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vitamin d
Vitamin D: Consumption of high-dose food supplements is unnecessary
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.
Link between Vitamin D treatment and autism prevention
Giving vitamin D supplements to mice during pregnancy prevents autism traits in their offspring, University of Queensland researchers have discovered.
The discovery provides further evidence of the crucial role vitamin D plays in brain development, said lead researcher Professor Darryl Eyles, from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute.
“Our study used the most widely accepted developmental model of autism in which affected mice behave abnormally and show deficits in social interaction, basic learning and stereotyped behaviours,” Professor Eyles said.
“We found that pregnant females treated with active vitamin D in the equivalent of the first trimester of pregnancy produced offspring that did not develop these deficits.”
In human studies, QBI researchers recently found a link between pregnant women with low Vitamin D levels and the increased likelihood of having a child with autistic traits.
Autism — or autism spectrum disorder — describes lifelong developmental disabilities including difficulty or inability to communicate with others and interact socially.
Sun exposure is the major source of vitamin D — which skin cells manufacture in response to UV rays — but it is also found in some foods.
Dr Wei Luan, a postdoctoral researcher involved in the study, said vitamin D was crucial for maintaining healthy bones, but the active hormonal form of vitamin D cannot be given to pregnant women because it may affect the skeleton of the developing foetus.
“Recent funding will now allow us to determine how much cholecalciferol – the supplement form that is safe for pregnant women — is needed to achieve the same levels of active hormonal vitamin D in the bloodstream,” said Dr Luan.
“This new information will allow us to further investigate the ideal dose and timing of vitamin D supplementation for pregnant women.
It was previously thought vitamin D had a protective anti-inflammatory effect during brain development, but the study didn’t find this to be the case.
New funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council will allow researchers to continue to study how vitamin D protects against autism.
Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help to prevent rheumatoid arthritis
Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may help to prevent the onset of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, research led by the University of Birmingham has discovered.
The research also found that while Vitamin D can be effective at preventing the onset of inflammation, it is less effective once inflammatory disease is established because diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis leads to vitamin D insensitivity.
Another key finding of the research was that the impact of vitamin D on inflammatory disease cannot be predicted using cells from healthy individuals or even from the blood of patients with inflammation as cells from the disease tissue are very different.
The researchers concluded that if vitamin D is to be used in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, clinicians may need to prescribe much higher doses than currently employed or provide a treatment that also corrects the vitamin D insensitivity of immune cells within the joint.
In addition to its well-established actions on the skeleton, vitamin D is a potent modulator of the immune system. In particular, vitamin D can suppress inflammation in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are frequently vitamin D deficient and may receive vitamin D supplementation.
The study, published in the Journal of Autoimmunity, involved using paired peripheral blood and synovial fluid from the inflamed joint of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Professor Martin Hewison, of the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, said: “Our current understanding of vitamin D and rheumatoid arthritis is based on studies of patient blood which may not truly represent the situation at the site of inflammation – the joints.
“We therefore investigated responses to the active form of vitamin D in immune cells from the inflamed joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
“Compared to blood from the same patients, the inflamed joint immune cells were much less sensitive to active vitamin D.
“This appears to be because immune cells from the joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients are more committed to inflammation, and therefore less likely to change, even though they have all the machinery to respond to vitamin D.”
Dr Louisa Jeffery, also of the University of Birmingham, said: “Our research indicates that maintaining sufficient vitamin D may help to prevent the onset of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
“However, for patients who already have rheumatoid arthritis, simply providing vitamin D might not be enough. Instead much higher doses of vitamin D may be needed, or possibly a new treatment that bypasses or corrects the vitamin D insensitivity of immune cells within the joint.”
Senior author Professor Karim Raza, also of the University of Birmingham, said: “Our findings were unexpected as we initially thought that cells from the inflamed rheumatoid joint would respond just as well to vitamin D as cells from the blood. The fact that they don’t has important implications for how we think about using vitamin D to treat inflammation.
“Unlike previous studies we isolated different immune cell types from the actual site of disease to determine whether specific subsets of immune cells (specific T cell groups) have equal sensitivity to vitamin D.”
This is the first research of its kind to characterise the effects of vitamin D in both peripheral blood and inflamed joints of patients with inflammatory disease.
The study, carried out in collaboration with Professor David Sansom at University College London, is part of an ongoing research project which first began in 2011.
The university now hopes to embark on new research to determine why rheumatoid arthritis leads to vitamin D insensitivity, how we can overcome this and whether this effect is seen in other inflammatory diseases.
14 Signs Of Vitamin D Deficiency
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.