2023-06-20 13:33:08
Vitamin D deficiency is often accompanied by various symptoms and diseases, how to supplement this nutrient? What nutrients should also be matched so that hypercalcemia will not occur? (Shutterstock)
Vitamin D deficiency is often associated with a variety of symptoms and diseases that are often lightly attributed to “aging”, when in fact these symptoms are likely to be improved with vitamin D supplementation. Studies have found that for the elderly, vitamin D supplementation can help fight cancer, reduce the risk of dementia and fractures, and also help improve cardiovascular and diabetes symptoms.
How much vitamin D supplementation is effective? How should hypercalcemia be avoided? This article will answer you one by one.
What Does a Vitamin D Deficiency Mean?
Vitamin D plays multiple important roles, acting more like a hormone than a vitamin, and can affect everything from cognition to cancer. One of the roles of vitamin D is to help control calcium and phosphate levels in the body.
Some of the rapid physical and cognitive deterioration that appears to be caused by aging may actually be vitamin D deficiency, which proponents argue can be avoided with supplements. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disease and depression. Most people around the world are deficient in vitamin D.
Vitamin D deficiency has a range of atypical symptoms, such as fatigue, weakness, brain fog and anxiety. It is also possible for vitamin D deficiency to be latent and have no symptoms at all.
The only way to know for sure if you have low vitamin D levels is to get tested. But testing isn’t always covered by insurance, and Medicare rarely pays for testing. A test costs $30 to $100. Additionally, there are no universally applicable laboratory values or vitamin D levels that provide meaningful guidance for those wishing to protect themselves from nutrient deficiency-related diseases.
There are many studies that are constantly changing and swaying about how much vitamin D people need and whether there are risks of getting too much vitamin D. This situation is confusing for the patient as well as the physician who may be paralyzed by discrimination. However, some specific studies have found that vitamin D supplementation does help, especially in older adults.
Vitamin D deficiency has a range of atypical symptoms, such as fatigue, weakness, brain fog and anxiety. (Shutterstock
Know Your Vitamin D Levels, Test Not Guess
first stepTest Not Guess Your Vitamin D Levels。
Vitamin D is produced in the skin and is ingested in smaller amounts through food. It is then sent to the liver where it is converted to 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, also known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D. That’s what the test measures.
Exactly how much 25(OH)D you should have in your blood is debated.
GrassrootsHealth, a non-profit public health research organization of 48 scientists, issued a call to action recommending that people of all ages need to reach and maintain 40-60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). ml) of 25(OH)D serum levels for optimal health.
A 2017 report in Nature Reviews Endocrinology noted that while recommendations vary from medical organizations, levels below 10 ng/mL should be avoided at all ages. Some experts say 25 ng/mL is normal, while others think it’s too low.
Vitamin D deficiency complicates the aging process, in part because it becomes more difficult to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight as we age. Older adults also had lower intakes of vitamin D from foods such as salmon, tuna, milk, eggs, pork and beef liver. We know that most older adults are deficient in vitamin D, but how to address this problem has become a medical stumbling block.
With research generating new, confusing headlines every few months, the issue has become complex to the point of controversy. Even a quick glance at the undated articles on the Today’s Geriatric Medicine website won’t resolve questions about the benefits of vitamin D, who should take it, and how much.
Beyond that, the number of reports about the dangers and toxicity of vitamin D appears to be disproportionate to the actual risk. There is a small percentage of people who cannot tolerate vitamin D supplements, which is why vitamin D levels should be monitored with lab tests and a doctor.
How much vitamin D is enough?
The Institute of Medicine set a standard for a tolerable upper limit for vitamin D in 2019 at 4,000 international units (IU) per day, while the Endocrine Society recommends 10,000 IU per day as an upper limit.
The National Institutes of Health recommends 600 IU per day for people ages 51 to 70 and 800 IU for those over 70, but not to exceed 4,000 IU per day. But whether that would allow patients to reach serum levels of 25 ng/mL, considered healthy by some, is case-by-case. The Epoch Times recently reported on the trend of higher doses of vitamin D being used to treat incurable diseases, and studies have shown that controlling vitamin D levels between 40 and 60 ng/ml is beneficial.
As a 2017 study in the journal Dermato-Endocrinology noted, dosing is more an art than a science. One goal of the study was to achieve an average serum level of 40 ng/mL among the 3,882 participants. Another goal is to take a closer look at toxicity.
At the start of the study, participants were taking an average of 2100 IU of vitamin D per day, with an average serum level of 35 ng/mL. Researchers have found that 6,000 to 7,000 IU (depending on body weight) are needed to achieve vitamin D levels of 40 ng/mL. At the end of the study, the average serum level for all participants was 51 ng/mL. Studies have found that daily intakes of up to 15,000 IU of vitamin D are safe.
Integrative primary care specialist Dr. Ellie Campbell told The Epoch Times that when she was first checked in 2006, her levels were less than 20 ng/mL and she needed to take 1.6 million IU of the vitamin D to reach a level above 50 ng/ml. Since then, she’s found that 5,000 IU per day is required to keep it at that level.
Many patients don’t know their vitamin D levels, and to her dismay, labs report levels of 25 ng/mL and 30 ng/mL as “normal.”
“The lab used a scatter plot of the last 100 or so specimens to determine normal levels, and they didn’t report optimal levels,” Campbell said.
In other words, there is no good scientific basis for making any specific claims about ideal 25(OH)D levels. What we do know is that disease occurs when levels are too low, and that people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood generally do better.
4 Benefits of Vitamin D Supplementation for the Elderly
1. Reduced risk of dementia
A new study examining the vitamin D supplementation habits of 12,388 participants from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center suggests that vitamin D supplementation can significantly reduce the incidence of dementia. The study was published in May of this year in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring.
Of the nearly 3,000 participants with dementia in the 10-year study, 75 percent were not taking vitamin D, while the other 25 percent had only a basic intake. Overall, the study found that vitamin D was associated with a 40 percent lower risk of dementia.
According to the study, there are currently approximately 50 million people living with dementia worldwide, and this number is expected to triple by 2050.
“We know that vitamin D There are some effects on the brain that may have an impact on reducing dementia, however, research so far has yielded conflicting results. Our findings provide important insights into groups for whom vitamin D supplementation may be specifically targeted. Overall Say, we found evidence that early supplementation, before cognitive decline begins, may be particularly beneficial.”
The study found that vitamin D was associated with a 40 percent lower risk of dementia. (Shutterstock)
2. Reduce recurrent vertigo
A 2020 study published in Neurology found that those who supplemented with vitamin D (and calcium) to achieve a minimum level of 20 ng/mL of 25(OH)D had less risk of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Less chance of recurrence, the most common type of vertigo, which occurs when a change in head position causes a spinning sensation.
The study, conducted in South Korea, compared 445 people who took vitamin D with an observation group of 512 who did not receive the supplement or had their vitamin D levels monitored. According to a statement about the study, those who took vitamin D experienced a 24 percent reduction in their annual relapse rate.
Traditional treatment involves physical movements performed by a doctor to deflect particles in the ear that cause vertigo, which can lead to falls, broken bones and head trauma.
Dr Ji-Soo Kim, of Seoul National University College of Medicine, South Korea, said: “Our results are encouraging because, until now, going to a doctor and asking them to do head movements has been the mainstay of our treatment for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Leading the way, our study suggests that inexpensive, low-risk treatments like vitamin D and calcium tablets may be effective in preventing this common, often relapsing disease.”
3. Helps Prevent Cancer
For advanced cancers, vitamin D supplementation may extend lifespan, according to a 2020 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In a clinical trial of 25,871 patients, vitamin D reduced the risk of metastatic or fatal cancer in people with a normal body mass index.
The Vitamin D Council strongly recommends that women with breast cancer take 5,000 to 15,000 IU of vitamin D per day and have their vitamin D levels checked to ensure they stay above 70 ng/ml. For prophylaxis, the recommended level is 60 ng/ml. Several studies have linked vitamin D to a reduction in breast cancer.
With a family history of cancer, Campbell said she maintains high vitamin D levels. According to the 2008 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, vitamin D can reduce the risk of breast cancer by 30% to 83%, depending on the dose.
“There is no drug on the market that reduces the risk of breast cancer to that level and everyone should know that,” she said.
4. Reduce falls and fractures
Earlier research showed that in nursing homes, people with higher vitamin D levels had as much as 72 percent fewer falls. On the other hand, a high-profile study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine found no correlation between vitamin D and bone fractures in older adults.
A study in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism reviewed 28 studies involving 61,744 cases and 9,767 hip fractures and concluded that low serum vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of hip fracture.
“We can make a really big difference for nursing home residents because they have fewer falls,” Campbell said. “It’s one of the cheapest, easiest interventions. If we raise these (vitamin D) levels to scientifically Tell us where we should be, and our patients will benefit.”
The NEJM study got a lot of publicity, but it also drew some criticism. Those in the trial were initially given high doses of vitamin D and then received smaller doses (2,000) IUs per day, while the placebo group was allowed to take up to 800 IUs per day. Grassroots health groups are critical of this type of research, arguing that it raises doubts and prevents optimal doses from being used.
Other studies have found that low vitamin D levels not only lead to more falls, but are also associated with muscle weakness and pain, as well as gait disturbance. The data showed that those with 25(OH)D levels of 20 ng/mL or higher had better use of their lower extremities.
The Vitamin D Council maintains an up-to-date list of conditions that may benefit from the use of this vitamin, along with links to studies. Grassroots Health also provides information on vitamin D, testing, levels and conversions.
Avoid hypercalcemia and supplement calcium, but also take vitamin K
However, supplemental intake of vitamin D will increase calcium, and it is also necessary to prevent hypercalcemia and its complications. Physician Yang Jingduan, director of the Yang’s Integrative Medicine Center, said that proper intake of fat-soluble vitamin K2 while supplementing calcium can prevent the deposition of calcium in human tissues, allow calcium to be better metabolized, absorbed and utilized, prevent blood clots, and avoid cardiovascular diseases and Lung symptoms.
In addition, the amount of vitamin D required by different people is also different. People with liver and kidney function problems should discuss with their physicians how to supplement vitamin D.
For the English report, see The Epoch Times:Vitamin D: 4 Ways Supplementation Can Improve Elderly Health。
In a chaotic world, the way to keep healthy is to look at health 1+1!
Responsible editor: Li Jia◇
1687270832
#body #problems #Vitamin #effective #anticancer #antidementia #elderly #Prevention #Dementia