Vitamin D Expert Says More Than Half The World's Population Gets Insufficient Vitamin D

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BlankVitamin D Expert Says More Than Half The World's Population Gets

Insufficient Vitamin D

19 Jul 2010

Vitamin D surfaces as a news topic every few months. How much daily vitamin D

should a person get? Is it possible to have too much of it? Is exposure to the

sun, which is the body's natural way of producing vitamin D, the best option? Or

do supplements suffice?

In the July 2010 issue of Endocrine Today, a monthly newspaper published by

SLACK, Inc., to disseminate information about diabetes and endocrine disorders,

Norman, a distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and

biomedical sciences and an international expert on vitamin D, notes that half

the people in North America and Western Europe get insufficient amounts of

vitamin D.

" Elsewhere, it is worse, " he says, " given that two-thirds of the people are

vitamin D-insufficient or deficient. It is clear that merely eating vitamin

D-rich foods is not adequate to solve the problem for most adults. "

Currently, the recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 200 international units

(IU) for people up to 50 years old; 400 IU for people 51 to 70 years old; and

600 IU for people over 70 years old.

" There is a wide consensus among scientists that the relative daily intake of

vitamin D should be increased to 2,000 to 4,000 IU for most adults, " Norman

says. " A 2000 IU daily intake can be achieved by a combination of sunshine,

food, supplements, and possibly even limited tanning exposure. "

While there is now abundant data on vitamin D and its benefits, Norman believes

there is room for more study.

" The benefits of more research on the topic justifies why this field of research

deserves additional governmental funding, " he says. " Already, several studies

have reported substantial reductions in incidence of breast cancer, colon cancer

and type 1 diabetes in association with adequate intake of vitamin D, the

positive effect generally occurring within five years of initiation of adequate

vitamin D intake. "

Because vitamin D is found in very few foods naturally (e.g. fish, eggs and cod

liver oil) other foods such as milk, orange juice, some yogurts and some

breakfast foods are fortified with it. The fortification levels aim at about 400

IU per day.

Norman, who holds the title of Presidential Chair in Biochemistry-Emeritus, has

been researching vitamin D for nearly 50 years. In 1967, his laboratory

discovered that the vitamin is converted into a steroid hormone by the body. Two

years later, his laboratory discovered the vitamin D receptor (or VDR), an

essential receptor for the steroid hormone form of vitamin D that is present in

more than 37 target organs of the body that respond biologically to the vitamin.

" There is now irrevocable evidence that receptors in the immune, pancreas,

heart-cardiovascular, muscle and brain systems in the body generate biological

responses to the steroid hormone form of vitamin D, " he says.

Source: University of California - Riverside

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195001.php