This is a link to a very interesting article about heart disease being linked to low levels of vitamin D due to lack of sunlight. This was in the news on BBC Breakfast on Friday as the UK is now getting cases of disease linked to vitamin D deficiency. Sun loving husband alerted me to it.
This paper was published in 1996 so may now be discredited or overtaken by the cholesterol hypothesis. I like to keep an open mind . There is a lot more about vitamin D on the internet which I haven't had time to read.
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Aliwally
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With the current hysteria of protecting ourselves from sunlight and the consequence of malignant melanoma, rickets is making a comeback. Ironically, lack of the pre-hormone (it's not strictly a vitamin) is linked with cancers such as prostate and a host of other maladies.
I investigated vitamin D thoroughly some time ago and have been taking 5000iu daily; my kids are on 1000iu. Most people in northern climes are deficient. Government recommended dose is woefully low and will not bring serum levels up to optimum without supplement dosage.
It is nearly impossible to overdose unless you take 50,000iu over a considerable period of time.
Natural sources are oily fish, egg yolk, butter, cheese, milk and UV exposed mushrooms, but exposure to sunlight is the best. It is synthesised from cholesterol in the skin.
Your doctor can test for levels, but make sure the test is for 25 hydroxyvitamin D and not for 1-25 dihydroxyvitamin D.
Arguably vitamin D is the most important and neglected health supplement most people are unaware of. Probably the best site for information is:
Thank you for the links. I have today bought myself a supplement (probably not the right one, but I will research further).
My husband gets particularly concerned about my eldest daughter who is disabled and lives in a care home for part of the week . He tries to get her out in the sun as often as possible whenever she is home. I am the modern paranoid mum with the sun block saying has she got enough cream on. It does not help that she is fair skinned and taking anti convulsants which I believe make her more susceptible to sun. Experts seem to say 20 minutes exposure without sun block ...and yes I do know about skin cancers.
Perhaps we have swung too much the other way with almost demonising the sun as well, dare I say it, high fat foods which contain a lot of vitamin D. Discuss!
It isn't enough to have small skin areas exposed to sunlight in northern climes - we just don't get enough sunlight. The further north you go the worse it gets.
In the mid 19th century rickets was rife. The cause was often put down to poor diet and indeed that was certainly a factor, but probably more important was the industrial revolution and the smog laden atmosphere blocking sunlight that went along with it. People moved from the land to the 'dark satanic' mills. It's hardly any wonder that children forced to work in awful conditions not seeing daylight, let alone playing in it, would suffer from rickets - it was a disease of the poor.
I lived in Shetland for three years and saw for myself the dreadful rate of multiple sclerosis - it is the highest in the world. At the time (1973) it was anecdotally called 'Lambs disease' because sheep meat is a staple (good example of 'correlation does not imply causation'). If not certain (genetic factors) then there a huge implication that a lack of vitamin D may be a major cause. Have a look at this:
Using occams razor this is evidence enough for me to conclude that easy and safe vitamin D3 supplementation is a no brainer!
In optimal conditions (summer sun, full body exposure) we make about 20,000iu in roughly 20 minutes, then the body shuts off production. That's why it's difficult to overdose. But don't be fooled into thinking that such a rapid rise means that you only need to expose your hands and face, it certainly is not the case.
Fot me I am entirely relaxed about my own levels. My brother (in very poor health) is on the same regime as me. He is regularly tested and his levels are perfect, so I'm not bothered about testing myself.
Just the other day my wife casually remarked that none of us had had a cold this winter (nor the vomiting bug). Vitamin D? I don't know - but then I don't give it a lot of thought!
This question of "hot spots" is interesting and it came up in the recent HEART UK Survey.
The authors of the sunlight paper highlight the North West of England and West of Scotland for heart disease. Their hypothesis is that their particular latitude results in low sunshine and heavy cloud cover leading to vitamin D deficiency.
Isn't there a place in Northern Italy, Limone, where all residents have extremely high cholesterol levels and yet are extremely long living?
I also found information about Limone sul Garda. Their Milano apo protein is a selling point for tourism! The pictures of sunshine and lemons should cheer us up on a cold, grey UK January.
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I have FH and am in a quandary regarding diet following recent revelation that there's no link between high cholesterol & heart disease?!
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