10 nanograms per milliliter, suggesting vitamin D deficiency, which is common among older women, says Cédric Annweiler, MD, of Angers University Hospital.
Compared to women with higher vitamin D levels, those with levels below 10 were about twice as likely to have cognitive impairment, as measured by a standard test of cognitive skills, he tells WebMD.
The researchers plan to follow the women for seven years to see whether those with low vitamin D levels are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or other dementia, Annweiler says.
Studies like that are needed to answer the question of which comes first: vitamin D deficiency or cognitive impairment, says David Knopman, MD, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who was not involved with the new work.
"People with dementia or cognitive impairment tend to become socially isolated and less physically active, so they’re less likely to get outside" to get the benefits of the sun's vitamin-D-producing ultraviolet light, he tells WebMD.
The studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
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Right to Buy Supplements Preserved

Score one for the good guys. The Food Safety Bill as originally proposed would have imposed severe restrictions on the availability of supplements to the public. Ultimately, consumers would have needed prescriptions from doctors to buy vitamins! Thanks to Senators Harkin and Hatch, the language was changed so that that is no longer a likely possibility.

Hooray!

Supplements Are Exempted From Codex Language in Food Safety Bill
The FDA Food Modernization Act (S. 510), also referred to as the “Food Safety” bill, has been modified to exempt dietary supplements from language that otherwise creates a slippery slope toward U.S. harmonization with Codex Alimentarius. ANH-USA worked to protect the natural health community from this dangerous provision that threatened access to high quality, therapeutic supplement doses by working with key senators to modify the language, now for the second time.
The most worrisome provision of the bill initially required the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) to recommend that U.S. foreign trading partners harmonize with Codex. This odd language was no doubt very intentional. How could we recommend harmonization to other countries if we rejected it for the U.S.? So in effect we were committing ourselves to a much more restrictive regulatory regime for supplements.
As the Senate moved forward with the Food Safety bill, Senator Harkin (D-IA), committee chair, working closely with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), promised to see what could be done to make absolutely clear this legislation was not intended to impact our access to dietary supplements. At that time, Senator Harkin modified the Codex provision, asking the FDA to consider “whether and how” to recommend U.S. foreign trading partners harmonize. This was a very important change and a tremendous show of support from both Senators, but we were still concerned that the inclusion of Codex language in the bill could be used to support future U.S. harmonization with Codex standards on dietary supplements.
ANH-USA worked with our allies in the Senate over the past several months to include additional language providing stronger protection for supplements. New language has now been added specifically stating, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the regulation of dietary supplements.”
The Codex Alimentarius was initially developed to establish international food safety standards and regulate ingredients of food products. However, there is great concern that if the U.S. harmonizes with Codex standards, which are expected to follow Europe’s increasing ban on supplements, our access to supplements will be lost and even our food standards may be compromised. Although ANH-USA considers the new exemption a huge victory, it only applies to dietary supplements. The U.S. is still at risk of harmonization with other Codex food standards.
ANH-USA is especially grateful to Senators Harkin and Hatch for their leadership, continued dedication to the natural health community, and most recently, their show of support protecting our supplements from Codex harmonization. The Senate is expected to take up the Food Safety bill any day now. As the legislative process moves forward we will keep our members up to date on our efforts and where appropriate, we’ll ask for your help to protect supplements from increased government intrusion. The House version of the Food Safety bill, already passed, is especially worrisome. We will continue to make every effort, with your help, to ensure that the House version does not become law.