Vitamin D deficiency is common in the United States and throughout the world. It is known to be important in bone mineral metabolism, but now we have information that it does much more.
Vitamins are generally known to be responsible for a single disease and proper supplementation should correct the disease. A hormone goes to distant tissues and performs multiple metabolic enhancements. That is the job of vitamin D.
Your vitamin D levels should be much higher than previously thought. Certainly much higher than what is listed on the milk carton or the vitamin pills at the local pharmacy. Here is today’s story.
In general, 800 to 1,000 IUs are needed, but as we get older we need much more. I like liquid formulations better because as you get older D is harder to absorb. It’s probably best to consume those thousand IU’s a day for consistency in enhancing all the things that vitamin D will do for you.
For example, hip fracture falls 23% and other non-vertebral fractures fall 26%. We know that bone loss is slowed as we age, but did you know that it also works on your muscles? Lower extremity strength and gait improvement were demonstrated in several studies in older people. The risk of falls is improved by 22%. It’s good to have less muscle pain, walk a little faster, and get out of a chair faster than other older adults. Arthritis also decreases in severity.
Many cancers are also significantly decreased by increasing vitamin D. These include colon, breast, and prostate cancers. Other metabolic disorders include type 1 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, possibly type 2 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.
Vitamin D is a powerful modulator of activated T and B lymphocytes, the workhorses of the immune system. Animal models show prevention of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease of the intestine. Research has also shown remarkable improvement in psoriasis.
If that’s not enough, there is usually a clear improvement in well-being and energy, often within the first week. All of these improvements were reported in Endocrine News, a publication of the Endocrine Society in the August/September 2005 issue beginning on page 10.
It’s remarkable what you can do for yourself when you combine trusted health information into action for your life. It’s not just good, it’s exciting. This is how life is supposed to be.
It’s your time.
dr joe
