LINK BETWEEN NEW BORN HEALTH AND VITAMIN D

The impact vitamin A has on newborns is virtually unknown, but Penn State nutrition researchers have published two papers that may provide a framework for future investigations of the vitamin and neonatal health.

After supplementing newborn rats with vitamin A, the researchers found that vitamin A distribution within the body increases suddenly but temporarily, with a significant amount found in tissues other than the liver. Vitamin A in adults is usually found in significant amounts in the liver.

Nutrition experts know that vitamin A is necessary for prenatal growth and development, as well as in older children; but the role of vitamin A remains unclear for the neonatal period. Stores of the vitamin become depleted as the fetus reaches full term, to the point where newborns are nearly depleted of vitamin A. Neonates born in developing countries are likely to have even lower amounts of vitamin A in their bodies.

"The World Health Organization recommends periodic vitamin A supplements to children living in developing countries," said A. Catharine Ross, professor of nutritional sciences and Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair. "Giving large doses of vitamin A to children 6 months to 5 years old has shown to decrease mortality by 23 percent. However, studies in children under 6 months have been inconclusive."

Ross and colleagues studied levels of vitamin A in rat pups for two weeks, from 4 days old to 18 days old, similar to neonatal age in children. Half the pups received a vitamin A supplement while the others did not receive any supplement -- serving as the control.

The researchers measured the pups' rate of vitamin A metabolism by sampling various organs and found that vitamin A was used very quickly. Retinol, which is a form that vitamin A takes in the body, isn't broken down immediately and is recycled between plasma and tissues. The pups that received the supplement experienced lower rates of recycling, however they had greater uptake of vitamin A in extravascular tissues.

The supplemented rats were also found to have an increased uptake of chylomicron retinyl ester -- another form that vitamin A takes in the body -- in the lungs, intestines and remaining tissue, and a decrease in retinol turnover out of the liver, compared to the unsupplemented rats, Ross and colleagues report in two recent articles published in the Journal of Lipid Research.

The researchers speculate that since the neonates are born with a low vitamin A level but have a high demand for it, the uptake of retinyl ester in tissues other than the liver is an adaptive mechanism to make more vitamin A available for use.

"This research provides us with a blueprint for humans, giving us a baseline set of data, in order to let us make comparisons in the future," said Ross. "By being able to better understand infants' nutritional needs, evidence-based dietary intake recommendations could be made and infant mortality could potentially be reduced, particularly in developing countries."

Also working on this research were Libo Tan, graduate student and postdoctoral fellow in nutritional sciences; Amanda E. Wray, research technologist in nutritional sciences; and Michael H. Green, professor of nutritional sciences.

 

VITAMIN D MAY NOT LOWER SENIORS FALL RISK

 Taking vitamin D supplements does little to reduce seniors’ risk of falls, a new review finds.

Researchers analyzed 20 studies that included nearly 30,000 people and tested how vitamin D supplements affected fall risk.

The results showed that the supplements did not reduce falls by 15 percent or more, which means they had little effect, according to Mark Bolland of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and colleagues.

They concluded that there is insufficient evidence to support recommending vitamin D to seniors to lower their risk of falls, and also said that current ongoing studies investigating this theory are unlikely to change the conclusion.

The study was published in the April 23 issue of The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.

The researchers noted that current evidence does not show whether taking vitamin D supplements might reduce falls in particularly vulnerable older people, such as those who fall often. This is because most studies examine only the total number of falls among all participants, rather than the number of falls per person.

Until now, some evidence that vitamin D supplements might prevent falls has led certain health organizations to recommend the use of the supplements, the review authors noted.

“Whether a large trial is feasible in this vulnerable population remains to be established. Until then, we are left with uncertainty about the benefits of vitamin D supplementation for reduction in fall risk, particularly among vulnerable older people,” Clifford Rosen, of the Maine Medical Research Institute, and Christine Taylor, of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, wrote in an accompanying commentary.

VIT D DEFICIENCY HYPERTENSION LINKED

New genetic research provides compelling evidence that low levels of vitamin D have a causal role in the development of high blood pressure (hypertension). The findings, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, suggest that vitamin D supplementation could be effective in combating some cases of hypertension.

"In view of the costs and side effects associated with antihypertensive drugs, the potential to prevent or reduce blood pressure and therefore the risk of hypertension with vitamin D is very attractive," explains study leader Professor Elina Hyppönen from the University of South Australia.*

There has been considerable interest in the role of vitamin D in hypertension, but until now, a direct causal link has not been shown. Results from observational studies have suggested a strong association between low vitamin D levels and increases in blood pressure and hypertension, but randomised trials have not provided consistent evidence.

This Mendelian randomisation study used genetic data from the D-CarDia collaboration, involving over 146 500 individuals of European ancestry from across Europe and North America.

Researchers used two common genetic variants that affect circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D concentrations (which are generally used to determine a person's vitamin D status), to measure the causal effect between vitamin D status and blood pressure and hypertension risk. They found that for each 10% increase in 25(OH)D concentration there was a drop in diastolic blood pressure (-0.29 mm Hg) and systolic blood pressure (-0.37 mm Hg), and an 8.1% decrease in the odds of developing hypertension.

According to Professor Hyppönen, "Mendelian randomisation helps to determine cause and effect because by using genetic data we can better avoid confounding, reverse causation, and bias. However, because we cannot exclude the possibility that our findings were caused by chance, they need to be replicated in an independent, similarly powered study. Further studies using randomised controlled trials are also needed to confirm causality and the potential clinical benefits of vitamin D supplementation."

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Shoaib Afzal and Dr Børge Nordestgaard from Copenhagen University Hospital and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark say, "Although [this] study is an important step towards delineation of the role of low vitamin D concentrations in the pathogenesis of hypertension, much remains unknown. Confirmation of these results in independent, similarly powered studies will be necessary, as will evidence of a corresponding benefit for the prevention of diseases caused by hypertension such as stroke. Finally, randomised intervention trials will be needed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation can be used to prevent or treat hypertension before such a strategy can be used clinically."

Vitamin D A Key Supplement For Neuropathy

Today's short post from neuropathydr.com (see link below) talks once again about the importance of vitamin D in our diets, especially relating to nerve health and damage. Vitamin D is only now being better understood and you may hear various opinions from various sources, especially regarding dosage if you're going to supplement your diet with vitamin D. Whatever the truth behind the matter, it would be wise to have your Vitamin D levels checked out by your doctor if you have neuropathy, or any other immune system related diseases and take his or her advice and do your own research as to whether you would be wise to take extra.

Neuropathy Diet and Key Supplements, Vitamin D
Posted by Editor on October 23, 2014
 
Don’t Overlook This Important Nutrient in Healing Through Neuropathy Diet and Supplementation.

Vitamin D is an absolutely essential nutrient that plays an important role in a healing neuropathy diet, not to mention multiple other types of disorders.

This vitamin has many key functions in your body. For one thing, it helps you maintain bone mass. Perhaps most importantly, Vitamin D allows you to build an immune system that can fight off invading diseases and restore order when your health has gone awry.

We may not even know everything there is to know about Vitamin D! New research continues to turn up additional ways that this vitamin is important for overall health as well as a vital part of a neuropathy diet.

Low levels of Vitamin D can really wreak havoc on your immune system. You’ll find that you get sick more easily with colds or the flu. You may also have global aches and pains that are hard to define or treat.
For your optimum health when battling neuropathic pain or discomfort, Vitamin D can be a significant part of a clinician-recommended neuropathy diet. That’s because Vitamin D helps your body manufacture certain substances, called neurotropins, that exist to repair and regenerate damaged nerves.

You may be wondering how to determine an effective dose of Vitamin D as a part of a neuropathy diet.
Unfortunately, experts don’t necessarily agree on this topic, especially in terms of world regions. Many European countries have a standard recommendation of several thousand international units (IUs) every day for adults. In the U.S., doctors tend to say that a good daily dose for adults is 600 IUs.

When I am helping a patient develop a customized neuropathy diet, I often recommend 2500 IUs or even more. That’s because the research shows that most people don’t get enough sunlight or enough natural food-based Vitamin D, so they need plenty of supplementation.

The best place to start is with a baseline check of your Vitamin D levels, so that you can work with your clinician to come up with the perfect dosage for your body’s needs. Most of all, be sure not to take TOO much Vitamin D without close monitoring—in very high doses, it can be toxic.

http://neuropathydr.com/neuropathy-diet-and-vitamin-d/