This MultiVit Rx supplement product has the required daily dose of 400 units of Vitamin D. Click MultiVit-Rx to purchase this product or to sign up to a free newsletter.
Vitamin D
recommended daily dosage
The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is
200 iu for adults younger than 50 years and 600 iu for those older than 70
years. Vitamin D supplementation is especially important in elderly persons
because skin synthesis and absorption of vitamin D may be impaired. As time goes
on, the scientific community is recognizing that perhaps higher doses of vitamin
D intake may be appropriate.
MultiVit Rx - Lasts two to four
months.
High Quality Daily Vitamins and Minerals with Vitamin D supplement
Physician Formulas -
Developed by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Manufactured by a FDA-approved and GMP-certified facility.
This MultiVit Rx supplement product
has the required daily dose of 400 units of Vitamin D. Click
MultiVit-Rx
to purchase this product or to sign up to a free newsletter.
Nature's Way Dry Vitamin D, 400 IU supplement
Vitamin D Dietary
Supplement
Helps Maintain Normal Bone and Tooth Formation
Vitamin D
supplement helps
the body to regulate the transport of calcium from the digestive system
through the bloodstream to bone. It also assists in the retention of
calcium and phosphorus. Nature's Way Vitamin D is 100% natural cholecalciferol. The dry form is specially formulated for easy
absorption. It contains no artificial ingredients or preservatives.
To buy this product or to sign up to a FREE newsletter, see
Vitamin D supplement sale
Vitamin D
Supplement Facts:
Amount Per 1 capsule:
Vitamin D - 400 IU - 100%DV (as cholecalciferol)
Vitamin D benefit
The best known vitamin D benefit is in keeping bones and teeth strong and
healthy. Vitamin D helps regulate the growth and activity of cells and it
reduces inflammation.
People with higher levels of vitamin D are less likely to suffer autoimmune
diseases, including type 1 diabetes and
multiple sclerosis.
They may even have less heart disease and better lung function. Vitamin D does
far more than aid calcium absorption. Vitamin D has a benefit on the immune
system — which explains its effect on autoimmune diseases. Biochemical studies
suggest that it helps keep cells from becoming malignant — and when cells do go
bad, it encourages them to self-destruct. Scientists suspect the vitamin has
still other functions. Tissues throughout the body have receptors for vitamin D.
Vitamin D has other benefits: It reduces the risk for of
chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis,
and probably cancers such as breast cancer, colon cancer, and ovarian
cancer.
Seniors and Vitamin D supplement
Older Americans need more vitamin D to help strengthen bones than
what current guidelines recommend. Men and women age 50 and older should take
about 600 to 800 international units of vitamin D each day - more than the 400
to 600 daily units the Institute of Medicine recommends, the American Medical
Women's Association has said. Sunscreen, protective clothing and time spent
indoors already keep most older Americans from getting enough vitamin D from
exposure to sunlight's ultraviolet-B rays.
Vitamin D supplement and Teenage Girls
Many adolescent girls have low vitamin D levels, especially non-white
girls. Reduced sunshine exposure is probably more of a factor than dietary
intake. Vitamin D deficiency during childhood and adolescence might impair the
acquisition of peak bone mass at the end of skeletal growth and maturation,
thereby increasing the risk of osteoporotic fracture later in life. A vitamin D
supplement could be of benefit.
Osteoporosis and Vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency is quite common in cases of hip
fractures. A look-back study of 548 patients older than 60 years of age who were
admitted at South Glasgow University Hospital in Scotland in the previous 4
years, showed that 97 percent of the patients had vitamin D levels below normal.
Dr. Stephen Gallacher, lead researcher and consultant endocrinologist at the
hospital said: ''Although the numbers were too small to justify extensive
subgroup analyses the study appears to demonstrate that vitamin D inadequacy
represents a significant correctable risk factor for fragility fracture and
perhaps specifically for the hip."
Older men and women who fail to get enough vitamin D -- either from
their diets or exposure to the sun -- are at heightened risk for muscle weakness
and poor physical performance. This is troubling given the high numbers of older
folks who are deficient in vitamin D. However, even good sun exposure does not
guarantee adequate blood levels of vitamin D. In many individuals, vitamin D
level can remain low despite abundant exposure to sunlight.
Dr. Sahelian comments: Most elderly patients have a vitamin D
deficiency due to lack of adequate sun exposure, particularly in cold climates with long
winters. And there could be a deficiency even with many hours of sun exposure a
week. Vitamin D can be supplemented by taking a
multivitamin and
mineral
complex, or through cod liver oil. A dosage of 400 to 800 units should be
adequate. Sitting by the window or taking walks outside could be helpful.
Osteoporosis risk can
be reduced. Low vitamin D status is defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D
concentrations below 30 ng/mL
Vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency results in lowered absorption of calcium and phosphorous.
Prolonged vitamin D deficiency has a negative impact on bone mineralization.
Vitamin D deficiency leads to several bone diseases including:
Rickets: a
childhood disease characterized by failure of growth and deformity of long
bones. Osteoporosis; and Osteomalacia: a bone-thinning disorder in adults that
is characterized by proximal muscle weakness and bone fragility. Osteomalacia
can only occur in a mature skeleton.
Rickets appears to be the tip of the vitamin D deficiency iceberg.
There is evidence that vitamin D deficiency is still common in children and
adults even though certain foods have been fortified with the vitamin. In utero
and during childhood, vitamin D deficiency can cause growth retardation and
skeletal deformities and may increase the risk of hip fracture later in life.
Vitamin D deficiency in adults can precipitate or exacerbate osteopenia and
osteoporosis, cause osteomalacia and muscle weakness, and increase the risk for
certain cancers.
Children with inflammatory bowel disease have a high prevalence of
vitamin D deficiency.
In all regions of the world, more than half of
postmenopausal women with the crippling bone disease osteoporosis are vitamin D
deficient.
Soft drink, juice and iced tea intake are related to a greater risk of
vitamin D deficiency. On the other hand, adolescents who drink milk
and eat cereal are less likely to be deficient on the vitamin.
About a quarter of Britons suffer from a winter deficiency of vitamin
D, which can increase the risk of muscle weakness, autoimmune diseases,
osteoporosis and certain types of cancer. Britain's northern location and lack
of sunshine means that during the winter months many people do not get enough
vitamin D, which the body makes when it is exposed to sunlight. Foods such as
oily fish and egg yoke are rich in vitamin D and breakfast cereals and margarine
are fortified with it, but it might not be enough to get Britons through the
winter months when their stores of vitamin D diminish.
Vitamin D in Food
Vitamin D is found in milk, yogurt and cheeses, as well as in some
fortified orange juice, fish, oysters, and certain fortified cereals.
People might want to consider a vitamin D supplement to raise their intake to 400
to 800 IUs per day, which is well within the safety guidelines established by
the National Academy of Sciences. Taking more vitamin D could be especially
important for people living in northern areas, which receive less vitamin D from
sunshine. African Americans, who don't produce as much vitamin D because of
their skin pigment, could also benefit significantly from a higher intake.
Breastfeeding and Vitamin D
Breastfed babies living in northern latitudes often lack healthy levels
of vitamin D, and may even be severely deficient. In northern latitudes, such as
that in Iowa (41 degrees North), sunshine is too diminished in the winter for
the infants to generate enough vitamin D on their own. Many infants are vitamin
D deficient during winter than during summer. The vitamin D deficiency is less
prevalent as babies get older. Many decades ago it was standard practice to give
infants a teaspoon of cod liver oil, which averages about 400 units of vitamin D
per day. When the use of baby formula became popular, enough vitamin D was added
to the formula to prevent deficiency. Then since the 1970s women returned to
breast feeding, but they did not think of giving their babies vitamin D
supplements. Breastfed infants require about 200 units of vitamin D per day. It
may be a good idea for women breastfeeding their infants to give them cod liver
oil supplements during the winter months. Pediatrics, August 2006.
Vitamin D and Cancer Prevention
Cancer researchers are urging people to take a vitamin D supplement to lower
their risk of colon, pancreatic, prostate, breast and ovarian
cancer, saying studies
showed a clear link. A review of dozens of studies, including several large long-term
ones, on the relationship between vitamin D and certain types of cancer showed
vitamin D has the ability to reduce the incidence of certain cancers. Vitamin D
deficiency may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast,
ovarian and other cancers annually.
Consumption of Vitamin D tablets was found to cut the risk of
pancreatic cancer by 40 percent, according to a study led by researchers at
Northwestern and Harvard universities. The findings point to Vitamin D's
potential to prevent the disease, and is one of the first known studies to use a
large-scale epidemiological survey to examine the relationship between the
nutrient and cancer of the pancreas. The study, led by Halcyon Skinner, Ph.D.,
of Northwestern, appears in the September, 2006 issue of Cancer Epidemiology
Biomarkers & Prevention. The study examined data from two large, long-term
health surveys and found that taking the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of
Vitamin D (400 IU/day) reduced the risk of pancreatic cancer by 43 percent. By
comparison, those who consumed less than 150 IUs per day experienced a 22
percent reduced risk of cancer. Increased consumption of the vitamin beyond 400
IUs per day resulted in no significant increased benefit.
Plenty of sunshine and vitamin D may
help people with early stage lung cancer survive longer after surgery. Patients
who have high levels of vitamin D and had lung cancer surgery in sunny months
are more than twice as likely to be alive five years after surgery compared to
patients with low levels of vitamin D who had surgery in the winter. Exposure to
sunshine is a significant source of vitamin D, which also comes from food and
dietary supplements.
Vitamin D and Colon Cancer
When epidemiologists began mapping the incidence of
colon cancer in the
United States back in the 1970s, they noted a curious pattern. People in the
South were half as likely to die of colon cancer as those in the Northeast.
Could the reason be the sunshine vitamin D?
What's the right Vitamin D dose for cancer prevention?
There is some evidence that high levels of vitamin D may reduce colon cancer and
breast cancer and some researchers are suggesting people take up to 2,000
international units (IU) of vitamin D a day in a form called vitamin D3 (
cholecalciferol ). However, there could be a risk for vitamin D excess or
toxicity when these high dosages are taken for prolonged periods. The 2,000-IU
daily dose of vitamin D is considered the "tolerable upper limit" for vitamin D,
according to the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM).
Until we learn more about the side effects of vitamin D excess, I prefer users
not exceed 1,000 units of vitamin D a day.
Vitamin D and Pregnancy
The children of mothers who had low levels of vitamin D during their
pregnancy have reduced bone mineral content during childhood, potentially
increasing their risk of osteoporosis in later life.
High levels of vitamin D during pregnancy may lower the
risk of wheezing and asthma in offspring during early childhood. Vitamin D
deficiency and asthma are both common in the northeastern part of the United
States, suggesting that the two may be related. Moreover, while vitamin D has
important effects on the immune system, its affect on asthma is not known.
Researchers tracked 1,306 mother-child pairs for more than three years, and used
a food frequency questionnaire to assess levels of maternal vitamin D during
pregnancy. By age two, there was a clear association between increasing prenatal
levels of vitamin D in the mother and decreasing risk of wheezing or
doctor-diagnosed asthma in the child. The average total vitamin D intake during
pregnancy was 550 international units (IU) per day. In a more thorough analysis,
a 100-IU increase in maternal vitamin D intake was associated with an odds ratio
of 0.90 for "any wheeze" in the child -- defined as mother-reported wheeze
during the first two years of life. When the data were adjusted to account for
dietary levels of fruit, vegetables, and fish, the results did not change. A
preliminary look at the three-year data show a similar strong association
between higher maternal vitamin D levels and lower risk of wheezing and asthma
at age three years.
Vitamin D from Sun or Supplement Pill ?
Should you purposely tan for vitamin D? You can get all the vitamin D
with a vitamin supplement pill -- you do not have to put yourself at increased risk of skin
cancer and photoaging. The public is getting a mixed message on sun and health
because advocates of increased UV exposure, like the indoor tanning industry,
are advocating sunbathing as a means of getting more vitamin D for everyone,
including young light-skinned people who face the greatest skin cancer risk. New
research has indeed shown that some groups of people who may get little sun
exposure and don't drink much milk, for example frail elderly individuals at
risk of bone fractures, will benefit from getting more vitamin D than is
currently recommended by the US Department of Agriculture. There's also evidence
that people with very dark skin and those who live in northern climes may be
deficient in the vitamin. But such deficiencies can be handled with oral
supplementation. If you are worried that you're not getting enough vitamin D,
take a vitamin D supplement pill.
Vitamin D needed by Diabetics
A majority of patients with type 2 diabetes show signs of vitamin D
deficiency. Because a lack of vitamin D can negatively affect bone health and
have other adverse effects routine vitamin D supplementation with about 400
units a day should be considered for people with diabetes.
People with a low level of vitamin D in the blood have poorly functioning
insulin-producing cells and show a poor response to insulin, even when their
blood sugar levels are normal.
Vitamin D Research Update
Boston researchers report a link between low serum levels of vitamin D
and decreased knee function in patients with
osteoarthritis of the knee. At the
annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Antonio,
researchers presented findings from 221 subjects recruited from the Boston VA
Medical Center. All had knee arthritis and reported knee pain on most days in
the month before they joined the study. The investigators measured blood levels
of vitamin D at the start and again after 15 and 30 months. They compared change
in vitamin D levels with changes in knee pain, physical function and muscle
strength during the 30-month study period. Low levels were associated with
higher levels of pain and disability and to a lesser extent muscle weakness. The
researchers also found that about 50 percent of the population were deficient in
vitamin D.
People with higher blood levels of vitamin D may be less likely to develop gum disease. Using data from a national U.S. health survey, researchers found that teenagers and adults with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 20 percent less likely than those with the lowest levels to show signs of gingivitis -- a milder form of gum disease in which the gums become swollen and bleed easily. The study can only show that there's an association between vitamin D status and gum health, and not that the vitamin is providing the benefit.
People on strict raw food vegetarian diets are thin but healthy. Although nutritionists and the food industry have warned that a diet without dairy foods can lead to the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, a team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found the vegans they studied had many of the signs of strong bones. Raw food vegetarians believe in eating only plant-derived foods that have not been cooked, processed, or otherwise altered from their natural state. Researchers expected the vegans to have low vitamin D levels because they avoid dairy products, which are fortified with the vitamin. But in fact their vitamin D levels were "markedly higher" than average. Vitamin D is made by the skin when the body is exposed to sunlight and is key to keeping strong bones. And the vegans had low levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory molecule that is linked with the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic disease. Furthermore, they had lower levels of IGF-1, a growth factor linked to risk of breast and prostate cancer.
People who try to stay bronze with the help of a tanning bed tend to have higher blood levels of vitamin D than those shun the salon. The study of 156 adults found those who regularly soaked up the artificial rays of a tanning bed had a 90 percent higher average vitamin D concentration in their blood. The tanners, who frequented the salon at least once a week for 6 or more months, also had greater bone density in the hips. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was partially financed by the UV Foundation, which is funded by the Indoor Tanning Association, an industry group. A precursor to vitamin D exists naturally in the skin, and exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays touches off a chemical process that creates the usable form of the vitamin. Because vitamin D is needed for proper calcium absorption, the nutrient is vital to bone health. There is also a body of research suggesting vitamin D helps protect against certain cancers and some autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. But the fact that UV radiation is the major cause of skin cancer, as well as the major source of vitamin D, has made for a controversy over how much sun -- or artificial sun -- people should get.
Tanning is associated with optimal vitamin D status
(serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration) and higher bone mineral density
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 6, 1645-1649, December
2004
Background: Vitamin D is made in the skin on exposure to solar radiation, and
it is necessary to optimal skeletal health. Subjects who use a tanning bed that
emits ultraviolet B radiation (290–315 nm) are likely to have higher
25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations than do subjects who do not
regularly use a tanning bed. Objective: The first objective of this study was to
ascertain whether subjects who regularly use a tanning bed have higher 25(OH)D
concentrations than do subjects who do not use a tanning bed. The second
objective was to ascertain whether higher 25(OH)D concentrations correlated
positively with bone mineral density. Design: This cross-sectional analysis
examined 50 subjects who used a tanning bed at least once a week and 106 control
subjects. Each subject gave a blood specimen for measurement of serum 25(OH)D
and parathyroid hormone concentrations. Each subject underwent bone mineral
density testing of the hip and spine. Results: Subjects who used a tanning bed
had serum 25(OH)D concentrations 90% higher than those of control subjects.
Subjects who used a tanning bed had parathyroid hormone concentrations 18% lower
than those of control subjects.
Tanners had significantly higher BMD and z scores at the total hip than did
nontanners. Conclusion: The regular use of a tanning bed that emits vitamin
D–producing ultraviolet radiation is associated with higher 25(OH)D
concentrations and thus may have a benefit for the skeleton.
Why the optimal requirement for Vitamin D(3) is probably much higher than
what is officially recommended for adults.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2004 May;89-90:575-9.
The physiologic range for circulating 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 [25(OH)D; the
measure of Vitamin D nutrient status] concentration in humans and other primates
extends to beyond 200nmol/L (>80ng/mL). This biologic "normal" value is greater
than current population norms for vitamin D. Concentrations of vitamin D that
correlate with desirable effects extend to at least 70nmol/L, with no obvious
threshold. Randomized clinical trials using 20mcg (800IU) per day of Vitamin D
show that this suppresses parathyroid hormone, preserves bone mineral density,
prevents fractures, lowers blood pressure and improves balance. Calcium
absorption from diet correlates with vitamin D in the normal range. Health
effects of Vitamin D beyond osteoporosis are mostly supported by the
circumstantial evidence of epidemiologic studies and laboratory research. These
include prevention of cancer and the autoimmune diseases, insulin-dependent
diabetes and multiple sclerosis. One mcg per day of Vitamin D(3) (cholecalciferol)
increases circulating vitamin D by about 1nmol/L (0.4ng/mL). A recommended
dietary allowance (RDA) is the long-term daily intake level that meets the total
requirements for the nutrient by nearly all healthy individuals (it would
presume no sunshine). If 70nmol/L is regarded as a minimum desirable target
vitamin D concentration, then current recommendations of 15mcg per day do not
meet the criterion of an RDA.
Vitamin D emails
Q. I am a vegetarian (not a vegan). Do you know of any
Vitamin D3 supplements (400 IU) which use only sheep's wool (lanolin) and not
any products that are derived by killing the source animal? One of Dr.
Sahelian's articles features a picture of Nature's Way version of Vitamin D3, but I
can find no documentation as to what is the source of the D3 in that product.
Q. I have a question regarding the source of Vitamin D. I
understand cholecalciferol or D3 has the origin from animal products such as
sheep wool and hides. Also, I read somewhere that vegans usually obtain vitamin
D from the action of sunlight on the skin or by taking fortified foods such as soya milk, margarine, breakfast cereals and vitamin supplements which are made
from yeast or other fungi. Fortified vegan products contain D2 ( ergocalciferol
). Vegans are careful about their source of Vitamin D as D3 ( Cholecalciferol )
which is animal-derived.
A. It appears to be true that Vitamin D in the form of
cholecalciferol is derived from sheep wool. Therefore, this would make
it fine for a vegetarian but not for a strict vegan. The sheep are not killed.
The wool is sheared, and lanolin from the sheep wool is chemically altered in
the lab to produce vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol.
Q. Can you explain the difference between vitamin D
deficiency symptoms and vitamin D signs?
A. Vitamin D deficiency symptoms refer to various symptoms that a
patient notices, but the phrase Vitamin D deficiency signs refers to those signs
noticeable by a doctor.
Q. I live in the UK and due to the lack of sunshine, would
like to buy a Vitamin D supplement. However, i am now completely confused ! I
have just read the new study from Australia ( Science Daily Jan. 27, 2008 ) that
suggests taking a Vitamin D supplement ORALLY is BAD for you. Its actually a
pretty damning study regarding ORAL Vitamin D .. It says: "ingested vitamin D is
immunosuppressive and that low blood levels of vitamin D may be actually a
result of the disease process. Supplementation may make the disease worse.
Vitamin D deficiency, long interpreted as a cause of disease, is more likely the
result of the disease process, and increasing intake of vitamin D often makes
the disease worse We have found that vitamin D supplementation, even at levels
many consider desirable, interferes with recovery in these patients. Vitamin D
is a secosteroid hormone, and the body regulates the production of all it needs.
In fact, the use of supplements can be harmful, because they suppress the immune
system so that the body cannot fight disease and infection effectively. The
comprehensive studies are just not showing that supplementary vitamin D makes
people healthier. The Science Daily article, dated 28 Jan 08, is here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125223302.htm
What is your opinion on this new study ? This has put me off buying
any Vitamin D supplements completely and would appreciate your thoughts.
A. Different scientists have different opinions regarding nutrition
and supplement use. The reason is that this field is extremely complicated and
it is difficult to do well-controlled long term studies. Furthermore, different
results could be obtained depending on the dosage used for the vitamin or
supplement or in different populations or groups of patients. For instance, it
is possible that opposite results could be obtained by providing vitamin D at
200 units a day versus 1,000 units a day, even though it is the same vitamin.
For the time being, I think taking a vitamin D supplement at 400 units a few
times a week probably provides more benefits than harm to those who live in
climates where there is little sun exposure or little vitamin D in the foods
people ingest.
There is a four year long vitamin D study that has interesting
results.
Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a
randomized trial.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 June;85(6):1586-91.Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D,
Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Osteoporosis Research Center, Creighton
University, Omaha, NE 68131, USA.
The purpose of this analysis was to determine the efficacy of calcium alone
and calcium plus vitamin D in reducing incident cancer risk of all types. This
was a 4-y, population-based, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial.
The primary outcome was fracture incidence, and the principal secondary outcome
was cancer incidence. The subjects were 1179 community-dwelling women randomly
selected from the population of healthy postmenopausal women aged >55 y in a
9-county rural area of Nebraska centered at latitude 41.4 degrees N. Subjects
were randomly assigned to receive 1400-1500 mg supplemental calcium/d alone
(Ca-only), supplemental calcium plus 1100 IU vitamin D3 / d (Ca + D), or
placebo. Cancer incidence was lower in the Ca + vitamin D women than in the
placebo control subjects. In conclusion, Improving calcium and vitamin D
nutritional status substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal
women.
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