Vit D Deficiency - Great Article Inside

[ChitChatNine]

Here's a great article about Vit D that I'd like to share with you ------


Office of Dietary Supplements
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland 20892 USA
Web: http://ods.od.nih.gov

Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D


http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Weight-Loss/Dietary-Supplement-Fact-Sheet-Vitamin-D--Page-1-of-3/show/1005?cid=129

C~

[kitonthemoon]

I so agree with you that my D level seems to correlate with my worsened condition...or vice versa?

The article you posted is very interesting.and makes sense, PlateletGal....I'm mostly homebound and rarely get sun exposure.  I love sun, but insects and sun do not like me.  Not fair.!!!

Take care.

[PlateletGal]

What confuses me is this info from ChitChatNines article. According to this, I am not at risk for having a low vitamin D result and yet I do (or did... need to have it rechecked soon) have a low vitamin D. I also live in a very sunny state.

I don't really have an opinion on vitamin D... other than I do agree that a low vitamin D level is the result and not the cause of illness. There was one MH member who posted because she lived in sunny Florida and had a low vitamin D result. She was recovering from mono and was confused as to why her D level would be so low. Anyhow... months later, the member posted again and stated that she was recovering from mono and that her D level was back within normal range. Things that make you go "hmmmm".



Groups at Risk of Vitamin D Inadequacy



Obtaining sufficient vitamin D from natural food sources alone can be difficult. For many people, consuming vitamin D-fortified foods and being exposed to sunlight are essential for maintaining a healthy vitamin D status. In some groups, dietary supplements might be required to meet the daily need for vitamin D.

Breastfed infants
Vitamin D requirements cannot be met by human milk alone [5,39], which provides only about 25 IU/L [17]. A recent review of reports of nutritional rickets found that a majority of cases occurred among young, breastfed African Americans [40]. The sun is a potential source of vitamin D, but AAP advises keeping infants out of direct sunlight and having them wear protective clothing and sunscreen [41]. As noted earlier, AAP recommends that exclusively and partially breastfed infants be supplemented with 400 IU of vitamin D per day [18].

Older adults
Americans aged 50 and older are at increased risk of developing vitamin D insufficiency [28]. As people age, skin cannot synthesize vitamin D as efficiently and the kidney is less able to convert vitamin D to its active hormone form [5,42]. As many as half of older adults in the United States with hip fractures could have serum 25(OH)D levels <12 ng/mL (<30 nmol/L) [6].

People with limited sun exposure
Homebound individuals, people living in northern latitudes (such as New England and Alaska), women who wear long robes and head coverings for religious reasons, and people with occupations that prevent sun exposure are unlikely to obtain adequate vitamin D from sunlight [43,44].

People with dark skin
Greater amounts of the pigment melanin result in darker skin and reduce the skin's ability to produce vitamin D from exposure to sunlight. Some studies suggest that older adults, especially women, with darker skin are at high risk of developing vitamin D insufficiency [34,45]. However, one group with dark skin, African Americans, generally has lower levels of 25(OH)D yet develops fewer osteoporotic fractures than Caucasians (see section below on osteoporosis).

People with fat malabsorption
As a fat-soluble vitamin, vitamin D requires some dietary fat in the gut for absorption. Individuals who have a reduced ability to absorb dietary fat might require vitamin D supplements [46]. Fat malabsorption is associated with a variety of medical conditions including pancreatic enzyme deficiency, Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, surgical removal of part of the stomach or intestines, and some forms of liver disease [15].

People who are obese
Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 typically have a low plasma concentration of 25(OH)D [47]; this level decreases as obesity and body fat increase [48]. Obesity does not affect skin's capacity to synthesize vitamin D, but greater amounts of subcutaneous fat sequester more of the vitamin and alter its release into the circulation. Even with orally administered vitamin D, BMI is inversely correlated with peak serum concentrations, probably because some vitamin D is sequestered in the larger pools of body fat [47].

[kitonthemoon]

Thank you for the remind.....now, I seem to remember reading it somwhere.  Will go back and re-read his article

Hope you've improve lots since our last chat.

Hugs

[kmil1999]

I am also interested in the CFS doctor and his research.  Thanks for the info.

Chitchat9 - great work and documentation on the article.

Karen

[PlateletGal]

Hey Kit !  The physician who says that vitamin D3 is "toxic" for CFS patients is Paul Cheney, M.D., Ph.D.  You can google his name and that quote and you will find several links.

[kitonthemoon]

The Dr. who believe D is toxic to CFS patients...does he mean taking extra D supplement when you have sufficient amount in your body to begin with? or does he mean it is toxic to us, period?  Me, confused here.

Thank you for the info. by the way, PlateletGal.  Would you message me the name of this doc. so, I could read on his theory?  Thanks in advance.

Huggies.

[PlateletGal]

P.S. ~ What fascinates me is that the normal ranges for vitamin D keep rising and yet more and more people are chronically ill, although food products are now enriched with vitamin D. Something is very wrong.

[PlateletGal]

My body does not want vitamin D. I noticed when my illness had taken a turn for the worse, I found myself hiding from the sun. There is more and more new evidence that suggests that vitamin D is the result (not the cause) of illness and that makes sense to me. There is more controversial evidence that suggests that if you are chronically ill and supplement with vitamin D... that it may help in the short run, but the long run. After all, vitamin D is not a true vitamin (the government recognizes this fact)... it is a seco-steriod hormone instead. A theory is that intracellular bacteria causes vitamin D dysregulation. Anyhow... another CFS physician has come on board saying that vitamin D is toxic to CFS patients.

The debate will continue on I'm sure and I'm sure we will hear about this more in the future.

[kitonthemoon]

Thank you for posting this info.....

My D level dropped from 49 to 15 withing a year...Now back on Vitamin D3 emulsion drops 2000IU/3x daily...and go under sun from 10=20 daily, even though sun exhausts my heart.

Have a great Labor Day.
Kit