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Vitamin D Expert Says More Than Half The World’s Population Gets Insufficient Vitamin D
Vitamin D surfaces as a news topic every few months. How much daily vitamin D should a person get? Is it possible to have too much of it? Is exposure to the sun, which is the body’s natural way of producing vitamin D, the best option? Or do supplements suffice?
In the July 2010 issue of Endocrine Today, a monthly newspaper published by SLACK, Inc., to disseminate information about diabetes and endocrine disorders, Anthony Norman, a distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and biomedical sciences and an international expert on vitamin D, notes that half the people in North America and Western Europe get insufficient amounts of vitamin D.
“Elsewhere, it is worse,” he says, “given that two-thirds of the people are vitamin D-insufficient or deficient. It is clear that merely eating vitamin D-rich foods is not adequate to solve the problem for most adults.”
Currently, the recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 200 international units (IU) for people up to 50 years old; 400 IU for people 51 to 70 years old; and 600 IU for people over 70 years old.
“There is a wide consensus among scientists that the relative daily intake of vitamin D should be increased to 2,000 to 4,000 IU for most adults,” Norman says. “A 2000 IU daily intake can be achieved by a combination of sunshine, food, supplements, and possibly even limited tanning exposure.”
While there is now abundant data on vitamin D and its benefits, Norman believes there is room for more study.
“The benefits of more research on the topic justifies why this field of research deserves additional governmental funding,” he says. “Already, several studies have reported substantial reductions in incidence of breast cancer, colon cancer and type 1 diabetes in association with adequate intake of vitamin D, the positive effect generally occurring within five years of initiation of adequate vitamin D intake.”
Because vitamin D is found in very few foods naturally (e.g. fish, eggs and cod liver oil) other foods such as milk, orange juice, some yogurts and some breakfast foods are fortified with it. The fortification levels aim at about 400 IU per day.
Norman, who holds the title of Presidential Chair in Biochemistry-Emeritus, has been researching vitamin D for nearly 50 years. In 1967, his laboratory discovered that the vitamin is converted into a steroid hormone by the body. Two years later, his laboratory discovered the vitamin D receptor (or VDR), an essential receptor for the steroid hormone form of vitamin D that is present in more than 37 target organs of the body that respond biologically to the vitamin.
“There is now irrevocable evidence that receptors in the immune, pancreas, heart-cardiovascular, muscle and brain systems in the body generate biological responses to the steroid hormone form of vitamin D,” he says.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195001.php
When you study the “vitamin D issue” long enough one thing will pop out at you. The very low vitamin D levels in the USA is a political issue. If the people ruling this country wanted good health for the Citizens of the USA our vitamin D intake would go up by an order of magnitude. This would be accomplished by education, an honest FNB, an honest HHS, an honest “Free Press” and a “Medical Profession” allowed to speak freely.
Yes this is hard to accept. Just put a few hundred hours into it and it becomes the only explanation which makes any sense.
Here is my assessment of vitamin D blood levels.
A rays of the sun will NOT help give you skin cancer and will cut your risk of ALL cancer..
Rough Guide to Vitamin D Levels IMO
“If you want to maintain a level of 32 ng/ml you need to ingest 4,000 IU of vitamin D3/day. IMO the upper safe dose is 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day. If you have a serious health problem these large doses are not going to hurt.” Doctor Robert Heaney Vitamin D Researcher
“In the United States, the late winter average vitamin D is only about 15-18 ng/ml, which is considered a very serious deficiency state. It’s thought that over 95 percent of U.S. senior citizens, and even higher percentages of deeply pigmented African Americans or other deeply pigmented individuals may be deficient, along with 85 percent of the American public!” Doctor Joseph Mercola MD
According to most vitamin D experts use the 25-hydroxyvitamin D test; 25(OH)D Test Am I Vitamin D Deficient. It is rare but possible to have vitamin D problems so you should be tested by a doctor knowledgeable in vitamin D.
O Woefully Deficient below 18 ng/ml much of our population especially people with black or darkly pigmented skin, Note this woeful deficiency of vitamin D is what is required to protect against rickets; the standard our loving government uses for their Vitamin D RDA. Neat trick eh?
O Deficiency below 32 ng/mL 85% of our population
O Marginal below 50 marginal body storage of vitamin D
O Good above 60 good body storage of vitamin D, Note the only practicable way to achieve these levels is IMO getting many hours of sun
O Achievable IMO in summer above 70 robust good health, ability to defend against mycoplasma, AIDS and other serious plagues and bio-weapons
O 50 – 80 year around, levels as desired by Doctor John Cannell Vitamin D Council
O Excellent often achieved by persons in sun all day above 90 super immunity, you want to be here IMO with ANY serious disease or condition especially Cancer, AIDS and other serious plagues
O Vitamin D Toxicity above 200 according to Doctor John Cannell Vitamin D Council, Note you can be well over 100 without a problem. Don’t be afraid of vitamin D; be afraid of having too little
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