Study reveals that many Americans are not getting enough calcium

ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH CALCIUM? THE SECRET TO BONE HEALTH...

The May, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association published the conclusion of researchers at Yale University and the University of Connecticut that many older Americans have an insufficient intake of calcium. Adequate intake of the mineral has been defined by the Institute of Medicine as 1,000 milligrams per day for adults and 1,200 milligrams per day for those over 50.

Calcium and vitamin D are the cornerstone of osteoporosis prevention, yet they are not the whole story. Other minerals and nutrients that are vital to healthy bones include magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B12, and others, including zinc, manganese, boron, copper, and silicon (Nieves JW 2005; Hirota T et al 2005).

Many studies have shown that calcium can reduce bone loss and suppress bone turnover. Calcium requires the presence of vitamin D for maximum absorption. 

Although calcium is readily available in dairy products and other dietary sources, many Americans are calcium deficient. Here are a few possible explanations for calcium deficiencies: 

• Decreased vitamin D availability, possibly due to kidney or liver problems or insufficient exposure to sunshine
• Decreased gastrointestinal tract absorption due to stomach or intestinal problems
• Increased loss of calcium from the kidneys,colon and bowels
• Low dietary calcium intake
• Medications that inhibit calcium absorption

There are many forms of calcium on the market., calcium malate is an excellent source of bio-available calcium (absorbed by the body) and a good way to receive supplemental calcium. 

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Prevent Colds and Flu! Why Suffer When You Don't Have To?

FACTS:

• Americans get one billion colds a year.
• Americans spend 1.5 billion dollars on doctor visits
• American spend 2 billion dollars on non-prescription cough and cold treatments. 
• The influenza virus hospitalizes more than 200,000 Americans a year 
• 36,000 die each year from the influenza virus
• The flu shot is only 44 percent effective in stopping the flu

Is there any way to decrease your chances of getting a cold or the flu?

According to a study by James R. Sabetta, MD, in the Department of medicine at Yale University, the answer is yes. The study revealed that of those studied, those who had low blood levels of vitamin D had twice as many upper respiratory tract infections. Those who consistently maintained appropriate levels were completely free of these infections.  Most of the study participants that remained healthy were taking a supplement.

Vitamin D is produced most abundantly in the body when the skin is exposed to strong, direct sunlight.  It doesn't take a genius to know that when there's less sun, there's more illness.  It's also easy to connect that when there's less sun, supplements will help fill that gap and keep colds and flus away.

There are many studies that link vitamin D levels to the flu. Yale researchers say that blood levels should be maintained at 38 ng/ml or higher to reduce infection risk. However, according tot he Vitamin D Council, half of all Americans have blood levels below 20 ng/ml.

The Vitamin D Council recommends that you test your blood for vitamin D every 6 months.  Maintain blood levels higher than 38ng/ml in order for vitamin D to be stored in muscles and fat and therefore be the most effective.
 
Keep in mind that studies over the past few years show vitamin D can prevent (and often treat) cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, depression, asthma, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, and many other conditions. In fact, high levels of Vitamin D have been linked to a reduction of death from any cause.

The Vitamin D Council recommends a vitamin D supplement of 5,000 IU a day and says that anyone who takes this amount regularly shouldn't get a cold or flu or should recover much faster. They also recommend taking vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), not vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). Vitamin D3 is the compound your skin makes naturally. And don't worry about an overdose. 

A couple more notes:
Spend 10 minutes each day in the sun during the summer months. Expose as much of your body as possible when the sun is highest in the sky. 

HealthPro Nutrient's Youth D3 is an excellent Vitamin D supplement and in addition to providing protection against infection, is an incredibly efficient anti-aging formula that enhances the skin and combats the effects of aging from the inside out.

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Article sources: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-gottlieb/the-easiest-way-to-preven_b_651576.html 
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/

More Doctors Focus On Vitamin D Deficiencies

A basic medical exam produces some familiar numbers, clues to your overall health -- blood pressure readings, cholesterol counts.

Now a new number is getting marquee treatment: a vitamin D level.

Do you know yours?

In the past year, a test that checks vitamin D levels in the blood has surged in popularity among doctors.

This summer the Institute of Medicine is expected to revise its recommendation for daily vitamin D intake. Experts agree the current guidelines are far too low.

If you have symptoms that include fatigue and muscle aches and pains, don't be surprised if your doctor suggests a vitamin D blood test at your next visit. Because of widespread deficiencies, some won't need any symptoms to suggest it.

Vitamin D is important to bone and muscle health for certain, but vitamin D experts worry that D deficiency is implicated in cancers, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, infections and depression, to name but a few ailments.

Carla Aamodt, an internal medicine doctor with St. Luke's Health System, said about half the patients she was testing were vitamin D deficient, with many more "borderline."

Michael Kennedy, a family physician at the University of Kansas Hospital, said a third to a half of the patients he tested in the past year were deficient.

Cardiologist James O'Keefe said general population statistics were worse. Lack of sun exposure, the natural way the body makes vitamin D, helps explain the deficiencies.

"Upwards of 70 percent of American adults are vitamin D deficient or insufficient," said O'Keefe, director of the preventive cardiology program at St. Luke's Mid-America Heart Institute. "In the last year, awareness of vitamin D deficiency has really exploded."

Doctors want to see a level of at least 30. That's nanograms per milliliter. Some prefer a minimum of 40. Levels in the low to mid-20s aren't unusual, and both Aamodt and Kennedy have had patients with levels under 5 ng/mL.

Billie Howard Barnes of Kansas City knows how that feels. The fourth-grade teacher at Pembroke Hill School had her vitamin D checked two months ago -- doctor-recommended and nothing she had considered before -- and was surprised by the call she got.

"The nurse says: 'I believe this is the lowest level we've ever had. Yours is 5.' "

Barnes is African-American, and people with darker skin, she learned, are at a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency.

"I'm 43, and getting up in the morning, my feet would hit the floor and every joint in my body was sore," she said. "I didn't realize how bad it had gotten. It just kind of crept up on me."

After several weeks of a high prescription dose of a vitamin D supplement, Barnes said she could tell a difference.

"It wasn't an instant thing, but I just feel much better. I'm not as stiff. Colleagues say there's more pep in my step," said Barnes, mother of 10-year-old twins. "And I'll tell you, my children are taking 1,000 IU (international units) a day now."

Of course, the potential wonders of other vitamins have been heralded before, only to be debunked or downplayed later.

But O'Keefe and others point out that D is unlike other vitamins and should be recognized for what it is: a hormone.

"Vitamin D is misnamed," he said.

Although there are food sources of vitamin D, its natural production takes place inside the body after the skin is exposed to sunlight. As a hormone, vitamin D helps regulate gene function throughout the body, so its implication in various body functions and disease processes makes sense. Its strong roles in bone and muscle health and in aiding calcium absorption have long been known.

The process nature intended -- ultraviolet rays on exposed skin equals vitamin D production -- would be the most likely method to remedy deficiencies except for two matters. People aren't out in the sun enough. And if they were, they would increase their risk of skin cancer.

"We're doing such a good job putting on sunscreen and being cautious because of skin cancer that we kind of left vitamin D out of the equation," Kennedy said.

That was then. Responding to an array of vitamin D research in the medical literature, Kennedy said he now regularly informed patients about the possibility of D deficiencies, and he often suggests ordering the blood test.

The test is called "25-hydroxy vitamin D," costs about $100 and may or may not be covered by insurance. O'Keefe said in the past year it had become the most popular "a la carte" blood test doctors were ordering.

If a patient is deficient, levels usually can be increased with vitamin D supplements, typically in pill form. Food sources of vitamin D, such as ocean fish and fortified milk, typically can't be consumed in enough quantities to do the trick.

For borderline and slight deficiencies, doctors often recommend an over-the-counter supplement containing 1,000 IU or more of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), taken daily. Many multivitamins contain 400 IU of vitamin D.

Up to 2,000 IU in a daily vitamin D supplement is considered safe for most people without worry of toxicity. Severe deficiencies may require a prescription.

Some doctors recommend both supplements and short amounts of sun exposure, with the caveat not to burn the skin. O'Keefe said a safe approach for many patients was to take a supplement plus get a maximum 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure. But many doctors aren't comfortable suggesting sun exposure to patients.

"I'm a big advocate for sunscreen, but I'm simultaneously a big advocate for vitamin D supplements," Aamodt said.

With help from the noonday sun, the body can make a lot of vitamin D.

It's estimated that a light-skinned person in "optimal" conditions -- 60 percent skin exposure, sitting in the sun for 30 minutes between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in warm months -- would make 10,000 IU of vitamin D.

People with darker skin have to be in the sun longer to make the same amount and thus are more likely to be deficient.

A year and a half ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics doubled its recommendation for daily vitamin D supplements for infants through adolescents, from 200 to 400 IU.

Anecdotally, Aamodt said, patients she has treated who have vitamin D levels below 10 ng/mL said they "feel better overall, have more energy with less muscle aches and pains."

Vitamin D and calcium improve bone density and reduce falls and fractures. And although many other correlations with health and disease prevention are suspected with improved vitamin D levels, the jury is still out.

"I think the data will only get better," Aamodt said. "Stay tuned."


Vitamin D levels 

Many doctors consider a vitamin D blood level of 30 ng/mL as a benchmark. Below 30, and they probably will recommend a supplement. We asked local cardiologist James O'Keefe to put a finer point to the numbers. Here's his suggestion:

--40 to 70 ng/mL: Excellent

--30 to 39: Adequate

--20 to 29: Mildly deficient

--10-19: Moderately deficient

--Under 10: Severely deficient


HealthPro Nutrient's Answer - Youth D3
Youth D3 contains natural vitamin D3 which has shown to provide a major benefit in cardiovascular health & skeletal support. D3 is normally synthesized in the body from sunlight, but due to the winter season, weather conditions, and sunscreen, the body's ability to produce optimal vitamin D3 levels are inhibited. Some believe that annual fluctuations in vitamin D3 levels explain the seasonality of the flu virus.
-----

Published 4/21/10 by The Kansas City Star, Mo

Vitamin D Emerges as Treatment for Prostate Cancer - Cuts PSA Levels by Half

Treatment with vitamin D supplements may slow the progress of prostate cancer, according to a study published in the journal BJU International.

In the United States, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men, after lung cancer. Approximately 240,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, leading to 30,000 deaths.

Researchers have suspected for nearly two decades that the so-called "sunshine vitamin" may play a role in the risk and progression of prostate cancer, but no studies have previously been conducted on its usefulness as a treatment.

"It's very interesting - there has been no significant trial of vitamin D," said lead researcher Jonathan Waxman of Imperial College London. "This is a treatment which is unlikely to have significant toxicity and is a welcome addition to the therapeutic options for patients with prostate cancer."

Waxman decided to do the study when he learned of a prostate cancer patient who recovered after his wife bought vitamin D pills for him. Waxman and colleagues recruited 26 men with prostate cancer and assigned them each to take a daily vitamin D supplement. In five of the men, reductions in levels of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) were reduced.

In men with prostate cancer, PSA levels are an indicator of disease severity. One participant experienced a decrease in PSA levels less than 25 percent, two experienced decreases of between 25 and 50 percent, and two experienced decreases of more than 50 percent. In one of the participants, PSA levels remained reduced for a full 36 months.

Vitamin D is synthesized by the body upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight. It plays a critical role in calcium absorption and bone health, and deficiency in the vitamin can lead to rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults. Recent research has also suggested that vitamin D can help prevent autoimmune disorders and a variety of chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Some scientists have stated that if everyone increased the amount of time they spent in the sun, far more lives would be saved from cancers prevented than would be lost from increased skin cancer cases.

A light-skinned person can get enough vitamin D from getting 15 minutes of sun on the face and hands each day, while a darker skinned person might need up to 45 minutes. More sun exposure is needed at more extreme latitudes.

A connection between vitamin D and prostate cancer was first suggested in 1990, when researchers suggested that the vitamin might tie together a variety of observed risk factors for the disease. A wide body of research has demonstrated that prostate cancer risk is higher at northern latitudes (where people get less vitamin D), among older people (with reduced vitamin D synthesis) and black people (who absorb less UV rays). Researchers have also found that men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer or autumn, when vitamin D levels tend to be highest, have a better prognosis than men diagnosed in winter or spring.

In 1992, researchers also suggested that higher vitamin D consumption in Japan might account for lower rates of prostate cancer there, relative to the United States. Japanese men consume more fatty fish, which is high in both vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids that increase the vitamin's stability in the body, and soy, which slows the rate at which bodily vitamin D breaks down.

Since then, studies have found that many prostate cancer cells contain vitamin D receptors, and that vitamin D can inhibit the growth of some of these cells.

Researchers also hypothesize that vitamin D might inhibit the action of the androgen receptor, which produces male sex hormones that have been linked to the disease.

Vitamin D3 can be found in the HealthPro Nutrient products YouthD3, CoreMatrix and the multi-vitamin EC Men and Women formulas.

Youth D3 is also a powerful antioxidant which provides optimal protection and integrity to biological systems in the body.

The above article was originally published by David G. of Natural News 

More on Inflammation: What You Don't Know May Kill You

America is in the middle of a health crisis. Over the last two decades, our society has seen a dramatic increase in conditions such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and arthritis. In fact, chronic disease accounts for approximately 75% of deaths in people over 65.

What is on thing these conditions have in common? 

A primary underlying cause of these conditions is chronic inflammation.

What Is Inflammation?

Most of us think of inflammation as the swelling that accompanies a sprained ankle or insect bite. This type of inflammation is acute and part of the body's healthy response to injury or illness. But when inflammation is present for long periods of time, it causes problems...often big problems. 

What Causes Chronic Inflammation?

Usually, this is a result of how we live. Our diets have too much fat, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and chemicals. All of these can injure the body's cells and tissues. Our environment exposes us to hundreds of toxins and chemicals every day. Pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol, smoking, excessive sunlight, household cleaners...the list goes on and on. They all create free radicals that damage our cells, tissues, and organs...which ultimately result in the body creating an inflammatory response. 

Which Conditions Can Chronic Inflammation Contribute To?

• Cardiovascular disease
• Dementia
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Irritable bowel syndrome/digestive disorders 
• Fibromyalgia and other autoimmune disorders 

Which HPN Products Help?

Most HPN products help with inflammation because they are focused on creating wellness by balancing your system, feeding you the nutrients you need, and addressing from the inside the negative factors you are living with on the outside. 

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Omega-6 fatty acids can also inhibit inflammation and enhance immunity. 

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Get To Know Vitamin D

Vitamin D has received a lot of attention lately. As its health implications become more and more apparent through research, it is becoming evident that a significant proportion of the population has inadequate blood levels of the vitamin. It is estimated that up to 58% of US adolescents and adults are deficient. Chronic vitamin D deficiency and its consequences represent a major public health challenge. This article is intended to increase understanding of vitamin D and promote awareness of its connection to health and well-being, through a series of questions and answers.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D actually refers to a number of distinct, but related compounds. Differentiating between these compounds is necessary in order to fully appreciate this important substance. When exposed to sunlight, the skin synthesizes cholecalciferol, or vitamin D3. Cholecalciferol can also be taken as a supplement. After it is produced in the skin or ingested, it undergoes a two-step modification by the liver and kidneys. The first step yields calcidiol, which serves as an intermediate, storage form. Calcidiol is later activated to become calcitriol, which functions as a steroid hormone in the body.

Why is Vitamin D Important?

Vitamin D has been synthesized by life on earth for more than 750 million years. This fact alone suggests that vitamin D is a fundamental component of physiology and health. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is located inside virtually every cell in the body. It is the target of activated calcitriol. After calcitriol binds to its receptor, the resulting complex functions to regulate DNA expression. This process affects more than 2000 genes. Some genes are activated and others are suppressed by the action of vitamin D. Through such genetic control, vitamin D ultimately directs the activity of hundreds of enzymes and proteins. This is perhaps the strongest evidence for its vital role.

What are the Effects of Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is well known for its role in calcium absorption and bone metabolism. However, this is only one of many important health benefits that vitamin D has to offer. It is also known for its anti-inflammatory effects, anti-cancer activity and its ability to strengthen the immune system. The capacity to regulate DNA itself means that vitamin D influences the very foundations of biochemistry, giving it the power to positively impact all body systems and harness the body's innate healing ability.

What Evidence Exists for the Benefits of Vitamin D?

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with at least 17 varieties of cancer, along with many other chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and chronic pain. This may appear to be a tremendous claim. However, the relationship between vitamin D and disease is easy to recognize once you understand that it is integrated into our physiology, acting as one of the keys to normal cellular activity.

Need More Vitamin D?
 

Consider HealthPro Nutrient's Youth D3.

Youth D3 contains natural vitamin D3 which has shown to provide a major benefit in cardiovascular health & skeletal support.

the article above contains exerpts from an article written by Jeremiah Smith, citizen journalist, Natural News

References:

Vitamin D Council 
(http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/)
 
Wikipedia, "Vitamin D" 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D) 

GrassrootsHealth 

Sunlight, Nutrition And Health Research Center

"Sunshine Vitamin" To Stave Off Breast Cancer?

This Interesting Article Comes Off The Canada NewsWire

Breast cancer is a disease so directly related to vitamin D deficiency that a woman's risk of contracting the disease can be 'virtually eradicated' by elevating her vitamin D status to what vitamin D scientists consider to be natural blood levels.

That's the message vitamin D pioneer Dr. Cedric Garland delivered in Toronto Tuesday as part of the University of Toronto School of Medicine's "Diagnosis and Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency" conference - the largest gathering of vitamin D researchers in North America this year. More than 170 researchers, public health officials and health practitioners gathered at the UT Faculty club for the landmark event.

Garland's presentation headlined a conference that reviewed many aspects of the emerging vitamin D research field - a booming discipline that has seen more than 3,000 academic papers this calendar year alone, conference organizers said. That makes vitamin D by far the most prolific topic in medicine this year, with work connecting it with risk reduction in two dozen forms of cancer, heart disease, multiple scleroses and many other disorders.

Dr. Reinhold Vieth, Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at University of Toronto, and Director of the Bone and Mineral Laboratory at Mount Sinai Hospital, organized the event in conjunction with Grassroots Health - an international vitamin D advocacy group founded by breast cancer survivor Carole Baggerly.

As much as 97 percent of Canadians are vitamin D deficient at some point in the year, according to University of Calgary research - largely due to Canada's northerly latitudes and weak sun exposure. Sunshine is by far the most abundant source of vitamin D - called 'The Sunshine Vitamin' - with salmon and fortified milk being other sources. Vitamin D supplementation helps raise levels for many as well.

Grassroots Health's "D-action" panel - 30 of the world's leading researchers on vitamin D and many other vitamin D supporters - recommend 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily and vitamin D blood levels of 100-150 nanomoles-per-liter as measured by a vitamin D blood test.

Vieth pointed out that natural vitamin D levels of mammals who live outdoors in sunny climates is higher than that - up to 200 nanomoles-per liter. And Garland, whose presentation was entitled "Breast Cancer as a Vitamin D Deficiency Disease" presented data showing that raising one's vitamin D status near those levels decreased breast cancer risk more than 77 percent.

'The Sunshine Vitamin' was once thought of only for bone health, helping the body process calcium. But more recent work has shown that all cells in the body have "vitamin D receptors" which help control normal cell growth. Additionally, Garland presented new evidence that low vitamin D status compromises the integrity of calcium-based cellular bonding within tissues, which when eroded allow rogue cancer cells to spread more readily.

SOURCE: GrassrootsHealth