Health: Vitamin D

from Life Extension website

Vitamin D essential for whole body health

The August, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published an update by international vitamin D expert Anthony Norman of the University of California, Riverside, which concluded that the vitamin is necessary for the health of 36 of the body's organs.

Dr Norman includes bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and the uterus as organs for which vitamin D has been found to be essential. He notes that vitamin D, while well recognized as playing a role in bone health, has the potential to contribute in five areas in which researchers have documented new actions for the vitamin through its receptor: the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and regulation of insulin by the pancreas, heart and blood pressure regulation, muscle strength, and brain activity. Additionally, having adequate vitamin D levels appears to reduce the risk of some cancers. "It is becoming increasingly clear to researchers in the field that vitamin D is strongly linked to several diseases," stated Dr Norman. "Its biological sphere of influence is much broader than we originally thought. The nutritional guidelines for vitamin D intake must be carefully reevaluated to determine the adequate intake, balancing sunlight exposure with dietary intake, to achieve good health by involving all 36 target organs."

Dr Norman recommends that all adults acquire 2000 international units (IU) per day: an amount that is higher than the recommended daily intake. "Ideally, to achieve the widest frequency of good health by population, we need to have 90 percent of the people with adequate amounts of vitamin D,” he stated. "There needs to be a sea change by various governmental agencies in terms of the advice they present to citizens about how much vitamin D should be taken.."

—D Dye