Supplemental Vitamin D Is Necessary!
Vitamin D status has emerged as a significant public health issue in Australia and New Zealand. An estimated 31% of adults in Australia have inadequate vitamin D, increasing to more than 50% during winter and in people residing in the southern states.
It has been a difficult task pinpointing the health benefits of Vitamin D, but over a number of years and a plethora of research papers it is now time to take Vitamin D seriously.
In fact, hundreds of research papers have documented the health benefits of Vitamin D in reducing cancer mortality, added to which there is a new Australian study linking Vitamin D deficiency with dementia.
Most observational studies have reported that Vitamin D has a beneficial effect on risk of colon, breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer and now there is a link between Vitamin D deficiency and dementia.
· Of the 30 studies on colon cancer or adenomatous polyps, 20 found a statistically significant benefit of Vitamin D, its serum metabolites and sunlight exposure on cancer risk or mortality.
· Of the 13 studies on breast cancer, 9 reported a favorable association of Vitamin D from sunlight with cancer risk, including one where the association was limited to premenopausal women.
· Thirteen of the 26 studies of prostate cancer found a statistically significant favorable association and five of the 7 studies of ovarian cancer found higher mortality associated with lower Vitamin D intake.
· Researchers at the University of South Australia have uncovered a link between Vitamin D deficiency and an increased risk of dementia and stroke.
· Vitamin D plays some important roles in the body, primarily helping with the uptake of calcium and phosphorus. The majority of a person’s Vitamin D intake doesn’t come from food but the sun, as exposed skin produces it in response to UV light exposure.
The majority of studies found a protective relationship between sufficient Vitamin D status and lower cancer deaths. The evidence suggests that efforts to improve Vitamin D status, for example by Vitamin D supplementation, could reduce cancer mortality at low cost, with few or no adverse effects.
Butter and similar spreads contain between 40 to 60 IU (International Units) of Vitamin D per 100 grams. Obviously insufficient in meeting the recommended 1,000 IU per day.
Vitamin D is one of the most inexpensive vitamins. Daily supplementation in the Australian population would be an overall cost saving by reducing cancer mortality.
The take-home message Regardless of the amount of time spent in the sun, supplementing with one tablet of Vitamin D 1,000 IU tablet a day will keep deficiency at bay.
Geoff