This is such an important topic, I’m going to be posting much more about it over the next month. Numerous research papers show that people with low vitamin D levels, or the inability to properly use Vit D due to a genetic defect (receptor polymorphism) are susceptable to a number of autoimmune and chronic health conditions. Some of the condtiions linked to low vitamin D levels follow1,3:
- osteomalacia
- increase fracture risk in osteoporosis
- induce cardiovascular diseases
- diabetes type 1 and 2
- multiple sclerosis
- Lesniowski-Crohn disease
- cancer, including colon
- breast and prostate cancer
- systemic lupus erythematosus
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
Bottom line is to make sure you are getting enough vitamin D. Below is a chart with the recommended levels of vitamin D from Alternative Medicine Review, March, 2008 by John J. Cannell, Bruce W. Holli.
- Marcinowska-Suchowierska E, Walicka M, Tałałaj M, Horst-Sikorska W, Ignaszak-Szczepaniak M, Sewerynek E. Vitamin D supplementation in adults – guidelines. Endokrynol Pol. 2010 Nov-Dec;61(6):723-9.
- Amital H, Szekanecz Z, Szücs G, Dankó K, Nagy E, Csépány T, Kiss E, Rovensky J, Tuchynova A, Kozakova D, Doria A, Corocher N, Agmon-Levin N, Barak V, Orbach H,Zandman-Goddard G, Shoenfeld Y. Serum concentrations of 25-OH vitamin D in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are inversely related to disease activity: is it time to routinely supplement patients with SLE with vitamin D? Ann Rheum Dis. 2010 Jun;69(6):1155-7. Epub 2010 May 3.
- Lee YH, Bae SC, Choi SJ, Ji JD, Song GG. Associations between vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis. Mol Biol Rep. 2010 Nov 26
