Study shows more benefits of sunshine vitamin

LONDON (Reuters) - People with a vitamin D deficiency are as much as twice as likely to die compared to people whose blood contains higher amounts of the so-called sunshine vitamin, Austrian researchers said on Monday.

Their study -- the latest to suggest a health benefit from the vitamin -- showed death rates from any cause as well as from heart-related problems varied greatly depending on vitamin D.

"This is the first association study that shows vitamin D affects mortality regardless of the reason for death," said Harald Dobnig, an internist and endocrinologist at the University of Graz in Austria who led the study.

The body makes vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight, a reason for its nickname as the "sunshine vitamin." It is added to milk and fatty fish like salmon but many people do not get enough of it.

Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and is considered important for bone health. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, and it can lead to rickets in children.

A number of recent studies have also indicated vitamin D may offer a variety of other health benefits, including protecting against cancer, peripheral artery disease and tuberculosis.

Last week, U.S. researchers said vitamin D may extend the lives of people with colon and rectal cancer.

Dobnig and colleagues, who reported their findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine, studied more than 3,200 people with an average age of 62 who were scheduled for a heart exam between 1997 and 2000.

During an eight-year follow-up the researchers found that the quarter of volunteers with the lowest levels of vitamin D in their blood were at greater risk of dying.

Even when accounting for factors such as heart disease, exercise and other conditions, the researchers found that the risk was double for people with between 5 to 10 nanograms per millilitre of vitamin D in their blood, Dobnig said.

Most doctors believe people should have between 20 to 30 nanograms per millilitre of the vitamin in their blood, he added in a telephone interview.

What causes this effect is not clear, but Dobnig pointed to a host of studies suggesting links to high blood pressure, cancer and fractures as places to begin looking.

The potential health risk of low levels of vitamin D should also prod physicians to be more aware of the potential problem, especially for the immobile, elderly and others who spend a great amount of time indoors, he added.

Many doctors agree that people with low levels of vitamin D cannot make up for it safely by sitting in the sun, but should take supplements.

"These results should prompt us to perform vitamin D measurements on a more frequent basis especially in populations at risk," Dobnig said.

(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Maggie Fox)

Vitamin D Deficit May Boost Men's Heart Attack Risk

Men who have low levels of vitamin D, which comes from sunshine and fortified milk, may be at risk for having a heart attack, researchers said.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the industrialized world, and kills 869,000 people in the U.S. each year, according to the American Heart Association. Deaths from heart disease rise in the winter, at higher latitudes and lower latitudes, where exposure to sun declines, the researchers said.

They tracked the health history of 18,225 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, comparing those who had a heart attack or died from heart disease with healthy participants. Men with a vitamin D deficiency at the start of the study were more than twice as likely to have a heart attack as those in the normal range, even after other reasons such as family history, weight, diabetes and cholesterol levels were considered.

``The risk of dying of a heart attack was even higher,'' said Edward Giovannucci, the lead researcher and professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, in a telephone interview. ``Particularly for people who live in the northern-most states and in the winter months, when we don't get a lot of exposure to sunlight, 1,000 to 1,500 units a day of Vitamin D may be warranted.''

The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute, appears in today's Archives of Internal Medicine. Previous studies found women who don't get enough sunlight may be at greater risk from aggressive breast cancer.

Sunny Days

Sunshine is the greatest source of vitamin D, produced when ultraviolet light strikes the skin. Studies have shown vitamin D, which occurs naturally in few foods, may make several types of cancer less lethal and protect against breast cancer, the most common malignancy in women.

On a sunny day in the summer, just 10 minutes outside in shorts and a T-shirt will generate enough vitamin D to reach the higher levels found protective in the study, Giovannucci said. Light-skinned people, the group with the highest risk of skin cancer, are the most efficient at producing vitamin D and need the least time in the sun, he said. Darker-skinned people need two to three times longer, he said.

``The people most concerned about skin cancer should definitely not be baking in the sun, but for about 10 minutes at midday, you can make a lot of vitamin D quickly,'' he said. ``You don't need to get a sunburn to make vitamin D.''

Sunscreen

Sunscreen partially blocks vitamin D production, particularly when lotions with higher sun protection factor, or SPF, levels are used. Some vitamin D is produced even when sunscreen is applied thoroughly, something most people don't do, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.

In the winter, spending an entire day outside might not yield much vitamin D, Giovannucci said. And it may take 10 to 15 glasses of milk to raise men from the lowest levels to the highest, he said. It is during those winter months that supplements may be helpful, he said.

The reason for the protective effect of vitamin D isn't clear, though there are several hypotheses, he said.

Vitamin D can help lower blood pressure and reduce calcium deposits in the arteries, the fatty plaque that can rupture to cause clots and heart attacks, he said. It may also help reduce the risk of respiratory ailments that can be tied to heart attacks or help the heart muscle function better, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in Minneapolis at mcortez@bloomberg.net

Fighting Breast Cancer? Take Your Vitamin D

Researchers have found that breast cancer patients who don't have enough vitamin D in their bodies are much more likely to have their cancer spread and to die from the disease.

For millions of women, the finding in a new study raises the possibility that a basic nutrient like vitamin D, a vitamin pill that costs just pennies a day, might have a profound impact on their breast cancer.

Click here to watch the video.

Dr. Anne McTiernan at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said, "This study is significant because it tells us this may be one thing women can do to improve their prognosis."

Researchers, following more than 500 women with breast cancer, found that women deficient in vitamin D were 94 percent more likely to have their cancer spread and 73 percent more likely to die from their cancer.

JoEllen Welsh, a professor at the State University of New York at Albany, said, "Vitamin D is pretty unique in its action in that it does enter the cancer cells and induces them to undergo a cell death process."

Welsh should know. She studies vitamin D in her laboratory. Under a microscope, she showed ABC News a cluster of human breast cancer cells that shriveled up and died when she added vitamin D.

"The effects of vitamin D on breast cancer cells are very similar to the established drug Tamoxifen that many women take for breast cancer."

Vitamin D, essential for strong bones, has also been linked in several studies with cancer prevention. And not only breast cancer but colon and prostate cancers as well.

The problem, said cancer researchers, is that many women and men are not getting enough vitamin D. In this latest study, 76 percent of the breast cancer patients had low levels of the nutrient.

A simple blood test can determine whether someone is vitamin D deficient and by how much.

McTiernan, a researcher in breast cancer prevention, exercises daily, eats nutritiously and recently discovered that she too had dangerously low levels of the nutrient.

"I was very surprised at how low my vitamin D levels were. I thought I was doing everything right." she said.

Now with daily vitamin D supplements, she just might be.

For more information on vitamin D, check out the fact sheet provided by the National Institues of Health here.

Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

Are babies hurt by lack of vitamin D?

Vitamin D deficiency is quite common in babies, and breast-fed infants appear to be at greater risk than bottle-fed ones, according to a new study.

Researchers found "suboptimal" levels of the bone-building vitamin in 40 percent of 380 otherwise healthy infants and toddlers tested at Children's Hospital Boston, with 12 percent considered to be clinically deficient. Breast-fed infants were up to 10 times more likely to be deficient in vitamin D than their bottle-fed counterparts, according to the study in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

In addition to helping build strong bones, vitamin D - which the body synthesizes from sunlight - may play a key role in reducing the risk of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and some cancers. The fat-soluble vitamin is generally present in foods only in small quantities, so in the United States, it's added to milk, multivitamins, and some cereals and juices.

Rates of vitamin D deficiencies are on the rise in both children and adults, research shows, as we slather on sunscreen and spend more time indoors.

But the new study's findings go straight to the heart of an ongoing debate in medicine - how much vitamin D do we really need, and what's the best way to get it?

In a cautionary editorial accompanying the study, University of Washington pediatrics professor Dr. James A. Taylor noted a lack of consensus among medical experts about what constitutes the best level of vitamin D for health. There is little research showing any long-term effects from early vitamin D deficiency in children, Taylor said, although he acknowledged that such research would be difficult to conduct.

"It seems like we're medicalizing people that we don't need to medicalize," Taylor said. "The question is whether these children have any long-term health risks, and I don't think we know that."

The new study involved a largely African-American and Latino group of children, aged 8 to 24 months, who visited a clinic at Children's Hospital between 2005 and 2007.

Dark-skinned children and adults are at particular risk of deficiency, because the extra pigmentation in their skin interferes with the body's ability to produce the vitamin. Vitamin D levels also have been shown to decline in winter months.

Only 20 of the children were exclusively breast-fed, and of those, only six received a vitamin D supplement. The researchers performed X-rays on the children whose blood tests showed a vitamin D deficiency and found that nearly a third showed evidence of the weakening that can lead to rickets, a softening of the bones that can trigger fractures and deformities. One child even showed physical signs of the disease. The vitamin D-deficient children were offered enrollment in a treatment trial.

One of the study's most surprising conclusions is that the primary risk factor for vitamin D deficiency was breastfeeding without supplementation, rather than children's skin color or the time of year, said lead author Dr. Catherine Gordon, director of the Bone Health Program at Children's Hospital.

"A tenfold increase in risk is huge. It's a startling difference" Gordon said, although she acknowledged that the actual number of exclusively breast-fed children was small.

Mothers who breastfeed are often vitamin D-deficient, so the American Academy of Pediatrics since 2003 has recommended supplementing the diets of exclusively breast-fed babies with 200 units a day of vitamin D, particularly if they live in northern climes. Baby formula typically is fortified with vitamin D.

The finding could rile breastfeeding advocates, who fear that recommending supplementation of any kind might scare some women away from the practice, which studies show has other health benefits. Gordon was careful to note that she wholeheartedly supports breastfeeding but recommends vitamin D supplementation.

Noted vitamin D expert Dr. Michael Holick of the Boston University School of Medicine, who praised the study, believes that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for supplementing breast-fed infants is inadequate and that all children require vitamin D supplements and moderate sun exposure for optimal health.

"Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common medical conditions nationwide," said Holick, who has come under criticism for accepting funding from the tanning industry.

Dermatologists caution that sun exposure can increase the risk of skin cancer.

Source: Boston.com

The Joint Canadian Tanning Association Lauches TanAwareness.com

From the website: "This is our association’s first annual campaign designed to increase awareness of responsible sun exposure and vitamin D production. It is our goal to educate the public in how to achieve a balance between sunburn avoidance and vitamin D production.

Each year we will encourage Canadians to have their vitamin D levels checked to ensure they are maintaining healthy levels. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends taking 1000 international units per day. A typical indoor tanning session in a tanning bed emitting UVB will produce up to 10,000 IUs.

Our Vision

Sun exposure, like air, water, and food, is natural and necessary to human life. The JCTA’s vision is that all Canadians learn to correctly embrace ultraviolet and sunshine as part of a healthy lifestyle – one which acknowledges that moderate ultraviolet light exposure, when experienced in a non-burning fashion, is the smartest way to maximize the potential benefits of UV light while minimizing the manageable potential risks associated with either too much or too little sunlight." Click here to visit.

Vitamin D may benefit breast cancer patients

Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient, a study found — adding to evidence the "sunshine vitamin'' has anti-cancer benefits.

The results are sure to renew arguments about whether a little more sunshine is a good thing.

The skin makes vitamin D from ultraviolet light. Too much sunlight can raise the risk of skin cancer, but small amounts — 15 minutes or so a few times a week without sunscreen — may be beneficial, many doctors believe.

While the vitamin is found in certain foods and supplements, most don't contain the best form, D-3, and have only a modest on blood levels of the nutrient. That's what matters, the Canadian study found.

Only 24 percent of women in the study had sufficient blood levels of D at the time they were first diagnosed with breast cancer. Those who were deficient were nearly twice as likely to have their cancer recur or spread over the next 10 years, and 73 percent more likely to die of the disease.

"These are pretty big differences,'' said study leader Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. "It's the first time that vitamin D has been linked to breast cancer progression.''

Hesitation from experts
But people shouldn't start downing supplements, she warned. Experts don't agree on how much vitamin D people need or the best way to get it, and too much can be harmful. They also don't know whether getting more vitamin D can help when someone already has cancer.

"We have no idea whether correcting a vitamin D deficiency will in any way alter these outcomes,'' said Dr. Julie Gralow, a cancer specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The study was released Thursday by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and will be presented at the group's annual meeting later this month.

Lots of earlier research suggests vitamin D may help prevent prostate, breast and especially colon cancer. In lab and animal tests, vitamin D stifles abnormal cell growth, curbs formation of blood vessels that feed tumors and has many other anti-cancer effects.

Other evidence: People who live in northern regions of the world have higher cancer rates than those living closer to the equator, possibly because of less sunshine and vitamin D.

The Canadian researchers wanted to see whether it made a difference in survival. They took blood from 512 women at three University of Toronto hospitals between 1989 and 1995, when the women were first diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

A decade later, 83 percent of those who had had adequate vitamin D blood levels were alive without extensive spread of their cancer, versus 79 percent of those whose vitamin D levels were insufficient and 69 percent of those who were deficient, as defined by widely used medical standards for measuring intake.

Too much of a good thing?
One red flag: The few women with the very highest levels of vitamin D seemed to have worse survival.

Though the study was too small and those results were not conclusive, "there may be an optimal level of vitamin D in women with breast cancer and it may be possible to take too much,'' Goodwin said.

The federal government says up to 2,000 international units of vitamin D a day seems OK. Taking 800 units per day will, on average, raise blood levels to the middle of the range that seems best for bone and general health, Goodwin said.

Vitamin D is in salmon and other oily fish, and milk is routinely fortified with it, but dietary sources account for little of the amount of D circulating in the blood, experts say.

"It's very hard to make a recommendation'' because how much difference a supplement makes depends on someone's baseline level, which also can be affected by sunlight, skin type and time of year, she explained.

Doctors do suggest breast cancer patients get their vitamin D levels checked to see whether they are deficient. The simple blood test is available in many hospitals and labs for about $25, Goodwin said.

Dr. Nancy Davidson, a Johns Hopkins University cancer specialist who is president of the oncology society, said those tests are growing in popularity, even in ordinary medical care.

Source: msnbc

Vitamin D Guards Against Artery Disease

Vitamin D may protect against peripheral artery disease (PAD), a disease in which fatty deposits restrict blood flow to your limbs. PAD most often reduces blood flow to your legs, causing pain and numbness. It can impair your ability to walk and in some cases lead to amputation.

Scientists found that people with low levels of vitamin D in their blood experience an increased risk for the condition.

The researchers based the findings on a U.S. government health survey involving almost 5,000 adults who underwent PAD assessment and had their blood vitamin D levels measured. The 25 percent of people with the lowest vitamin D levels were 80 percent more likely to have PAD than those in the highest 25 percent.

Sources:

• Reuters April 16, 2008

• Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology April 16, 2008