I have written before about the dosage of vitamin D that I should be taking, and the toxicity of vitamin D, but here is a new study from the University of Kentucky that indicates that levels of vitamin D that are too low may be associated with brain damage.

The researchers studied animals, so it remains to be seen whether the same effects would be seen in humans. However, I do know that I feel better when I have been able to spend at least some time in the sunshine, so maybe there is a bit of truth here?

Read the rest of this entry

This post started off with doing some research on PubMed on what studies have actually been conducted into what supplements I might need. The result was total confusion. Some studies say that vitamins may prevent this or that, while other studies say that the same vitamins cause this or that. So, I ended up totally confused. I trained as a pharmacist, and have learned a bit about the macro- and micronutritional needs of my body over the years, so I can only imagine how confused everyone else must be.

A few years ago now I started taking vitamins produced by a company called USANA. I like these because they are produced in a FDA-certified facility, and are backed by a lot of research. I also like them because they have kept me healthy even though I have had a lot of stress in my life. The range of products they have is impressive, but a little while ago they introduced a True Health Assessment that allowed me to assess just what products I needed. Whether I take them or not is up to me, but at least I have a good starting point. The really good thing about the True Health Assessment is that it is free. The products are not, and I do have to say that if you decide to order products after your assessment, I will receive a commission (thank you!). Read the rest of this entry

A member of my wife’s family was diagnosed with colon cancer a while ago. We have been looking at the value of various supplements in support of the treatment she is reading. Several studies have linked low vitamin D levels to reduced risk of many diseases, including colon cancer.

My training as a pharmacist warned me that vitamin D can be dangerous if taken at very high levels. What levels are dangerous? I found a study that was published in the journal Anticancer Research in February of this year. The researchers believe that intake of up to 40,000 international units/day are not likely to result in signs of significant toxicity (poisoning). This is a huge dose, and closer reading of the abstract shows that the dose required to get the serum 25(OH)D level above 40 ng/mL was almost 10,000 international units/day.

The full article was available at no charge. So I took a look at it. The authors enrolled more than 3600 patients and measured their 25(OH)D levels. They found that most people were taking less than 500 international unit each day. The authors noted that this is the first analysis of a relation between vitamin D levels and vitamin D supplements measured in a community of patients. The patients were not taking a single brand of vitamin D, so it is not possible to say which brand anyone should take. The study raises a lots of questions, but they made it clear that what was thought to be a high dose a few years ago may actually be what most people need.

Of course, an individual should not be taking the second day without consulting with a physician. There are just too many things that should be considered to be able to suggest a dose that will work for everyone. Some of the things include where you live, how much time you spend in the sunshine, and any dietary sources of vitamin D. Other research has suggested that some diseases may be associated with low levels of vitamin D, but whether the disease or the low vitamin D levels come first is not known.

I was asked this question the other evening, so I had to do some research. The questioner was interested in a possible use for cancer. Obviously, we cannot say that anything will cure cancer. However, asking if a product will help is a good question. This post is the result of my initial research.

The Mayo Clinic says that flaxseed contains some things that your body needs. These things include fiber (you know that is good for you, right?), omega-3 fatty acids (also helpful), and some chemicals called lignans.

So what exactly are lignans? My training as a pharmacist tells me that they have a very complex chemical structure, which I am not going to repeat here. Lignans are found in many plant products, although the greatest amounts are found in flaxseed and sesame seeds. The active ingredient is called secoisolariciresinal diglucoside, which usually gets shortened to SDG. SDG is broken down in the body, where it reacts with special structures called estrogen receptors (they come to life when the hormone estrogen becomes attached to them). This SDG is what has been investigated for possible anticancer effects in a number of clinical and animal studies.

Some types of cancer may respond to increased eating of flax seeds, but much of the research that shows up on PubMed (an index of articles that discuss treatments for diseases) is in mice or rats. Whether the findings in humans will match those in animals remains to be seen. The particular types of cancer that have been investigated include breast, colon, prostate, and skin. It appears that taking flax seed or that SDG that we talked about above, may be best in the very early stages of cancer, but again don’t stop taking the medicine that your doctor prescribes if you have been diagnosed with any of these diseases.

A recent study, published by Dr. Hijova and colleagues, from Safarikiensis University in Slovakia, was particularly interesting, so I took a look at the full article. These researchers gave rats a high-fat diet and then gave them a prebiotic alone or in combination with horse chestnut extract or flaxseed oil. Another group of animals got the prebiotic and both horse chestnut extract and flaxseed oil. What they found was that in the animals that got the treatments there was a reduction in concentrations of an enzyme that they say has been found to be increased in patients with colon cancer. There were also reductions in total cholesterol, triacylglycerols, and bile acids compared with animals that got only the prebiotic.

The design of this study doesn’t allow us to draw any conclusions about whether the same thing will happen in humans. The authors make a very valid point in their conclusion, however. That is that diet may be very important in prevention of disease, and the role of nutritional supplements, like flaxseed oil and horse chestnut extract, needs to be studied in the future.

Looking at the research that has been conducted that flaxseed or the oil that comes from the seeds may be helpful in improving the chances of medications working in a number of different areas. It appears that flaxseed may be good for you, with little risk of side effects. Of course, check with your doctor before taking flaxseed for any ‘medicinal’ purposes.

Vitamin D is found everywhere in the body. It is essential for many body functions. It has been shown to be important in helping to

• Avoid complications of pregnancy
• Avoid Parkinson’s disease
• Maintain cognition (this may help reduce the effects of Alzheimer’s disease)
• Prevent cancer of several types
• Prevent type 1 diabetes, especially in babies
• Increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke
• Increase the body’s ability to fight Clostridium difficile infections (that is a nasty infection that is resistant to many antibiotics. Help avoid it by making sure you wash your hands frequently when visiting someone in hospital)
• Increase your response to exercise
• Increase the chances of migraine (possibly)
• Increased risk of fibromyalgia (a painful condition that has sometimes been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome)

There are probably many other health problems possibly associated with not enough vitamin D in the body. Autism has been suggested by some experts as being related to lack of vitamin D, but there needs to be a lot more research done to confirm the link – it might be that the lack of vitamin D is actually the result of something else.

The problem with all of these possible ill effects of not enough vitamin D is that it takes a long time to show the effects of supplementation with vitamin D on the health problem. There is also disagreement over the type of vitamin that should be used for supplementation.

So, how much vitamin D do I need?

Unfortunately, that is not possible to answer in a post – it all depends. How much vitamin D do you actually have in your body? How much sun to you allow to reach your skin (without sun blocker or clothes)? How dark is your skin? How far north (or south) of the equator do you live (the higher the latitude, the less effective sun exposure is in increasing vitamin D levels). How old are you (older people make less vitamin D)? How much vitamin D do you get in your food?

The answer to the last question is actually easy – not much. The only way to know how much vitamin D you need is to have a health care provider request a lab test for you. Once you know the levels, then you can plan for getting more vitamin D. The majority of people in the higher latitudes do not have enough vitamin D, so I can be fairly certain that you will need more.

Options for increasing vitamin D levels

Really, there are only two ways to increase vitamin D levels:

• More sun exposure
• Supplementation

The sun exposure can be difficult – you need about 15-20 minutes of full sun exposure every day during. As I write this post there has been no sun all day! In doing this, you have to be careful to avoid burning your skin. You may need to increase the time if you are dark skinned, and as you get older. See how difficult it is? The amount of vitamin D you can get from food is limited. Maybe a bit from calcium and vitamin D that is added to some orange juice or milk, but that is not a reliable amount.

Supplementation is easier, but you need to work with your health care provider to determine the dose. You don’t need to use a prescription form of vitamin D. What you can buy at the health food store is usually enough. Just make sure you buy a good brand, and have your vitamin D levels checked. Probably at the beginning and end of winter.

Blood levels of vitamin D

Blood levels should ideally be kept above 15 ng/ml (37.5 nmol/L), but less than 200 ng/ml (500 nmol/L) according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. My physician recommends keeping my levels closer to the lower level to avoid side effects. I take 1000 units per day, but some people may need 10,000 units/day, at least for a short time. It is important to work with your health care provider to determine YOUR correct level of supplements.