Today's article is courtesy of Mercola.com.

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.
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.
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

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:

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 study⁸ 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.

...[R]esearch^10, ¹¹ 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]

Continue Reading...

Osteoporosis is much more than calcium deficiency

January 1, 2014 by Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD
Filed under Natural Healing

How does a deficiency of antioxidants damage bone structure?

Where antioxidants are severely deficient, there is always increased oxidative stress. And just as a fire might oxidize and burn the ignited wood, the increased oxidative stress in osteoporotic bones decomposes it and “burns” it over time as well.
Chemically, both the wood and the bones become oxidized. To say that osteoporotic bone is a condition of calcium deficiency is really no different than saying that the remaining ash from burned wood is a condition of smoke deficiency.
And just as there is no way to restore the normal structure of burned wood with the smoke that came out of it, there is also no way to restore osteoporosis to normal bone with the calcium that emanated from it.
All diseases result from deficiencies of antioxidant nutrients in different tissue to different degrees.
There has not yet been identified a single disease where increased oxidative stress is not present in the affected tissues or organs, either extracellularly, intracellularly, or both. When any symptom of any disease is present, increased oxidative stress is present somewhere, ultimately manifesting as that symptom.
Resolving this increased oxidative stress, however, is not as simple as taking more antioxidants in the diet or through supplementation. The reasons that the increased oxidative stress is present must be eliminated or severely curtailed, while balancing hormones and ingesting a wide range of antioxidants nutrients with enough biochemical variation that all tissues and cell types are affected.
Vitamin C just ends up being especially important because its small size and biochemical nature allows it to reach so many cells by itself, along with its unique ability to regenerate (reduce) so many other important antioxidants after they have donated their electrons and become oxidized.

The deceptive nature of conventional bone density tests

Calcium will make a bone density test in an osteoporotic patient improve a little bit. On its face, improving the bone density test numbers would seem to be a good thing. However, this is not the case if it is solely (or primarily) calcium administration that caused this result.
Just as a fresh coat of white paint might make a rotten fence look good, it does nothing for the structural integrity of the fence and that’s the same with osteoporosis.
Calcium can improve the bone density test outcome in a cosmetic fashion, but it does not decrease the chances of fracture, which is the purported goal of any effective osteoporosis therapy. It is only when a bone density test improves without calcium administration that one can conclude truly healthy bone has regenerated and reincorporated some new calcium appropriately in the process.

Is there any evidence that osteoporosis is ‘focal scurvy’?

By itself, the supplementation of vitamin C in osteoporosis has been documented to both increase bone density (improving the bone density test results with structurally sound bone), while lowering the chances of an osteoporotic fracture. This is further supported by the substantial research data confirming that vitamin C is vital for the formation and cross-linking of collagen in the bone, the formation of non-collagen bone matrix proteins, the differentiation of stem cells into bone cells, and the regulation of the cells forming cartilage and collagen in the bone.
It is when this healthy structural matrix is first present that ensuing calcification is reflective of normal bone strength and integrity. Effective treatment of osteoporosis (and other chronic degenerative diseases) is straightforward but involves much more than popping a pill or two.
As is discussed in much greater detail in my new book, Death by Calcium, a comprehensive approach to minimize oxidative stress in the bone (and elsewhere) is essential. At least six factors are critical, involving the ability to:
1. Minimize new toxin exposure (dental sources especially important)
2. Eradicate old infections
3. Eliminate old toxins
4. Correct critical hormone deficiencies
5. Optimize antioxidant levels
6. Appropriately utilize prescription medicine, especially calcium channel blockers when possible
The primary supplements recommended include:
1. Vitamin C in regular, liposome-encapsulated, and fat-soluble forms
2. Lysine and proline
3. Vitamin D3
4. Vitamin K2
5. Magnesium glycinate
6. Omega-3 fatty acids
7. Mixed tocopherols
8. Beta carotene
9. Complete B complex
Many, many other quality supplements/nutrients with antioxidant capacity at the cellular level are available. Depending on the size of your pocketbook and the degree of your motivation, you can also take a number of these as well.
There is no one perfect “one size fits all” approach for everyone, and there are multiple approaches that can end up achieving the same goal.
Looking for natural health solutions? Sign up now – for our free, weekly show featuring the greatest minds in natural health and science plus a free gift!
About the author: Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD is a board-certified internist and cardiologist. He is also bar-certified for the practice of law. He has written extensively on the importance of eliminating toxins while bolstering antioxidant defenses in the body, with particular focus on vitamin C. His new book entitled Death by Calcium: Proof of the toxic effects of dairy and calcium supplements is now available at amazon.com or medfoxpub.com.. His website is PeakEnergy.com

- See more at: http://www.naturalhealth365.com/natural_healing/calcium_myth.html#sthash.lNRUFndp.dpuf

Osteoporosis is much more than calcium deficiency

Peak Fitness and Nutrition

Pages

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Today's Natural Cure: Vitamin D for IBS, Depression, and more