NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In a study of Japanese school children, vitamin D supplements taken during the winter and early spring helped prevent seasonal flu and asthma attacks.

The idea for the study, study chief Dr. Mitsuyoshi Urashima, told Reuters Health, came from an earlier study looking at whether vitamin D could help prevent the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. The researchers in that study noticed that people taking vitamin D were three times less likely to report cold and flu symptoms.

This led Urashima, of Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, and colleagues to randomly assign a group of 6 to 15 year-old children to take vitamin D3 supplements (1,200 international units daily) or inactive placebo during a cold and flu season.

Vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol, is more readily absorbed by the body and more potent than vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, the form often found in multivitamins.

During the study, conducted between December 2008 and March 2009, 31 of 167 children taking placebo caught influenza A, the most common form of the virus, compared with only 18 of 167 taking vitamin D.

The vitamin D group was 58 percent less likely to catch influenza A, the researchers report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Vitamin D also appeared to suppress asthma attacks in children with a history of asthma. Two children taking vitamin D had asthma attacks during the study, compared to 12 children taking placebo. Urashima admitted to being a bit surprised by this finding and hopes to confirm it in a randomized trial targeting children with asthma.

Dr. Adit Ginde, of University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health: “This is the first time a study has been done that rigorously shows that vitamin D supplementation can reduce a type of influenza in a dedicated clinical trial.” Ginde and colleagues published a study a year ago showing that asthmatics with lower vitamin D levels were at five times the risk for colds and flu.

In the Japanese study, vitamin D supplementation did not prevent influenza type B, which tends to appear later in the flu season than the “A” flu variety.

Ginde said there is no solid explanation for why vitamin D prevented influenza A and not influenza B. “The immune system fights different viruses in different ways. This finding needs to be explored in more detail,” Ginde said.

Based on the current study, giving kids vitamin D supplements during the winter may help reduce cases of influenza A, the researchers conclude. Urashima suggests that children could take 1,200 IU per day starting in September to prevent flu and asthma attacks during the flu season, but best for parents to check with their pediatrician first.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online March 10, 2010.

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) Softgels

Q: Hi,

Does the Vitamin D3 Softgels need to be refrigerated after opening?

Thanks

Julie

A: Julie,

That’s not needed and if you take it daily there will be do chance of it ever losing potency.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc

Full product catolog for California Academy of Health (CAOH).

Question: What would you recommend for boosting the immune system?

Thanks

Answer: Bronek,

Our whey protein powder (1 scoop/day) is mandatory (Whey protein fact sheet). Next, I would add (5,000IU’s/day) vitamin D, probiotic (1-2 caps/day) and vitamin C (1-2 caps/day). FYI: below is from a newsletter I recently sent to my patients.

“I just wanted to remind everyone that I have put together a natural “preventative” protocol for kids and adults, against colds/flu. Now is the time to get going on this!

I have been using this protocol for the past ten years w/my patients and the ones who follow it haven’t been effected by the flu, or if they did, it was very mild. The products are all natural and the possibility of side-effects is practically zero. The combo is vitamin D liquid, a special probiotic and vitamin C (w/rutin). This may seem very basic and you may ask, “how can this work?” At therapeutic doses, this combination actually moves the body from a weak, straw house; to a slightly-stronger, stick house; to a ultra-strong, brick house. Brick house people don’t get sick or if they do, the symptoms are much milder, and/or the overall duration of symptoms is far less.”

The sooner you can get going on this protocol, the faster you can start boosting you immune system!

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

Vitamin D deficiency linked directly to heart disease!

Researchers from Utah presented fresh evidence this week linking vitamin D deficiency to heart disease at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Conference in Orlando, Florida. Vitamin D has a good reputation even in the worthy company of other vitamins, having been associated variously with cardiovascular health, strong bones, cognitive health, cancer protection and immune health.

Scientists from the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City now claim to have dug up stronger evidence supporting the cardiovascular benefits of vitamin D. They also claim to have more firmly established the link between a lack of the vitamin in the diet and heart disease.

Observational Research:

For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team followed 27,686 people who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease.

The participants had their blood vitamin D levels tested during routine clinical care. They were divided into three groups based on their vitamin D levels – normal (over 30 nanograms per milliliter), low (15-30 ng/ml), or very low (less than 15 ng/ml). The scientist then followed them to see if they developed some form of heart disease.

Researchers found that people with very low levels of vitamin D were 77 percent more likely to die, 45 percent more likely to develop coronary artery disease, and 78 percent more likely to have a stroke than those with normal levels. They also found that participants with very low levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to suffer heart failure.

Commenting on the significance of the results, Brent Muhlestein, director of cardiovascular research at the Intermountain Medical Centre, said: “This was a unique study because the association between Vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease has not been well-established.”

Muhlestein went on to say the previous studies have demonstrated links between vitamin D deficiency and risk factors related to heart disease like blood pressure, glucose control, and inflammation.

This latest research is distinct from these studies because it tackles the link between vitamin D and heart disease directly. And although the study is only observational, Muhlestein said it is based on a population pool in Utah that is well suited to the task in hand.

“For example, because of Utah’s low use of tobacco and alcohol, we were able to narrow the focus of the study to the effects of Vitamin D on the cardiovascular system,” said Muhlestein.

In any case, he said the conclusions create an impetus for further study.

“We believe the findings are important enough to now justify randomized treatment trials of supplementation in patients with Vitamin D deficiency to determine for sure whether it can reduce the risk of heart disease,” added the researcher.

Studies: Millions of U.S. kids lacking Vitamin D

Low levels may be putting a generation at risk for heart disease, diabetes

By Rob Stein – Washington Post

Updated 1:49 a.m. PT, Mon., Aug 3, 2009

WASHINGTON – Millions of U.S. children have disturbingly low Vitamin D levels, possibly increasing their risk for bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, according to two new studies that provide the first national assessment of the crucial nutrient in young Americans.

About 9 percent of those ages 1 through 21 — about 7.6 million children, adolescents and young adults — have Vitamin D levels so low they could be considered deficient, while an additional 61 percent — 50.8 million — have higher levels, but still low enough to be insufficient, according to the analysis of federal data being released Monday.

“It’s astounding,” said Michal L. Melamed of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who helped conduct one of the studies published online by the journal Pediatrics. “At first, we couldn’t believe the numbers. I think it’s very worrisome.”

Low Vitamin D levels are especially common among girls, adolescents and people with darker skin, according to the analysis of a nationally representative sample of more than 6,000 children. For example, 59 percent of African American teenage girls were Vitamin D deficient, Melamed’s study found.

The researchers and others blamed the low levels on a combination of factors, including children spending more time watching television and playing video games instead of going outside, covering up and using sunscreen when they do go outdoors, and drinking more soda and other beverages instead of consuming milk and other foods fortified with Vitamin D.

“This appears to be another result of our unhealthy lifestyles, including a sedentary society that doesn’t go out in the sun much,” Melamed said.

The analysis and an accompanying federal study also found an association between low Vitamin D levels and increased risk for high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and a condition that increases the risk for heart disease and diabetes, known as the metabolic syndrome.

‘Very frightening’

Taken together, the studies provide new evidence that low Vitamin D levels may be putting a generation of children at increased risk for heart disease and diabetes, two of the nation’s biggest health problems that are also increased by the childhood obesity epidemic.

“These are very important studies,” said Richard S. Rivlin, a past president of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition who was not involved in the research. “They show the number of people who have high rates of Vitamin D deficiency is really very frightening.”

Other researchers urged caution.

“The bottom line is that these numbers are interesting,” said Frank R. Greer of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who served on a panel that recently doubled the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for daily Vitamin D intake.  “But I’m not ready to make a great hue and cry until we have more data.  I think we should use them for further research to determine their significance.”

The findings come as the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine is reviewing the federal government’s official guidelines for recommended daily intake of Vitamin D.  A public hearing is scheduled as part of that process at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington on Tuesday.

Bowlegs

The most well-known health problem associated with Vitamin D deficiency is rickets, which can cause bowlegs and other bone malformations. Milk was fortified with Vitamin D in the 1930s to eliminate the disorder.  But during the 1990s, doctors in several cities reported unusual numbers of cases, primarily in babies being breast-fed and mostly among African American children.  A number of studies began to indicate that deficiencies might be common among adults — small studies found the same among children — and that deficiencies may be associated with a host of health problems.  But the new studies are the first to examine the issue nationwide in young people.

Those who had low Vitamin D levels were more likely to have lower levels of a hormone associated with healthy bones, higher blood pressure levels and lower levels of “good” cholesterol, which helps protect against heart disease, Melamed and her colleagues found.

In the second study, Jared P. Reis of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute analyzed data from about 3,500 adolescents from surveys conducted between 2001 and 2004, and found that compared with those with higher Vitamin D levels, those with the lowest levels had more than double the risk of having high blood pressure and blood sugar and about four times the risk for the metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that increases the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Some longtime proponents of the health benefits of Vitamin D seized on the findings to urge parents to ask doctors to test their children’s Vitamin D levels, consider increasing supplementation or make sure children spend more time outdoors to boost their levels.

“The sun has been demonized for years and as a result, people have avoided any direct exposure to sunlight,” said Michael F. Holick of the Boston University School of Medicine. “I think that’s the wrong message.”

But others said they worried that encouraging children to spend more time in the sun could lead to more skin cancer, which is already the leading type of cancer.

Power D3™

CAOH® Power D3™ soft-gels supply 1000 IU of vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol). This important vitamin is in a highly-absorbable liquid soft-gel form. Vitamin D is normally obtained from the diet or produced by the skin from the ultraviolet energy of the sun.  However, it is not readily abundant in food. As more people avoid sun exposure, Vitamin D supplementation becomes even more necessary to ensure your body receives an adequate supply.

Power Vitamin D3™ Liquid Advanced Formula

• A Dietary Supplement for Structural Support
• Helps Maintain Strong Bones
• 400 IU per 4 drops

Each drop contains 100 IU of Vitamin D: 4 drops provide 400 IU, 20 drops provide 2,000 IU.  A full dropperful provides approximately 50 drops, or 5,000 IU. 

CAOH® Power Vitamin D3™ Liquid Advanced Formula supplies 400 IU of vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) per dose. This important vitamin is in a highly-absorbable liquid form. Vitamin D is normally obtained from the diet or produced by the skin from the ultraviolet energy of the sun. However, it is not readily abundant in food. As more people avoid sun exposure, Vitamin D supplementation becomes even more necessary to ensure an adequate supply.

Question: I recently had a gout in my foot.  What supplement should I take to overcome this.  I had been taking Liquid Power for years and occasionally Ultra Supreme Green.  What can I take for Vitamin D supplement ?

Douglas,

Answer: Gout is WAY easier to prevent than treat. Start back-up on the greens and LP, (add 1-2 Natural Calm per day. Too much magnesium can cause loose stool. If it happens drop it down to just 1 per day), avoid red meat, alcohol and saturated fat (cheese and butter). Drink lots of water.

Vitamin D comes in many forms. I like drops (Biotics – Vitamin D Forte) 3 drops a day is a good dose.  (After this post we added Vitamin D. Check it out here).

Let me know how you do.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc

Response Back: Thank you very much for this information!  It’s interesting that I’ve had a bad cold, gout, and some discomforts while I was not taking Liquid Power and Supreme Green products during the time.  I ordered some more recently.

Thank you,

Douglas Grady

Men with low blood serum levels of Vitamin D (cholecalciferol) fare worse on tests requiring rapid thinking

May 21, 2009 – Men 60 and older may think faster if they have adequate blood levels of vitamin D, according to a new European study.

The study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, included more than 3,100 men 40 and older in eight European cities: Florence, Italy; Leuven, Belgium, Lodz, Poland; Malmo, Sweden; Manchester, England.; Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Szeged, Hungary, and Tartu, Estonia.

The men, who were about 60 years old, on average, provided blood samples so the researchers could check their vitamin D levels. Their average vitamin D level was in the adequate range.

The men also took three tests of their visual memory, visual scanning, and speed at processing visual information.

Men in their 60s and 70s with low levels of vitamin D were the most likely participants to have low scores on the visual scanning and processing test.