Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Depression, Pain, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Breast Cancer
By Dr. Mercola
Vitamin D research continues to impress
upon us the importance of appropriate sun exposure as the ideal way to
optimize your vitamin D levels.
Winter limits sun exposure for many up to six months of the year. During those times, your next best bet would be artificial UVB light, as UV ray exposure also appears to have health benefits above and beyond the production of vitamin D.
Winter limits sun exposure for many up to six months of the year. During those times, your next best bet would be artificial UVB light, as UV ray exposure also appears to have health benefits above and beyond the production of vitamin D.
One of the most damaging elements of
standard tanning beds are the magnetic ballasts (which make that loud buzzing
noise you hear in many tanning salons). If an electronic ballast is used, there
are far less damaging EMFs, which provide most of the danger from tanning beds.
The other concern is related to the bulbs used, as some may contain only UVA light which is primarily responsible for the tan, but doesn't increase vitamin D levels. For much of the northern hemisphere, vitamin D production is not possible from the sun during the winter months. You must use artificial UVB light or obtain vitamin D from your diet during this time.
The benefits of UVB exposure from the sun or artificial light include but are not limited to the production of nitric oxide—a compound that lowers your blood pressure. Despite its name, vitamin D is not a vitamin. It’s actually a potent neuroregulatory steroidal hormone, which helps explain some of its health impacts.
It has become abundantly clear that vitamin D deficiency is a growing epidemic across the world and could be contributing to hundreds of common health problems. In fact, correcting your vitamin D deficiency may cut your risk of dying from any cause by 50 percent, according to one analysis.
The other concern is related to the bulbs used, as some may contain only UVA light which is primarily responsible for the tan, but doesn't increase vitamin D levels. For much of the northern hemisphere, vitamin D production is not possible from the sun during the winter months. You must use artificial UVB light or obtain vitamin D from your diet during this time.
The benefits of UVB exposure from the sun or artificial light include but are not limited to the production of nitric oxide—a compound that lowers your blood pressure. Despite its name, vitamin D is not a vitamin. It’s actually a potent neuroregulatory steroidal hormone, which helps explain some of its health impacts.
It has become abundantly clear that vitamin D deficiency is a growing epidemic across the world and could be contributing to hundreds of common health problems. In fact, correcting your vitamin D deficiency may cut your risk of dying from any cause by 50 percent, according to one analysis.
If this sounds too incredible to be true, consider that vitamin D influences nearly 3,000 of your 24,000 genes. This occurs via vitamin D receptors, which can be found throughout your body, and should come as no great surprise given that humans evolved in the sun.
Vitamin
D Beneficially Affects Gene Activity
Just one example of an important gene
that vitamin D up-regulates is your ability to fight infections and chronic
inflammation. It also produces over 200 anti-microbial peptides, the most
important of which is cathelicidin, a naturally-occurring broad-spectrum
antibiotic.
This is one of the explanations for why vitamin D is so effective against colds and influenza.
According to a January 2013 press release by Orthomolecular Medicine,1 there are now 33,800 medical papers with vitamin D in the title or abstract, and this veritable mountain of research shows that vitamin D has far-reaching benefits to your physical and mental health. Such research has shown that vitamin D can improve:
·
Pregnancy outcomes
(reduced risk of Cesarean section and pre-eclampsia)
·
Type 1 and 2 diabetes
·
Heart disease and stroke
·
Autism, Alzheimer’s,
and other brain dysfunction
·
Bacterial and viral
infections
Some of the most recently published
studies, which I’ll review here, demonstrate how boosting your vitamin D levels
can improve depression and pain in diabetics, Crohn’s disease, and breast
cancer.
Relevance of Vitamin D in Crohn’s Disease
While previous research has associated
low vitamin D levels with an increased risk of Crohn's disease and shown that correcting your
vitamin D deficiency can improve symptoms of the disease,2 one of the most recent studies3 found a "significant interaction between vitamin D
levels and Crohn's disease susceptibility, as well as a significant association
between vitamin D levels and genotype."
Serum vitamin D levels were found to be significantly lower in patients with Crohn’s disease. Of the seven DNA sequence variations examined for effects, two variants showed a significant association with vitamin D levels in those with Crohn’s, and four variants were associated with vitamin D levels among controls.
In short, it shows that vitamin D can affect genetic expression associated with Crohn’s disease, and make matters either better or worse, depending on whether you have enough of it or not.
Vitamin D May Reduce Depression and Pain
Serum vitamin D levels were found to be significantly lower in patients with Crohn’s disease. Of the seven DNA sequence variations examined for effects, two variants showed a significant association with vitamin D levels in those with Crohn’s, and four variants were associated with vitamin D levels among controls.
In short, it shows that vitamin D can affect genetic expression associated with Crohn’s disease, and make matters either better or worse, depending on whether you have enough of it or not.
Vitamin D May Reduce Depression and Pain
In related news, vitamin D
supplementation has been found to reduce both depression and pain in diabetic
women. As reported by PsychCentral:4
“The investigators
set out to determine how vitamin D supplementation might affect women with type
2 diabetes who were also suffering from depression.
At the beginning of
the study, 61 percent of women reported neuropathic pain, such as shooting or
burning pain in their legs and feet, and 74 percent had sensory pain, such as
numbness and tingling in their hands, fingers and legs.
During the course of
the study, the participants took a 50,000 IU vitamin D2 supplement every week
for 6 months. By the end of the study, the women’s depression levels had
significantly improved following the supplementation.
Furthermore,
participants who suffered from neuropathic and/or sensory pain at the beginning
of the study reported that these symptoms decreased at 3 and 6 months following
vitamin D2 supplementation.”
According to lead researcher Todd Doyle, Ph.D., vitamin D supplementation “is a promising treatment for both pain and depression in type 2 diabetes.” However, I would note that you’d probably get even better results using vitamin D3 rather than prescription D2. In fact, previous research suggests vitamin D2 might do more harm than good in the long term...
Why I Recommend Vitamin D3 Over D2
Drisdol is a synthetic form of vitamin
D2—made by irradiating fungus and plant matter—and is the form of vitamin D
typically prescribed by doctors. This is not the type produced by your
body in response to sun or safe tanning bed exposure, which is vitamin D3.
According to a 2012 meta-analysis by the Cochrane Database,5 which assessed mortality rates for people who supplemented their diets with D2 versus those who did so with D3, there are significant differences in outcome between the two. The analysis of 50 randomized controlled trials, which included a total of 94,000 participants, showed:
According to a 2012 meta-analysis by the Cochrane Database,5 which assessed mortality rates for people who supplemented their diets with D2 versus those who did so with D3, there are significant differences in outcome between the two. The analysis of 50 randomized controlled trials, which included a total of 94,000 participants, showed:
·
A six percent
relative risk reduction among those who used vitamin D3
·
A two percent
relative risk increase among those who used D2
That said, the featured research
certainly sheds light on the role vitamin D can play in the management of type
2 diabetes and associated side effects. And when you consider that an estimated
60 percent of type 2 diabetics are vitamin D deficient,6 there’s certainly plenty of room for improvement.
Additional support for the theory that vitamin D can be beneficial in the fight against type 2 diabetes was published in last year.7 Here, the researchers found “a strong additive interaction between abdominal obesity and insufficient 25(OH)D in regard to insulin resistance.” They also claim 47 percent of the increased odds of insulin resistance can be explained by the interaction between insufficient vitamin D levels and a high body mass index (BMI).
Yet another study 8 published in Diabetes Care also suggests vitamin D supplements may help prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus in people with pre-diabetes. While the study is only an observational one and cannot establish causality, the researchers report that the participants who had the highest vitamin D levels were 30 percent less likely to develop diabetes during the three-year evaluation period, compared to those with the lowest levels.
Additional support for the theory that vitamin D can be beneficial in the fight against type 2 diabetes was published in last year.7 Here, the researchers found “a strong additive interaction between abdominal obesity and insufficient 25(OH)D in regard to insulin resistance.” They also claim 47 percent of the increased odds of insulin resistance can be explained by the interaction between insufficient vitamin D levels and a high body mass index (BMI).
Yet another study 8 published in Diabetes Care also suggests vitamin D supplements may help prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus in people with pre-diabetes. While the study is only an observational one and cannot establish causality, the researchers report that the participants who had the highest vitamin D levels were 30 percent less likely to develop diabetes during the three-year evaluation period, compared to those with the lowest levels.
Cut
Your Breast Cancer Risk with Vitamin D, Cancer Surgeon Suggests
Meanwhile, a recent Science World
Report9 highlighted the recommendation by British breast cancer
surgeon, Professor Kefah Mokbel, who urges women to take daily vitamin D
supplements to cut their risk of breast cancer. According to the featured
article:
“Prof. Mokbel has
also requested Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, to make [vitamin D] pills
freely available as this would result in saving about a 1,000 lives annually.
‘I am calling for all women from the age of 20 to be given free vitamin D
supplements on the NHS because it is effective in protecting against breast
cancer,’ Prof. Mokbel said.
...Research conducted by the Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Neb, which analyzed menopausal women from rural eastern Nebraska for over four years, revealed that taking vitamin D supplements along with calcium cut about 60 percent risk of cancer, including breast, lung and colon cancer...’It's inexpensive, it's safe, and it's easy to take. It's something that should be considered by a lot of people,’ says Joan Lappe, professor of nursing and medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Neb. ‘It's low-risk with maybe a high pay-off.
...Research conducted by the Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Neb, which analyzed menopausal women from rural eastern Nebraska for over four years, revealed that taking vitamin D supplements along with calcium cut about 60 percent risk of cancer, including breast, lung and colon cancer...’It's inexpensive, it's safe, and it's easy to take. It's something that should be considered by a lot of people,’ says Joan Lappe, professor of nursing and medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Neb. ‘It's low-risk with maybe a high pay-off.
Vitamin
D Is Critical for Cancer Prevention
Indeed, an ever growing number of
studies show that vitamin D has tremendous protective effects against a variety
of different cancers, including pancreatic, lung, ovarian, breast, prostate, and skin cancers. Theories linking
vitamin D deficiency to cancer have been tested and confirmed in more than 200
epidemiological studies, and understanding of its physiological basis stems
from more than 2,500 laboratory trials.
For example, a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine12 concluded that a serum 25(OH)D level of more than 33 ng/mL was associated with a 50 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer. And research published in the International Journal of Cancer two years ago13 found that a mere 10 ng/ml increase in serum vitamin D levels was associated with a 15 percent reduction in colorectal cancer incidence and 11 percent reduction in breast cancer incidence.
Another 2007 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition14 found that after four years of follow up, cancer-free survival was 77 percent higher in women who received 1,100 IU vitamin D and 1,450 mg calcium per day, compared to those who received either a placebo or calcium by itself. According to Carole Baggerly, founder of GrassrootsHealth, as much as 90 percent of ordinary breast cancer may in fact be related to vitamin D deficiency. Breast cancer has even been described as a “vitamin D deficiency syndrome,” much like the commoncold and seasonal flu.
Most
Important—Maintaining Optimal Vitamin D Serum Levels
Of utmost importance is the maintenance
of a therapeutically beneficial serum level year-round. Here, studies indicate
that the bare minimum for cancer prevention is around 40 ng/ml. Research
suggests an ideal level might be around 60-80 ng/ml. A 2009 review article15 titled: “Vitamin D for Cancer Prevention: Global
Perspective,” published in Annals of Epidemiology states that:
“Higher serum levels of the main circulating form of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), are associated with substantially lower incidence rates of colon, breast, ovarian, renal, pancreatic, aggressive prostate and other cancers. Epidemiological findings combined with newly discovered mechanisms suggest a new model of cancer etiology that accounts for these actions of 25(OH)D and calcium. Its seven phases are disjunction, initiation, natural selection, overgrowth, metastasis, involution, and transition (abbreviated DINOMIT). Vitamin D metabolites prevent disjunction of cells and are beneficial in other phases.
It is projected that raising the minimum year-around serum 25(OH)D level to 40 to 60 ng/mL (100–150 nmol/L) would prevent approximately 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer each year, and three fourths of deaths from these diseases in the United States and Canada, based on observational studies combined with a randomized trial.
Such intakes also are
expected to reduce case-fatality rates of patients who have breast, colorectal,
or prostate cancer by half...
The time has arrived for nationally coordinated action to substantially
increase intake of vitamin D and calcium.” [Emphasis mine]
General
Supplementation Guidelines
As a general guideline, research by
GrassrootsHealth suggests that adults need about 8,000 IUs per day to achieve a
serum level of 40 ng/ml. That said, I strongly recommend boosting your vitamin
D levels through appropriate sun exposure whenever possible. If you do opt for
a vitamin D supplement, please remember that you also need to boost your intake
of vitamin K2 through food and/or a supplement. If
you’re getting your vitamin D from the sun, this is not as critical, although
you’d be wise to make sure you’re getting sufficient amounts of vitamin K2 from
your diet either way.
How do you know if your vitamin D level is in the right range? The most important factor is having your vitamin D serum level tested every six months, as people vary widely in their response to ultraviolet exposure or oral D3 supplementation. Your goal is to reach a clinically relevant serum level of 50-70 ng/ml, and to maintain that level year-round. You should test at your highest point, which is typically August and again at your lowest point, which is usually February.
Knowing your vitamin D levels is one of the most important tests you can take, so please, if you haven't checked your levels before do it now - I cannot stress the importance of this enough.
How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can
Help Optimize Your Health
Additionally, a robust and growing body
of research clearly shows that vitamin D is absolutely critical for good health
and disease prevention. Vitamin D affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors
(VDRs), which bind to specific locations of the human genome. Scientists have
identified nearly 3,000 genes that are influenced by vitamin D levels,
and vitamin D receptors have been found throughout the human body.
Is it any wonder then that no matter what disease or condition is investigated, vitamin D appears to play a crucial role? This is why I am so excited about the D*Action Project by GrassrootsHealth. It is showing how you can take action today on known science with a consensus of experts without waiting for institutional lethargy. It has shown how by combining the science of measurement (of vitamin D levels) with the personal choice of taking action and, the value of education about individual measures that one can truly be in charge of their own health.
In order to spread this health movement to more communities, the project needs your involvement. This was an ongoing campaign during the month of February, and will become an annual event.
To participate, simply purchase the D*Action Measurement Kit
and follow the registration instructions included. (Please note that 100
percent of the proceeds from the kits go to fund the research project. I do not
charge a single dime as a distributor of the test kits.)
As a participant, you agree to test your vitamin D levels twice a year during a five-year study, and share your health status to demonstrate the public health impact of this nutrient. There is a $65 fee every six months for your sponsorship of this research project, which includes a test kit to be used at home, and electronic reports on your ongoing progress. You will get a follow up email every six months reminding you "it's time for your next test and health survey."
