You can add Crohn's disease to the growing list of conditions that vitamin D may treat, improve, or prevent. Some of the other benefits of vitamin D are reductions in breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer. Vitamin D deficiency can worsen asthma symptoms, and some experts even suggest that higher levels of vitamin D can help prevent influenza, including the H1N1 virus.
More new evidence suggests that ability to lose weight improves with an increase of vitamin D and the sunshine vitamin is essential for proper brain function and heart health. Researchers also believe that proper levels of vitamin D can reduce your risk of multiple sclerosis and even macular degeneration. At one time, scientists believed the only function of vitamin D was to protect our bones.
You can get vitamin D from food, from supplements, and from the controversial; exposure to the sun. One might assume that deficiency would be less of a concern in San Diego, where this free nutrient is abundantly available, but deficiency is still an issue, even in the southern United States.
While relatively rare in the United States, severe deficiency in some places continues to cause rickets, even though British scientist; T. A. Palm discovered that lack of sunshine in some areas correlated with an increase in rickets way back in 1892. Doctors originally treated rickets with cod liver oil, which contains vitamin D.
With some experts claiming there is an epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency, it is worth getting a blood draw to determine if supplementation is necessary. Experts disagree about what level is optimal but most agree that a 25(OH)D (or vitamin D) level of at least 30 to 32 ng/mL is a good number.
Recommended daily dose is also a topic of much debate; some experts suggest 400 IU is plenty while others suggest as much as 10,000 IU or more, per day. Regular discussion between doctors and their patients regarding vitamin D would be advisable.
Vitamin D is only naturally found in a few foods such as oily fish, fish liver oils, certain eggs, and possibly, in some mushrooms. Milk contains added vitamin D, and some breads and cereals are fortified. Responsible exposure to the sun is also an option worth researching to help maintain optimal vitamin D levels.
This new information shows how poorly scientists understood this important nutrient just 20 years ago. It raises some additional questions. How much do scientists know about how other vitamins and nutrients work? Is all of the nutrition research causing people to pick foods based on specific nutrients, rather than evaluating the nutritional value of the food as a whole? Will Coke or Pepsi be the first to start fortifying their products with vitamin D?
Vitamin D might help prevent colon cancer. A new study finds high levels of vitamin D in the blood are linked to lower risks of colorectal cancer. But researchers say it's not clear if higher intake of the vitamin actually prevents the disease.
