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.

How Important Is Vitamin E To Nerve Health

Today's post from neuropathydr.com (see link below) is another useful and easy to understand article from the ever-reliable, Dr John Hayes jr. He explains the benefits of vitamin E to nervous system health and quite rightly warns against over-use, which can be harmful. It is important to state here that supplementing with vitamin E alone will not help your neuropathy on its own. It's a question of finding the right balance and package of supplements for you and that can be determined by vitamin and mineral level tests carried out by your doctor. These will highlight deficiencies you may have and help you decide where you need to take extras. It's also wise to look at the amounts of various vitamins and minerals that are contained in your daily multi-vitamin pills (a good idea anyway) and bear in mind that whatever you take extra, may push you over the best daily amounts for you. It's very easy to over use supplements, which may lead to health problems and will certainly lead to wallet problems! Dr Hayes also wisely points out that improvements don't happen overnight - you need to take these supplements for some months before you may notice any benefits. Many people give up after a few weeks when they fail to see any improvements.

Vitamin E and Nerve Health
Posted by john on January 9, 2014
 
With neuropathy, if you lack vitamin E, it will be impossible for your nerves to heal and function properly.

Vitamin E is an essential nutrient for all of us, especially those who suffer from many forms of peripheral neuropathy.

As a member of the fat-soluble vitamin family that includes vitamins A, D, E and K, it is also lacking in many modern diets.

This is also one key nutrient that occurs in eight different forms; two are the most biologically active. The most common are gamma and alpha. In your diet this will be found primarily in nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, which basically means it helps prevent cells from damage due to “free radicals”, or cell destruction generated by some biochemical reactions.

Although Vitamin E is best known for its role as an antioxidant, it does have some profound roles in protecting the nervous system. Vitamin E is essential to helping healthy nerve function, as it helps us repair and protect myelin, the sheath that insulates our large nerves.

Healthy myelin is largely responsible for normal nerve conduction.

In fact, studies suggest that Vitamin E, when given to diabetics can improve nerve conduction significantly1.

But there are some precautions: First, there are no overnight miracles. Supplementation for months may be necessary to see a significant effect. Too much Vitamin E can cause the blood to thin; this has an additive effect for anyone who takes Coumadin and other anticoagulant medications, including aspirin. Be especially careful here!

In addition to seeds and nuts (almonds and sunflower in particular), there are some other good dietary sources of Vitamin E, such as palm oil, the principal ingredient in “Earth Balance”, a butter substitute and line of products we recommend. To a lesser extent, leafy green vegetables and avocadoes will provide some active vitamin E.

Generally, safe supplementation is in the range of 2 to 400 international units of mixed tocopherols for most patients.

There maybe other occasions where your physician may want to prescribe larger amounts of the d-alpha tocopherol form. This is sometimes done in other neurologic conditions including multiple sclerosis.

As we say all the time, there is no one single magic nutrient. But if you lack vitamin E, it will be impossible for your nerves to heal and function properly.

This is another reason why multiple nutrient components are necessary for effective health maintenance and treatment of disease; this is not a short-term proposition.

As always, with neuropathy it is important to work very carefully with your physicians and therapists and make sure that your progress is monitored.

1. 10.2337/diacare.21.11.1915 Diabetes Care November 1998 vol. 21 no. 11 1915-1918

Dietary antioxidant interventions in type 2 diabetes patients: a meta-analysis The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease March 1, 2011 11:62-68

http://neuropathydr.com/vitamin-e-and-nerve-health/

Vitamin C And Neuropathy Vid

Today's short video comes from a series of videos about neuropathy and the various ways of treating it, made by Dr. John Hayes Jr. (see link below). Regular readers of the blog will have seen several of these videos before and they can be useful for people wondering about vitamins and supplements which may be helpful in combatting their neuropathy symptoms. Don't jump to conclusions though. It is most unlikely that you will feel any benefit by taking a few vitamin C tablets, for a few weeks - talk it over with your doctor - you may have a deficiency in certain vitamins and or minerals that can have a bearing on your neuropathy problems. If that's the case, then you may be justified in taking vitamin supplements but otherwise, a good diet will go a long way to providing you with the vitamins and minerals you need. If you don't want to discuss it with your doctor, do as much research as you can (there are other articles on this site too) but beware of so-called 'miracle cures' and 'formulas' - there are a lot of people who are quite happy to relieve you of your hard earned money for no reward.


Episode 25 – Vitamin C Posted by John Hayes Jr Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

The relationships between vitamin C, immunity, chronic pain, and neuropathy.


http://beatingneuropathy.tv/2013/09/episode-25/

Vitamin B6 Overdosing Can Lead To Neuropathy

Today's post from peoplespharmacy.com (see link below) is a bit of a wake-up call for people who regularly use vitamin supplements - too much of a particular vitamin can have the opposite effect to that which you hoped for. You will also see Vitamin B widely recommended as a help when you have neuropathic problems but that is generally B12 and even then, it should only be used when you have a deficiency already. Doctors are sometimes reluctant to routinely test for vitamin deficiencies but it's not that difficult and in the case of neuropathy, it can provide important information. The lesson here is that you should find out exactly what you're lacking in the vitamin department and then supplement as necessary (or improve your diet). Overdosing on a particular vitamin can be dangerous and even checking how much (vitamin B types in this case) is in your daily multi-vitamin may prevent you taking in too much. As a general point, if you take Vitamin B12 supplements, don't forget that you need folic acid too, in order for the body to absorb it efficiently. Many products have folic acid 'in-built' but if not, you will need folic acid supplements to achieve the right effect.
In general, always get the advice of your docotr or a qualified nutritionist before deciding to supplement your diet - it could save you both money and health problems.

Excess Vitamin Caused Neuropathy

November 21, 2010

 

Q. When I was a teenager I had a brief bout with acne. A friend of my mother said I should take baker's yeast. I took it for two weeks and it cleared up my skin. I hated the taste, though, so I switched to brewer's yeast tablets. I have been taking five a day for 40 years.

Over the last few years I have had trouble with numbness in my feet. It's a weird sensation, as though there were plastic wrap around them. A neurologist sent me for a battery of blood tests to rule out a vitamin B6 deficiency. He said it could cause peripheral neuropathy like mine.
My test results came back sky high. My B6 levels were seven times normal. Brewer's yeast is high in vitamin B6. It turns out that either too little or too much of this vitamin can cause peripheral neuropathy.

A. Neurologists consider the nerve damage that occurs from vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) toxicity as a stocking-glove phenomenon. The numb sensation you described was a red flag. People are usually advised to keep their vitamin B6 intake under 100 mg daily.

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/11/21/excess-vitamin-caused-neuropathy/

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/