Vit D - Did you know?

[AireScottie]

I was reading SassyLassie's post this morning on vitamin D levels, and other posts on supplementing with vitamin D, and I wondered if you are all aware of how your body makes vitamin D.  Of course we all know it takes sunlight, but did you know that the sunlight takes your nasty old cholesterol and turns it into good happy vitamin D?  That's right!  Lower cholesterol levels, sturdier bones.  Patients often have higher cholesterol levels in winter because they don't get enough sun exposure.  Australia had a big push some years back to get everyone to use sunscreen because their melanoma levels are so high.  Guess what?  All of a sudden, their cholesterol levels were really high.  Now, I'm not saying go back to toasting yourself in the sun, but if you have high cholesterol and marginal vitamin D levels, you might consider spending a little more time in the sun without sunscreen.  Maybe early morning and evening.

[gymdandee]

Research has found that men with low levels of vitamin D in the blood (15 ng/mL and lower) were at increased risk for heart attack compared to those with sufficient levels (30 ng/mL and higher) even after adjusting for other risk factors and physical activity. A recent study suggests that this may contribute to the higher rate of cardiovascular mortality among black Americans compared to white Americans, as blacks tend to have lower vitamin D levels.
Lower levels are also associated with a higher risk and severity of depression.  A recent study in Italy, for example, showed that older women with low vitamin D levels (below 20 ng/mL) were twice as likely to develop depressive mood as those with higher levels.  Older men with low levels were 60% more likely to develop depressive mood.9 Data from the same study showed that those who were severely vitamin D deficient (below 10 ng/mL) were approximately 60% more likely than those who were vitamin D sufficient (above 30 ng/mL) to experience substantial cognitive decline, although there was no such association attention level.
A recently reported study from Finland suggested that high vitamin D status provides protection against Parkinson disease. People with the highest vitamin D levels (above 20 ng/mL) had a 65% lower risk of developing Parkinson disease than those with the lowest vitamin D levels (below 10 ng/mL).  A limitation of the study was that none of the groups had sufficient vitamin D levels (due to limited sun exposure in Finland). It is possible that greater risk reduction would have been observed in people with sufficient vitamin D levels.
Low levels of vitamin D are also associated with a higher risk in women of developing rheumatoid arthritis. There is conflicting evidence about whether vitamin D helps reduce the overall risk of dying from cancer, although studies have consistently shown that higher vitamin D serum levels were associated with decreased risk of death from gastrointestinal cancers.
Studies suggest that vitamin D may also improve balance and reduce the risk of falls in older adults, for reasons that aren't clear. However, a recent study in women aged 70 and older who were at-risk for bone fracture showed an increase in falls and fractures among those given an extremely high, single, annual dose (500,000 IU) of vitamin D3.10  This unexpected finding may have resulted from unusual effects of the extreme dose. Much weaker evidence hints that giving vitamin D supplements to infants might decrease the risk of type 1 diabetes later in life, and that if women avoid vitamin D deficiency it might reduce their risk of multiple sclerosis.
A study in post-menopausal women showed 400 IU of vitamin D3 and 1,000 mg of calcium daily were less likely to gain small to moderate amounts of weight compared to women taking placebo.

[allmymarbles]

As long as the FDA is holding hands with the drug companies and Congress, I am unwilling to give them supplements to regulate.

[Paxiled]

But that's my point.  Right now the FDA doesn't regulate.  It does nothing because that's how those who agree with you want it.  They lobby against action, and the executive branch since Carter has been telling the agencies not to do anything, so they don't.  And under Republicans they're staffed with industry people to intentionally not do anything.  Reagan was bad, but Bush was the worst, and those people are still embedded and still blocking everything, and Obama can't get anyone appointed because the Repubs have decided to block everything and slow the works.  And the embedded career people can't be gotten rid of easily.  It happened when Reagan replaced Carter -- I was there -- and my wife works for HHS and it was really bad under Bush.  Talk show hosts and religious nuts and industry plants ran everything, and now we're seeing the consequences -- broken world economy broken by unregulated speculators, multiple outbreaks of food contamination, drugs not having what's on the label, no rebuilding of New Orleans, loss of barrier islands to protect coastlines, drill baby drill even though anyone with a brain knows we can't burn more oil and coal, it's just too expensive to clean up and creates so many health problems our health care system is busted under the weight.  I'm all for private enterprise, it's where I've worked most of my life, but that was small business and human beings are what they are and need watching.  And nobody's watching.  I don't want gov't running businesses, God forbid, but I don't want Microsoft or Exxon running them either.  All organizations that grow too large or get too greedy at the top leave us where we are, with products failing inspections because of corner cutting somewhere in the line.  I'm just getting scared reading your posts about supposedly trustworthy companies now failing inspections.  That didn't used to happen -- it was always the untrustworthy ones who failed.  What's your solution?  

[gymdandee]

Pax, You're correct about co. failing . The Pharma. Co. my son works for  has its own manufacturing and contracts out to others when he checks a plant that has contamination everything is checked from the tankers to the pallets to the machines and if a contractor also manufactures for other companies they  will benefit. Yes to much Gov. My son  says the FDA is useless. He said if a contractor fails
he tells them the problem and upon inspection again if it's not to his standard they don't use them anymore

[Paxiled]

But they only passed one vitamin at a time.  You see what I'm saying?  These companies will fail later, because if pharmaceutical grade vitamins like vitamin D, which is all made by the same labs, is failing at companies that have independent labs monitoring every batch, then there is no way to insure oneself.  You buy your basic vitamins from certain companies, such as Nature's Plus or Bluebonnet, because of their reputation of this independent testing, but if some of these companies are failing, everyone will at one time or another.  Remember, none of these companies are manufacturers, they're formulators and packagers.  I stand by my statement -- we're screwed without regulation.  It's like medication -- I found out on the anxiety forum that some generics actually aren't the same as the brand name while others are, and it differs by product.  The system is completely broken, like everything else in our economy.  You can't trust nothin' anymore.  Still think less gov't regulation will leave us better off?

[gymdandee]

I gave the companies that failed! plenty of co. passed. The lab is Consumer lab
They do regular inspections. There are plenty of products that haven't been checked yet by them.

[Paxiled]

Where do you get this info, and are they doing regular inspections or just once and that's it.  Again, some of these companies, such as Life Extension, are considered the standard bearers in the industry, and if they're failing, there's really nowhere we can go.  I mean, we really can't buy from any company if they're all failing with some of their line even when they're getting approval from independent labs.  Garden of Life doesn't surprise me, it's whole theory is suspicious feeding us organisms nobody's ever eaten, but Life Extension only exists because of a bunch of scientists trying to live longer.  If even they can't get the right amounts in their own stuff, who can?  And who's to say the next batch from your approved sources won't fail next time around, or even next week?  Looks like the whole system is quite broken, which is what happens without adequate regulation, and now we can't even count on the companies we know do the most independent testing and care the most.  You've got companies such as Solaray using pharmaceutical grade and Life Extension using pharmaceutical grade failing tests.  We're screwed, eh?

[gymdandee]

Vitamin D Supplements (Including Combinations with Calcium and Vitamin K)
NOT
APPROVED
Garden of Life Living Calcium™ Advanced  Only found 89.2% of claimed calcium Vitamin D not determined Only found 67.2% of claimed vitamin K
(caplet, 6 per day)
Isotonix Calcium Plus  (powder, 2 capfuls per day) Only found 87% of claimed calcium  Vitamin D: was  OK

Vitamin D and Vitamin K
NOT
APPROVED
DaVinci Laboratories of Vermont Vitamin K2 Plus (capsule, 1-2 per day) Only found 63.4% of claimed vitamin K2  Vitamin D: was  OK


RESVERATROL SUPPLEMENTS
NOT
APPROVED
Life Extension Resveratrol Caps (20 mg per capsule, 1 per day)  Contained only 26.5% of claimed resveratrol
Resvert 100 mg proanthro - cyanadins with 25 mg resveratrol (25 mg per capsule, 2 per day) Contained only 58.2% of claimed resveratrol

[margypops]

I am out in the sun too much but have also been taking some capsules of D

[twehner5]

I'm choosing to ignore you.

[twehner5]

This is COOL !  So the fact that I had a good lipid panel in April is even MORE exciting to me because if I'd have had it once I could actually be out in the sun....my results might have been better.  I live in the frozen tundra (near Green Bay, WI).

Thank you, AireScottie!

[laura1967]

Ummmm....phew bionicman! I think it would be easier to swallow a pill to increase levels than to stink....lol.....lol

[laura1967]

Good post AireScottie!!  :)

[PlateletGal]

I've always had low cholesterol levels (except a high HDL of 63)

[margypops]

yup I do that but dont stay too long in the sun, I should get my cholestorol checked again the local drug store offers that plus sugar screening, I hope its down ..it was 260 at one time but am eating healthier since then and no I wont take statins...