newspaper article on vitamin D benefits

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lisa42
lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
edited September 2011 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I know vitamin D has been discussed here many times, but I came across this article today from the San Diego Union Tribune. Note that the FDA recommended vitamin D levels at the bottom of the article are actually pretty low- most naturopaths recommend quite a higher daily dose, especially to those with cancer or anyone who has tested low levels. When my own level was first tested, it was a pathetic 13. At that time, the recommended minimum vitamin D level was 32. I think they've since upped it to 50 (not sure if it has been upped, or if it's still being considered). I've read that for optimal health, especially in cancer patients, the level should be up between 70-80. My last tested level was in the 60's. I currently take 10,000 I.U. a day. The FDA still recommends far less than that, but they are learning of the benefits. Read below for all vitamin D helps a body with (including preventing heart attacks, strokes, blood pressure, balancing blood sugar levels, helps prevent bone loss, and now they're even crediting it with helping Alzheimer's, dementia, and even depression, as well as being a cancer preventative). I often wonder if my low vitamin D level caused or at least contributed to my getting cancer, since I have no family history and had no real big risk factors that I was aware of for getting it.

Lisa

-----------------------------------------------
Tap into the many benefits of vitamin D
Valuable nutrient boosts bone strength, aids mental health and prevents cancer

Vitamin D plays a very important role in the body. It’s not only a nutrient we eat, but a hormone the body makes. Vitamin D is required for the regulation of calcium, minerals and phosphorus found in the body, and the vitamin’s hormonal aspect helps regulate many of the functions in the body.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient found in foods from animals such as eggs and milk or from fish such as cod, shrimp, salmon, tuna and sardines. Some breakfast cereals also are fortified with vitamin D. Many people already know the nutrient also can come from the sun, which, in moderation, is an easy and reliable source.

Including vitamin D in your diet can offer several health benefits. Along with being important for bone health (it is known for preventing the bone disease rickets), it is essential for preventing osteoporosis, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and inflammation. Vitamin D has also been shown to prevent certain types of cancer including bladder, breast, ovarian, colon, prostate, melanoma and rectal.

Additionally, it can aid in your mental health by greatly reducing the risks of age-related cognitive disorders such as senile dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and mood disorders such as depression.

Adequate vitamin D can help promote muscle function, a strong immune system and blood sugar balance.

For most people the best way to get enough vitamin D is by taking a supplement. However, the level in multivitamins (400 IU) can be low. Some supplement manufacturers have begun adding 800 or 1,000 IU of vitamin D to their standard multivitamin preparations.

The 2010 Recommended Dietary Allowances for vitamin D are set for needs of most people in the population. The RDA varies based on age and are as follows: Males and females 1 to 70 years of age, 600 IU daily; 71 years and older, 800 IU daily; and for pregnant and lactating women, 600 IU daily. For infants up to 12 months, an adequate intake level of 400 IU is recommended.

Halle Elbling is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Palomar Pomerado Health.
By Halle Elbling
12:02 a.m., Aug. 30, 2011

Comments

  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
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    I'm no nutritionist.....

    I eat White Castle Hamburgers as religiously as some take meds...

    That said (probably regrettably)....

    The process that our body has to take to make the sunlight being
    absorbed by our skin and turning it into vitamin D, is a very
    intricate process. That intricate process involves our body and brain.
    It involves all our essential controls, in the process of converting
    sunlight into what we need to survive.

    Can we grow roses by adding factory made substances in an effort
    to duplicate the sunlight it naturally desires?

    Our body thrives on it's basic natural resources. The intricate process
    it takes to convert any substance into what is required for life, is a
    very necessary process. It encompasses every element of our body;
    using our body in ways physicians remain ignorant to.

    Exposing the skin (even just an arm) to sunlight for fifteen minutes
    a day, can provide enough vitamin D to sustain life.

    Life can be so simple, if we'd just accept it's simplicity.

    Good health!

    John
  • marqimark
    marqimark Member Posts: 242 Member
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    John23 said:

    I'm no nutritionist.....

    I eat White Castle Hamburgers as religiously as some take meds...

    That said (probably regrettably)....

    The process that our body has to take to make the sunlight being
    absorbed by our skin and turning it into vitamin D, is a very
    intricate process. That intricate process involves our body and brain.
    It involves all our essential controls, in the process of converting
    sunlight into what we need to survive.

    Can we grow roses by adding factory made substances in an effort
    to duplicate the sunlight it naturally desires?

    Our body thrives on it's basic natural resources. The intricate process
    it takes to convert any substance into what is required for life, is a
    very necessary process. It encompasses every element of our body;
    using our body in ways physicians remain ignorant to.

    Exposing the skin (even just an arm) to sunlight for fifteen minutes
    a day, can provide enough vitamin D to sustain life.

    Life can be so simple, if we'd just accept it's simplicity.

    Good health!

    John

    Sun
    If that is so (Exposing the skin (even just an arm) to sunlight for fifteen minutes
    a day, can provide enough vitamin D to sustain life.), then I am making up for last year when I was not allowed to be exposed to sunlight.

    This year I have been out in the sun as much as possible, so my Vitamin D must be very high.

    The bronze one
    Mark
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    Options
    John23 said:

    I'm no nutritionist.....

    I eat White Castle Hamburgers as religiously as some take meds...

    That said (probably regrettably)....

    The process that our body has to take to make the sunlight being
    absorbed by our skin and turning it into vitamin D, is a very
    intricate process. That intricate process involves our body and brain.
    It involves all our essential controls, in the process of converting
    sunlight into what we need to survive.

    Can we grow roses by adding factory made substances in an effort
    to duplicate the sunlight it naturally desires?

    Our body thrives on it's basic natural resources. The intricate process
    it takes to convert any substance into what is required for life, is a
    very necessary process. It encompasses every element of our body;
    using our body in ways physicians remain ignorant to.

    Exposing the skin (even just an arm) to sunlight for fifteen minutes
    a day, can provide enough vitamin D to sustain life.

    Life can be so simple, if we'd just accept it's simplicity.

    Good health!

    John

    Sun exposure wasn't enough for me
    By the way, the sun exposure needs to be during the hours that your shadow is shorter than you are.

    However, after a summer of daily sun exposure, my vit D levels remained low - my body is not manufacturing D properly.

    Under the advice of an Integrative Medicine specialist, I am taking 10,000 iu of D3 daily, and my levels are finally up to around 40. We've been working on my levels for about 3 years now. I'm being checked again next week - will let you know what I should do next.

    Btw, if you are on steroids, vit D absorption is lowered.
  • ron50
    ron50 Member Posts: 1,723 Member
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    It is a shame my body is broken
    At 61 my body is a faint shadow of what it used to be. My poor old cells ,due to contaminants both beyond my ability to avoid and some that I was too stupid to avoid ,now produce the odd rogue cells. As a result some of my body no longer resides where it should. Probably due to the chemicals that were used to rid me of the rogue cells that were not in the bits cut out,my immune system has decided to attack me. So I have to take more chemicals to stop those attacks. Now it would be nice if those chemicals merely pacified my immune system but they also take their pound of flesh or in this case bone. They also make me very susceptible to skin damage and more cancer. My height two years ago was 181 cm,it is now 176 cm . The base of my spine is crumbling and all of my spine is degenerating. Added to that is psoriatic arthritis. My rheumatologist partly blames Osteomalacea. The major cause of Osteomalacea is a lack of vit d. So I can go out into the sun ,get burned pretty quickly,and develop skin cancers.Had my first one cut out a month or so ago.Or I can take 4000 units a day of vit d3 as advised by my rheumatololgist and avoid sun exposure. No doubt next week they will find that something else that I was told to do to fix something else will cause something else. I wish things were simple.
    Ron.
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
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    ron50 said:

    It is a shame my body is broken
    At 61 my body is a faint shadow of what it used to be. My poor old cells ,due to contaminants both beyond my ability to avoid and some that I was too stupid to avoid ,now produce the odd rogue cells. As a result some of my body no longer resides where it should. Probably due to the chemicals that were used to rid me of the rogue cells that were not in the bits cut out,my immune system has decided to attack me. So I have to take more chemicals to stop those attacks. Now it would be nice if those chemicals merely pacified my immune system but they also take their pound of flesh or in this case bone. They also make me very susceptible to skin damage and more cancer. My height two years ago was 181 cm,it is now 176 cm . The base of my spine is crumbling and all of my spine is degenerating. Added to that is psoriatic arthritis. My rheumatologist partly blames Osteomalacea. The major cause of Osteomalacea is a lack of vit d. So I can go out into the sun ,get burned pretty quickly,and develop skin cancers.Had my first one cut out a month or so ago.Or I can take 4000 units a day of vit d3 as advised by my rheumatololgist and avoid sun exposure. No doubt next week they will find that something else that I was told to do to fix something else will cause something else. I wish things were simple.
    Ron.

    Ron -

    There are exceptions to everything. My situation is no different than
    yours, in the sense that what's good for "normal people", simply won't
    work for me. I have a "high output Ileostomy", combined with a
    "short bowel syndrome"; whatever I ingest usually will be expelled
    within 15 minutes.

    Things like "juicing" won't work for me; the more liquid I drink, the faster
    the output will be, and even more of what I had already ingested will
    be flushed out of my body before it can be absorbed.

    In fact, both magnesium and vitamin B12 will not absorb easily (if at all),
    since the sections of intestine that absorb those specific things have
    been removed, and now they must be taken by injection.

    Like you Ron, I have to resort to using "factory made" instead of "natural"......

    Taking the "factory made" isn't as good as the natural, but there hasn't
    been enough studies to know just how bad it may be...

    For those of us that can no longer get what our body needs by natural
    means, we have no alternative but to be subjected to the industry's
    answer to Mom Nature... That doesn't change the fact that natural is
    best, however.

    For those fortunate enough to have -not- had their body ravished by
    the ills of cancer and surgery, getting vitamins and minerals should be
    by the most natural way whenever possible.

    Sorry if I made my earlier comments too generalized. Some of us
    have special needs, but for those that aren't suffering limitations,
    nothing beats natural!

    Best of health,

    John
  • ron50
    ron50 Member Posts: 1,723 Member
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    John23 said:

    Ron -

    There are exceptions to everything. My situation is no different than
    yours, in the sense that what's good for "normal people", simply won't
    work for me. I have a "high output Ileostomy", combined with a
    "short bowel syndrome"; whatever I ingest usually will be expelled
    within 15 minutes.

    Things like "juicing" won't work for me; the more liquid I drink, the faster
    the output will be, and even more of what I had already ingested will
    be flushed out of my body before it can be absorbed.

    In fact, both magnesium and vitamin B12 will not absorb easily (if at all),
    since the sections of intestine that absorb those specific things have
    been removed, and now they must be taken by injection.

    Like you Ron, I have to resort to using "factory made" instead of "natural"......

    Taking the "factory made" isn't as good as the natural, but there hasn't
    been enough studies to know just how bad it may be...

    For those of us that can no longer get what our body needs by natural
    means, we have no alternative but to be subjected to the industry's
    answer to Mom Nature... That doesn't change the fact that natural is
    best, however.

    For those fortunate enough to have -not- had their body ravished by
    the ills of cancer and surgery, getting vitamins and minerals should be
    by the most natural way whenever possible.

    Sorry if I made my earlier comments too generalized. Some of us
    have special needs, but for those that aren't suffering limitations,
    nothing beats natural!

    Best of health,

    John

    G'day John
    I know and can appreciate exactly where you are coming from. If we could but go back and do it all differently I am sure that the froth on our lips would not be beer rather some green healthy stuff. We would take a daily shot of u/v ,eat less red meat and tell our parents to explain to the doctor that we really don't need what he is offering. Sure we will get better quicker but for how long.
    I can remember vividly a discussion I had with my surgeon. He had just used the cured word. His exact words were "yes you are cured of that tumour it won't recur,but be aware,there will be others. It is quite complicated to get all the things wrong you need to develop cancer. Once it happens though ,you are in the zone and it can happen again at any time".
    I guess that was the point I was trying to make,we,all of us on this board ,are in the zone. We have fulfilled the criteria once and even the supposedly lucky ones like myself ,clear for 14 years,are just waiting for the next instalment. That is why I rarely give lavish congratulations on our victories or on being declared ned. It is also why I never get involved in debates on religion,traditional,alternative or whatever devices the members of this board use to empower themselves in their fight against cancer.
    I don't know of a lonlier disease than cancer. It doesn't attack you when you are with friends,family or even when you are with doctors and nurses. It attacks you when you are alone and vunerable, so in my humble oppinion when you are alone in your head,unless you have an iron will it is fine to surround yourself with the talismans that you believe in.
    If doctors really want to do something for cancer patients they should try to find a way to overcome the fear and lonliness that they suffer.
    As for me I am a fearless,iron willed S.O.B who loves his own company,cheers Ron.
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    Options
    ron50 said:

    G'day John
    I know and can appreciate exactly where you are coming from. If we could but go back and do it all differently I am sure that the froth on our lips would not be beer rather some green healthy stuff. We would take a daily shot of u/v ,eat less red meat and tell our parents to explain to the doctor that we really don't need what he is offering. Sure we will get better quicker but for how long.
    I can remember vividly a discussion I had with my surgeon. He had just used the cured word. His exact words were "yes you are cured of that tumour it won't recur,but be aware,there will be others. It is quite complicated to get all the things wrong you need to develop cancer. Once it happens though ,you are in the zone and it can happen again at any time".
    I guess that was the point I was trying to make,we,all of us on this board ,are in the zone. We have fulfilled the criteria once and even the supposedly lucky ones like myself ,clear for 14 years,are just waiting for the next instalment. That is why I rarely give lavish congratulations on our victories or on being declared ned. It is also why I never get involved in debates on religion,traditional,alternative or whatever devices the members of this board use to empower themselves in their fight against cancer.
    I don't know of a lonlier disease than cancer. It doesn't attack you when you are with friends,family or even when you are with doctors and nurses. It attacks you when you are alone and vunerable, so in my humble oppinion when you are alone in your head,unless you have an iron will it is fine to surround yourself with the talismans that you believe in.
    If doctors really want to do something for cancer patients they should try to find a way to overcome the fear and lonliness that they suffer.
    As for me I am a fearless,iron willed S.O.B who loves his own company,cheers Ron.

    Ron -

    Well said!

    Re:
    "As for me I am a fearless,iron willed S.O.B who loves his own company"

    Making love with a full grown pickerel has it's share of hazards too!
    (don't ask; I'll just deny it)

    "Fear" is very subjective. But it's not the fear of "doing something"
    that's bad, since we can learn enough about something to be able
    to evaluate it's value to us. It's the fear of "not doing something",
    that can lead one into oblivion.

    The fear of "not doing what the doctor says to do" is most predominant
    among cancer sufferers, those with heart problems, and all those
    with any type of malady that there is no known (accepted) cure for.

    An individual discards the fear of the deadly side effects of a drug,
    and instead dwells on the fear of -not- taking the drug in spite
    of it's side effects.

    That is the type of fear you'll see me denouncing. It's an easy fear
    to instill, when a patient is consumed with the reality of a
    terminal condition.

    Re:
    "I am sure that the froth on our lips would not be beer rather some green healthy stuff."

    I'm not so sure about that! I may get my "D" by sitting in the
    sun drinking my way through a case of beer.
    (Beer is a natural food, ain't it?)

    Stay well, willya'?

    (and keep away from consenting pickerel)

    John
  • laurettas
    laurettas Member Posts: 372
    Options
    John23 said:

    I'm no nutritionist.....

    I eat White Castle Hamburgers as religiously as some take meds...

    That said (probably regrettably)....

    The process that our body has to take to make the sunlight being
    absorbed by our skin and turning it into vitamin D, is a very
    intricate process. That intricate process involves our body and brain.
    It involves all our essential controls, in the process of converting
    sunlight into what we need to survive.

    Can we grow roses by adding factory made substances in an effort
    to duplicate the sunlight it naturally desires?

    Our body thrives on it's basic natural resources. The intricate process
    it takes to convert any substance into what is required for life, is a
    very necessary process. It encompasses every element of our body;
    using our body in ways physicians remain ignorant to.

    Exposing the skin (even just an arm) to sunlight for fifteen minutes
    a day, can provide enough vitamin D to sustain life.

    Life can be so simple, if we'd just accept it's simplicity.

    Good health!

    John

    I agree, John,
    about the sun and who knows what other good things we are getting from it as well? Seems to indicate that we are to be outside at least some every day, doesn't it instead of being stuck inside of four walls like many people are!
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    Options
    John23 said:

    I'm no nutritionist.....

    I eat White Castle Hamburgers as religiously as some take meds...

    That said (probably regrettably)....

    The process that our body has to take to make the sunlight being
    absorbed by our skin and turning it into vitamin D, is a very
    intricate process. That intricate process involves our body and brain.
    It involves all our essential controls, in the process of converting
    sunlight into what we need to survive.

    Can we grow roses by adding factory made substances in an effort
    to duplicate the sunlight it naturally desires?

    Our body thrives on it's basic natural resources. The intricate process
    it takes to convert any substance into what is required for life, is a
    very necessary process. It encompasses every element of our body;
    using our body in ways physicians remain ignorant to.

    Exposing the skin (even just an arm) to sunlight for fifteen minutes
    a day, can provide enough vitamin D to sustain life.

    Life can be so simple, if we'd just accept it's simplicity.

    Good health!

    John

    not always so simple as just sunshine
    Hi John,

    I wish it were so simple and straightforward for everyone as to just be in the sun 15 min a day. I live in sunny southern California & was a teacher. Being an elementary school teacher, it was part of my job to be outside every day for P.E. with the kids, and recess and/or after school parking lot duty. I was outside in the sun for at least 15-30 minutes a day, sometimes more. Even so, my vitamin D level was abysmally low. Some people just don't seem to absorb it. Recently, my two daughters had their D vitamin levels tested. My two daughters have different skin tones- my oldest daughter is quite pale and never tans, no matter how much time she spends in the sun. My youngest daughter gets brown as can be while in the sun. Youngest daughter's vit D level was in the 60's. Oldest daughter's vit D level was low- in the 20's.

    So, I know some say just spend time in the sun for enough vitamin D and that may work well for many, but it doesn't for everyone. People still should get their levels tested & be in the sun but supplementing is neccessary for quite a few people.

    On the supplementing note, even after being on vitamin D pills (tried both tablets, capsules, even the gummy vitamin form)- my level was not coming up. It was realized that my body has a malabsorbtion problem and I wasn't absorbing the vit D from the pills. My levels finally came up after a few weeks of switching to the spray/liquid form of vitamin D, which absorbed directly into my system from my mouth, not having to wait to be broken down in the digestive tract.
  • biz
    biz Member Posts: 60 Member
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    dumb question
    Can I have my vit D levels tested when I see my onc or do I have to go to my primary care physician?
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
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    biz said:

    dumb question
    Can I have my vit D levels tested when I see my onc or do I have to go to my primary care physician?

    either one- not a dumb question at all
    I've had the testing done both with my primary care dr and with my onc. I don't see my primary care dr very often (once or twice a year), so it was easier for me to have my onc do it. He just added it to the lab orders for the next time.

    Best wishes-
  • menright
    menright Member Posts: 256 Member
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    Vitamin D
    My newly found oncologist at UCSD has me taking 1000IU tablets each day. That and some California sunshine and it's all good.

    Mike