Vitamin D deficiency not only causes osteoporosis, but also cancer, dementia and 9 other major diseases!

Vitamin D, known as the "sunshine vitamin", is one of the nutrients that has attracted much attention in recent years. Vitamin D deficiency not only causes calcium loss, but is also closely related to some cancers. Pharmacists have specially summarized the recent studies and pointed out that vitamin D deficiency may lead to nine major diseases, and moderate vitamin D supplementation can help avoid the risks of these diseases. However, it is reminded that it must be supplemented correctly to avoid counterproductive effects!

Vitamin D is a "healthy hormone"

In recent years, the medical community has discovered that vitamin D is not just a "vitamin" or a nutrient, but has also been proven to be a "health hormone" with multiple physiological effects. This is mainly because once the human body lacks vitamin D in the blood, many diseases may occur. Pharmacist Zhao Shunrong, chairman of the Taiwan Preventive Health Association and a master of pharmacy, pointed out that vitamin D can not only help the absorption of calcium to maintain bone health and muscle function, and avoid osteoporosis.

In addition, there are many non-bone health functions, including: reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease, reducing the mortality rate of cancer and dialysis patients; preventing respiratory infections and long-term unexplained pain, regulating immunity, preventing inflammation, asthma, muscle weakness, fractures, helping male and female reproductive ability, preventing miscarriage in pregnant women, preventing dementia, helping sleep, and regaining male health and vitality.

Vitamin D deficiency may cause systemic diseases

Vitamin D has become a highly anticipated health supplement, mainly because it has a hormone-like effect. Research from Johns Hopkins University in the United States shows that vitamin D not only helps the body maintain bone health, it can regulate more than 3,000 genes, and each cell has a vitamin D receptor. When the cell needs it, the vitamin D in the blood enters the cell through the receptor and is used.

Vitamin D is not just a "vitamin" or a nutrient, it has also been proven to be a "health hormone" with multiple physiological effects.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for bone development. However, for patients with osteoporosis, menopausal women, and office workers who do not exercise much, they are prone to calcium deficiency. If they lack vitamin D or B complex at the same time, it may also cause symptoms such as back pain.

Pharmacist Zhao Shunrong specially compiled the following clinical studies to point out the 9 major benefits of vitamin D to health:

★1. Prevent osteoporosis

＊Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for bone development, but for patients with osteoporosis, menopausal women, and office workers who rarely exercise, they are prone to calcium deficiency. If they are also deficient in vitamin D or B group, it may also cause symptoms such as back pain. At this time, calcium supplementation alone is not enough. 1,000mg of calcium, 800 IU of vitamin D, 200mg of magnesium, zinc, and B group must work together. These five "bone calcium nutrients" are indispensable to truly achieve the effect of calcium supplementation and health care.

★2. Protect the heart and blood vessels

* In 2009, at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, Dr. Heidi May of Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, presented a study of 27,686 subjects aged 50 years and older with no history of cardiovascular disease. The researchers compared the incidence of cardiovascular disease in different groups of subjects during the one-year observation period. Compared with the normal group, the group with the lowest vitamin D concentration had a 77% increase in mortality, a 45% increase in heart disease, and a 78% increase in stroke rate. Based on this study, some scholars have proposed the conclusion that increasing the blood vitamin D concentration to 35ng/mL (nanograms/ml) can prevent 30% of myocardial infarction in men.

*A study shows that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of heart attack by 50%. Even worse, if you've ever had a heart attack and are vitamin D deficient, you're at a higher risk of dying from heart disease.

★3. Reduce the mortality rate of cancer and dialysis patients

According to the statistics of causes of death in Taiwan in 2017, "malignant tumors, heart disease and pneumonia" ranked in the top three, and cancer has been the leader for 36 consecutive years.

* Research shows that if you improve your vitamin D status, it can reduce your risk of colorectal cancer, as well as other deadly cancers, by 30% to 50%.

A Canadian study showed that women who had the most sunlight exposure had a nearly 70 percent lower risk of breast cancer.

*Increasing blood vitamin D concentration to 40 ng/mL can reduce the risk of cancer in postmenopausal women by 35%.

As for "cancer patients", it is recommended to supplement vitamin D because cancer patients need chemotherapy. If the concentration of vitamin D in the blood is sufficient, it can reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and amplify the effect of chemotherapy. In addition, vitamin D itself has anti-cancer and cancer cell growth inhibition effects, so it is helpful for the prognosis of cancer.

*According to a 2017 clinical study, the use of high-dose vitamin D in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer extended the survival rate by more than two months, reduced the risk of progression by 31%, and reduced severe chemotherapy diarrhea.

*Dr. Martia Wolf of Harvard Medical School and his team found that the blood vitamin D concentration of dialysis patients is much lower than that of the general population. Moreover, patients with poor kidney function may have severely impaired ability to convert vitamin D. Studies have also found that patients who receive vitamin D supplementation have a lower mortality rate.

One study showed that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of heart attack by 50%.

★Four. Prevent respiratory tract infections, prevent infant asthma, and regulate immunity

*Studies have shown that blood D concentrations >40 ng/mL in early pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk of premature birth and reduce allergic and asthma symptoms in newborns.

A study conducted in Japan showed that elementary school students who took 1,200 units of vitamin D per day during the winter had about a 40% lower risk of contracting the flu.

* Based on the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2008, the Taiwan Pediatric Association officially proposed guidelines for infant nutrition in 2016: Exclusive breastfeeding has been reported to cause vitamin D deficiency and rickets. In order to maintain the concentration of vitamin D in infant serum, it is recommended that babies who are exclusively breastfed or partially breastfed should be given 400 IU of oral vitamin D per day starting from newborns.

★Five. Prevent inflammation: autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis, and long-term unexplained pain

Clinical studies have found that vitamin D is very helpful in preventing inflammation, mainly by inhibiting the occurrence of Th1-induced autoimmune diseases.

★Six. Reduce the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women and help the reproductive capacity of men and women

Studies have shown that NK cytotoxicity is significantly higher in patients with recurrent miscarriage, and vitamin D administration can improve the condition.

* Pregnant women who maintain adequate vitamin D in their bodies can reduce the incidence of preeclampsia by 0.52 times, premature birth by 0.36 times and underweight by 0.4 times.

*Prospective studies have shown that vitamin D supplementation in infertile women can significantly reduce the Th1/Th2 cell ratio.

*Studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency affects sperm motility and morphology.

★7. Preventing dementia

Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease. Between 1992 and 1999, a prospective study was conducted at the University of Washington in the United States to study the relationship between vitamin D concentration and the occurrence of vascular dementia and neuroimaging abnormalities. When the serum vitamin D concentration was increased to within the range of 50 ng/ml, the results confirmed that vitamin D can significantly reduce the risk of dementia.

★8. Preventing Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and erectile dysfunction (ED) is often an important indicator of cardiovascular disease. The latest data from the University of Milan in Italy shows that low levels of vitamin D may be an important factor leading to ED.

★9. Improve sleep and relieve pain

Studies have shown that vitamin D can stabilize nerves and not only improve sleep disorders, but also plays an important role in the regulatory mechanism of preventing and treating chronic pain. Especially for women after menopause, they often have sleep problems, so vitamin D is particularly important.

Pharmacist Zhao said that the above clinical evidence shows that vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency is indeed closely related to many diseases.