A new study in the Oxford Economic Papers finds that migration flows the last 500 years from high sunlight regions to low sunlight regions influence contemporary health outcomes in destination countries.
The researchers here noted that people’s ability to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight declines with skin pigmentation, and that vitamin D deficiency is directly associated with higher risk of mortality, from illnesses including cardiovascular disease, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers. Recent research even .finds that vitamin D affects the severity of COVID-19.
Researchers here focused on groups from high sunlight regions that migrated to low sunlight regions between 1500 and today. The resulting population shifts caused the risk of vitamin D deficiency to rise substantially. The researchers explored the aggregate health consequences of such migration over a long historical perspective.
Researchers here constructed a measure that proxied the risk of vitamin D deficiency in a given population. The measure tracked the difference between sunlight intensity in the ancestral place of residence of the population, as well as the actual level of sunlight intensity at the place of current residence.
Using the difference between ancestor and ambient sunlight as a measure of the potential risk of vitamin D deficiency, researchers then examined its explanatory power in relation to life expectancy around the world. Researchers found that greater risk of vitamin D deficiency is negatively correlated with life expectancy, all else equal.
Researchers here noted that today there is widespread awareness of the harmful effects of excessive exposure to sunlight, which leads people to try to prevent sunburn through methods like sunscreen and limited outdoor exposure. Effective treatments of skin cancer are also widely available. People also spend more time indoors than their prehistoric ancestors, which lowers their exposure to sunlight. Consequently, the risk of premature death due to excessive sun exposure has decreased since prehistoric times.
However, the lower exposure times to sunlight increases the risk of vitamin D deficiency, particularly in people with higher skin pigmentation, whose ancestors came from high sunlight regions.
Ultimately the researchers here concluded that a migration-induced imbalance between the intensity of skin pigmentation and ambient sunlight can both relate and explain present-day global health differences: .Low sunlight regions that have received substantial immigration from high sunlight regions experience lower life expectancy than would have been the case in the absence of such migration flows.
“This research is important because it is the first research to document a link between an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency and differences in life expectancy across countries and regions. It thus serves to highlight the potentially huge benefit in terms of additional life years of taking vitamin D supplements, particularly during the autumn and winter” said author Dr. Thomas Barnebeck Andersen.
In humans, vitamin D is formed in the skin following its exposure to sunlight. In comparison to the body’s own formation of vitamin D, dietary consumption generally makes up only a relatively small proportion of the vitamin D supply to the body. While an overdose resulting from the body’s own production is not possible, it certainly can result from the consumption of highdoses of vitamin D – such as via certain food supplements.
An overdose of this kind leads to elevat ed calcium values in blood serum (hyperc alcaemia). The clinical symptoms associated with hypercalcaemia in humans range from fatigue and muscular weakness to vomiting and constipation, and can even lead to cardiac arrhythmias and the calcification of blood vessels. If persistent, hypercalcaemia can lead to kidney stones, kidney calcification and, ultimately, to a loss of renal function.
Even without exposure to sunlight, a daily consumption of 20 μg of vitamin D is adequate to meet the body’s needs for this vitamin for the vast majority (97.5%) of the population.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has set a UL value (tolerable upper intake level) of 100 μg for vitamin D. According to the latest scientific research, if adults and children aged eleven and older consume a daily quantity of no more than 100 μg, any impairments to health are unlikely. This UL value includes the intake of vitamin D from all sources, and thusincludes intake from supplements, normal dietary intake and intake from food that has been fortified with vitamin D. If high-dose vitamin D preparations are also consumed, this figure may be exceeded in combination with other sources of the vitamin.
From the perspective of nutritional science, the daily consumption of vitamin D preparations containing a 50 μg or 100 μg dose is not necessary. On the other hand, the BfR considers it unlikely that impairments to health will result from the occasional consumption of such high-dose preparations. If such high-dose vitamin D products are consumed on a daily basis over a longer period of time, however, the latest research does point to an elevated risk to health.
The BfR notes that, given an adequate length of time spent outdoors with corresponding exposure of the skin to sunlight, plus a balanced diet, an adequate supply of Vitamin D can be achieved by individuals without having to take vitamin D preparations. Individuals in risk groups for which a serious lack of vitamin D or a vitamin deficiency requiring medical intervention may be more likely to occur, should first clarify any need to take such preparations with their attending physician or general practitioner.
This opinion does not constitute a decision as to whether or not a product should be classified as a foodstuff, nor should it be interpreted as such.
Dr Gill Jenkins, Health & Food Supplements Information Service (HSIS) – www.hsis.org
Diets fuelled with the right vitamins and minerals are essential for our
immune systems, whatever our age, to function at their best. However, the
relationship between nutrition and our immune functions is highly complex.
Overall nutritional status and dietary patterns (food, nutrients and
non-nutritive bio-active compounds) impact the immune function. And the immune
function also impacts on how our bodies metabolise vitamins and minerals from
the diet, together with nutrient needs. The following e-news authored by GP, Dr
Gill Jenkins, from the evidence-backed Health & Food Supplements
Information Service (HSIS) takes a look at what vitamins and minerals our
immune systems need, together with current dietary shortfalls of these
nutrients and busting information myths.
Background
Micronutrients have vital roles throughout the immune system whatever your age. The vitamins and minerals needed to sustain a good, healthy immune function include:
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Folate
Iron
Selenium
Zinc.
Let’s take a look at a few of these nutrients and where there are dietary shortfalls and what this means to our health and wellbeing.
Poor immune nutrient intakes – the facts
Below-recommended intakes of nutrients involved in our immune functions are very common among many people, whatever their age in the UK. A 2019 report for HSIS[1] which evaluated micronutrient intakes from the UK NDNS[2] and DEFRA Family Food Survey over the last 20 years found there have been significant declines for several micronutrients during the past two decades. Intakes of riboflavin, folate, vitamin A, vitamin D, and iron significantly declined, while improvements were observed for zinc. In particular:
Vitamin A intake has declined by 6.8 µg per day. Vitamin A is essential to helpmetabolise
iron, maintain healthy mucous membranes, skin and vision, immune function
and cell specialisation.
Vitamin D intake has reduced by a significant 22 per
cent over 20 years.
Vitamin D is vital for normal bone, teeth, muscle and immune functions.
During the
last nine years there has been a significant average yearly reduction in folate
intake among men and women of all age groups including:
Around
3-4μg/day for children and adults aged 19 to 64 years
5μg/day
(equivalent to 45μg/day over the 9 years) for adults aged 65 years and
over.
In
2014/2015 – 2015/2016, the NDNS showed that 15 per cent of 11-18-year-old
girls and six per cent of 19-64-year-old women failed to achieve the Lower
Reference Nutrient Intakes (LRNI) for folate. Blood folate concentrations
also decreased significantly over the last nine years for most age groups
whatever your gender.
Nutrient Spotlights:
The B Family
Folate/Folic Acid – the facts:
Essential for the formation of red blood cells, folate has been shown to reduce
the levels of an amino acid (homocysteine). This reduction may have a
protective effect against heart disease too.1
Folate is also vital during pregnancy for efficient neural tube development which forms the brain and spinal cord. ‘Neural tube defects’, such as spina bifida in babies, appear to be linked to a ‘metabolic defect’ in folate metabolism in the mother. This means that, even though the mother may have an adequate dietary intake of folic acid, her body cannot use it efficiently. Taking extra folic acid at the time when the neural tube is forming can reduce the chance of the baby having a neural tube defect. However, the neural tube is formed very early during pregnancy – about a month after conception. Women are advised to take folic acid for 12 weeks prior to conception and to continue taking folic acid supplements until the 12th week of pregnancy.
Raw vegetables balancing
Riboflavin (B2): Part of the B group
of vitamins, Riboflavin is essential for the formation of two substances: FAD
(flavin adenine dinucleotide) and FMN (flavin mononucleotide). Both are vital
for the processes that make energy available in the body, essential for our
immune systems. Riboflavin works effectively with iron, vitamin B6 and folic
acid. It is important for the nervous system, skin and eye health too.
Vitamin D intakes – where are we?
Low
vitamin D status is common in the UK. In the latest government survey – NDNS-RP
– during January to March, 19 per cent of children aged 4 to 10 years, 37 per
cent of children aged 11 to 18 years and 29 per cent of adults had 25-OHD below
25nmol/L, the threshold indicating risk of deficiency. That’s why
supplementation all year round is recommended and in particular people should
take 10 micrograms daily during the autumn and winter months as recommended by
Public Health England.
Vitamin C – Spotlight
The
facts:
Vitamin
C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble, anti-oxidant vitamin. It cannot be
made in the body and must be taken in the diet or in a dietary supplement.
It
is present in foods including citrus fruits or their juices, tomatoes, red
and green peppers, kiwi fruit, strawberries, broccoli and potatoes. Here’s
a fast list of which foods are packed with vitamin C and how much of this
vital nutrient in each of the following natural sources:
A
clementine will provide about 30mg of vitamin C
6
cherry tomatoes about 15mg of vitamin C
1
kiwi fruit about 60mg of vitamin C
1
cup of strawberries have around 90mg of vitamin C
1
cup of peppers has about 120mg of vitamin C
1
cup of broccoli has around 80mg of vitamin C
One
200g baked potato about 20mg of vitamin C
100ml
of orange juice about 50mg of vitamin C.
Vitamin C
is found in high concentrations in phagocytes – the immune function cells –
that help to fight infection. If the body develops an infection, the phagocytes
are activated and release Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Whilst ROS appear to
have a role in deactivating viruses and bacteria, they may also harm ordinary
human cells. Vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant that may protect the
ordinary human cells from damage by ROS. Some evidence indicates that vitamin C
levels in the body may fall during infection.[3]
Vitamin C – the science in brief:
Man carrying full shopping basket in grocery store
Laboratory
studies have shown that vitamin C can help to alleviate infections but clinical
human studies have shown that vitamin C does not reduce the incidence of common
colds in the overall population neither does it treat colds once people have
them. However, for people that are very physically active vitamin C has been
shown to help reduce the number of colds.
There is
also some evidence that vitamin C may help in other infections but research
data is limited and there is no knowledge on appropriate dosage and timing over
which vitamin C could be used in relation to an infection.[4]
How much vitamin C do we need?
The UK
government guideline is for us all to achieve the Recommended Nutrient Intake
of vitamin C at 40mg a day. This is set from a starting point that 10 mg/d of
vitamin C is sufficient to prevent and to cure all the clinical signs of
scurvy. But 10mg/day is not enough to give measurable plasma (blood) levels of
the vitamin.
Myth
busting on vitamin C and plasma levels:
Vitamin C
begins to appear in plasma at intakes of about 30 mg/d and reaches a maximum
concentration with intakes of about 70 mg/d. Significant amounts of vitamin C
are present in plasma when intakes are 40 mg/d. The RNI has therefore been set
at 40mg/day and the LRNI at 10mg/day.[5] The guidelines are based on the amount of vitamin C
that will prevent the established adverse effects of vitamin C deficiency –
i.e. scurvy and poor wound healing.
A daily
amount of 40mg of vitamin C does not saturate the plasma levels. The vitamin C
level in plasma of people in good health becomes saturated at about 70
micromol/L when the intake is about 200mg/day[i]. Below intakes of 100mg daily there is a steep
relationship between dose and plasma concentration. This relationship flattens
out between intakes of 100mg and 200mg daily. If regular intakes are below
100mg/day, the benefits could be expected from higher intakes on the basis of
the intake/plasma concentration curve. However, infection itself causes altered
vitamin C metabolism and vitamin C plasma levels may be decreased in cases of
infection.
Sources
of vitamin C:
For people
wanting to aim for a vitamin C intake of 200mg daily from their diet this would
mean, consuming for example one cup of peppers and one cup of broccoli, 200ml
of orange juice plus a cup of strawberries or one kiwi fruit, 12 cherry
tomatoes and two clementines. Alternatively, a vitamin C supplement to bridge
vitamin C gaps in the diet could be an option and vitamin C is also found in
all multivitamin and multimineral supplements.
Minerals
– the low down:
Selenium
intakes have changed little over the past decade but again, intakes fall well
below recommended levels in some groups. In the latest government research –
NDNS-RP – 26 per cent of 11-18-year olds, 25 per cent of 19-64-year-olds and 36
per cent of those aged 65 and over had selenium intakes below the LRNI. For
women across these age ranges the figures were 45 per cent, 46 per cent and 66
per cent respectively. Again, LRNIs are bad news for people’s health and
wellbeing and we all need selenium for a healthy immune system, thyroid
function, protecting cells from oxidative stress and inflammation, as well as
helping to keep hair and nails healthy.
Zinc
intakes have improved slightly over the past 20 years although
below-recommended intakes occur in some population groups. More than one in
five (22 per cent) of 11-18-year olds, 11 per cent of 4-10-year old’s, eight
per cent of 19-64-year olds and seven per cent of people 65 and over have a
zinc intake below the LRNI. Amongst girls aged 11-18 years, more than a quarter
(27 per cent) have a zinc intake below the LRNI. We need good zinc nutrient
levels to fuel our bodies daily and this mineral helps with health functions
such as:
Tissue growth
The growth of immune cells
The body to produce its own antioxidant
enzymes
Fertility
Helping to keep hair, skin and nails
healthy.
Our iron scores – low or normal?
During the
past 20 years, iron intakes have reduced by five per cent overall. We all
really need iron in our diets to help ensure healthy immune systems and it also
contributes to:
Normal
energy metabolism
Cognitive
function
Formation
of red blood cells
Haemoglobin
Oxygen
transport in the body
The
reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
Some age
and gender groups have mean intakes of iron below the Reference Nutrient Intakes
(RNI) and substantial proportions with intakes below the LRNI, in particular
girls aged 11 to 18 years and women aged 19 to 64 years. More than half (54 per
cent) of girls aged 11-18 years and more than one quarter (27 per cent) of
women aged 19-64 have intakes of iron below the LRNI. And such low scores are
bad for our health and wellbeing, making us more vulnerable to problems like a
compromised immune function and osteoporosis.
LAST WORD
Micronutrients are important for our immune functions to work well.
Therefore, low intakes, especially in those nutrients where we have levels
below the LRNI, are bad news for our immune system and can impact it. Intakes
of micronutrients should be maintained within recommended levels. Getting vital
nutrients from the diet is essential and following government healthy eating
guidelines is key for people’s good health. A multivitamin and multimineral
supplement can help bridge nutrient gaps where dietary intakes are lacking and
keep our immune systems healthy and fit.
Notes
to editor:
For
further information or comment contact Jungle Cat Solutions
HSIS
(the Health and Food Supplements Information Service) is a communication
service providing accurate and balanced information on vitamins, minerals and
other food supplements to the media and to health professionals working in the
field of diet and nutrition. Find out more at www.hsis.org.
[1] State
of the nation: dietary trends in the UK – 20 years on. On file
[2]
Public
Health England, Food Standards Agency. National Diet and Nutrition Survey:
Years 1 to 9 of the Rolling Programme (2008/2009 – 2016/2017): Time trend and
income analyses. A survey carried out on behalf of Public Health England and
the Food Standards Agency. 2019; DEFRA. Family food statistics 2018;
Available from https://http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-food-statistics. 2018
Here are the warning signs of vitamin D deficiency most people ignore! Over 40% of American adults, and approximately 1 billion people worldwide are deficient in vitamin D. That’s a lot of people walking around lacking in this vital nutrient.
As you may already know, lack of vitamins or a vitamin deficiency can cause serious health consequences if not addressed. Because low vitamin D levels are affecting so many people across the globe, it’s important to learn the signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. Since vitamin D has receptors throughout the body, it’s imperative that you get adequate amounts in order to stay healthy.
If you suspect that you may need more vitamin D based on this list, it’s best to talk to your doctor and get your blood levels checked. The good news is that a deficiency of vitamin D is easy to fix if your levels are lower than adequate. You can either you get more sunlight, consume more foods high in Vitamin D, or take a supplement.
Never Ignore These Warning Signs Of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
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