Vitamin D decreases the risk of dying from all causes by 48%* and the risk of contracting heart disease by 40%**

For decades vitamin D was considered to be a second-class vitamin whose sole function was to ensure calcium and phosphorus homeostasis in the body (calcium absorption, prevention of rachitis and prevention of osteoporosis). Vitamin D intake at a level above 800IU per day was considered to be "toxic", despite the fact that humans produce 10,000IU of the vitamin after just one hour of full body exposure to the sun in the summer. The problem was compounded by advice to never expose your body to the sun without wearing the highest SPF sun protection and/or clothing. The end result was an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency that increased mortality rates from all types of cancer, heart disease and all other causes in general and contributed to untold misery by contributing to auto-immune diseases, depression and several other conditions. Below you may find a summary of two revolutionary studies that show the deleterious effects of vitamin D deficiency, published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association this month (June 2008).

* Independent association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality - RESEARCH UPDATE

Just a couple of days ago, a vitamin D study was published, that investigated how death rates correlate with vitamin D deficiency. The study was performed at the Medical University of Graz, in Austria and was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a specialised American Medical Association journal.

The researchers started by stating the association of low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and disease and they continued by stating their aim to investigate the relationship of low vitamin D levels with all cause mortality - not just cardiovascular mortality.

The study followed the progress of 3,258 male and female patients, with an average age of 62 years and typical age variation of 52~72 years, in relation to vitamin D levels and heart disease mortality. After an average follow up of 7.7 years, they found that patients with extremely low levels of vitamin D (~7.6-13.3 ng/ml) were 208% as likely to die from all causes and 222% as likely to die due to heart disease compared to patients with an (still low) level of 28.4ng/ml.

These findings are very impressive, especially if we take into account the fact that in most studies scientists are happy to discover an association of a specific factor influencing a specific disease by something like 10% or 20% - in this study the association is above 200%! The researchers state that these correlations were independent of coronary artery disease, physical activity levels and variables of mineral metabolism. They conclude, however, that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were correlated to inflammatory markers such as C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Interleukin-6 (IL6) levels, oxidative stress, smooth muscle cell proliferation, vascular calcification, and blood pressure. This makes sense, as it is well known now that vitamin D regulates the immune system and controls inflammation and therefore vitamin D deficiency would lead to inflammation markers, and therefore heart disease - a primarily inflammatory condition.

** 25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men: a prospective study - RESEARCH UPDATE

On the 9th of June 2008 the following study was published at the Archives of Internal Medicine, part of JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). The study was performed by the Department of Nutrition of the Harvard School of Public Health.

The abstract of the study starts by mentioning that "Vitamin D deficiency may be involved in the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease in humans" and goes on to explain the investigation of this hypothesis.

The study followed 18,225 men, aged 40 to 75 years, free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease had their blood plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations assessed between April 1, 1993, and November 30, 1995. After adjusting for several variables that may contribute to heart disease, such as age and smoking status, the researches found that men deficient in vitamin D (blood plasma levels lower than 15ng/ml) were 242% as likely to develop myocardial infarction (heart disease) in comparison to men with sufficient levels of vitamin D (30ng/ml). Even after additional adjustment for family history of myocardial infarction, body mass index, alcohol consumption, physical activity, history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, ethnicity, region, fish oil omega-3 intake, HDL ("good" cholesterol), LDL ("bad" cholesterol), and triglyceride levels, this relationship remained significant, with deficient men being 209% as likely as non-deficient men to suffer from heart disease. In fact, even men with intermediate 25(OH)D levels (~23 to 30ng/ml) were at elevated risk relative to those with sufficient 25(OH)D levels, specifically having a 160% greater risk.

The researchers concluded the presentation of their study with the following phrase: "Low levels of 25(OH)D are associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction in a graded manner, even after controlling for factors known to be associated with coronary artery disease."

Vitamin D blood tests and responsible, evidence-based vitamin D3 supplementation

Although most people today are deficient in vitamin D, a vitamin D test is the responsible and effective way of initiating a vitamin D3 supplementation course. This is for two reasons: if your blood vitamin D levels are too low and supplement yourself with the usual low or medium dosages of vitamin D3, you might never manage to reach healthy levels of vitamin D in your blood, especially of you do not sunbathe often or avoid sunbeds. On the other hand, if you take high, therapeutic amounts of vitamin D3 that are effective in raising relatively quickly your blood levels of this vitamin, you may take too much / prolong the supplementation for too long and overdo it.

The best course of action is to find a health practitioner with considerable experience and knowledge regarding vitamin D supplementation. Your practitioner will arrange a blood test for you, and consequently responsibly suggest the ideal regime for you that will quickly and safely raise your vitamin D levels. Your therapist should also be able advise you on the optimal levels of vitamin K2, calcium and magnesium levels, all important co-factors of vitamin D. Consultations should take into account your overall body health and complete medical history, and aim to naturally restore your health and complement the treatment you receive from your doctor, by treating the whole body - not just individual symptoms or diseases.

It is important to know that maintaining optimal levels of vitamin K2, calcium and magnesium is essential during vitamin D supplementation to ensure safety and efficacy. In summary, vitamin K2 will ensure that the added calcium absorbed due to the Vitamin D will go straight into your bones and not your arteries. Calcium intake should be generally reduced whilst on high doses of Vitamin D. And magnesium intake should be increased to make sure that the ration of calcium to magnesium remains constant. Vitamin K1 is irrelevant in this context and will not provide any benefits. Finally, it is important to point out that the only natural form of vitamin D is D3 or cholecalciferol. Vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, is an artificial form of Vitamin D whihc is not as effective.