Can it help you lose weight? “Vitamin D has long been associated with bone health, and it’s true that it plays an important role in regulating calcium deposition and bone formation, but recent research has also shown that Vitamin D plays an important role in cardiovascular heath, immune system regulation, cancer prevention, blood sugar regulation and weight management!
The number of men and women with insulin resistance and type II diabetes is growing at an alarming rate. Thanks to many of the diet and lifestyle choices that are prevalent in our culture, children and adults are increasingly more at risk of developing unwanted belly fat and imbalanced blood sugar levels. This leads to insulin receptors losing sensitivity. This problem is self-propagating, as increased insulin resistance will in turn cause more abdominal adipose tissue (belly fat) which is more insulin resistant than other tissue and the cycle continues.
Many patients who have developed insulin resistance will take medication that works on the insulin receptor and improves insulin sensitivity; the most common of these medications is metformin (also glucophage). Research has shown that while metformin may improve insulin sensitivity by 13%, a higher vitamin D level is correlated with a 60% improvement in insulin sensitivity. One clinical trial using 1,332 IU/day for only 30 days in 10 women with type II diabetes improved insulin sensitivity by 23%.
Another study on obese children and adolescents found that “obese children and adolescents with low vitamin D status may be at increased risk of developing impaired glucose metabolism independent of body adiposity.”
Increased fat leads to increased insulin resistance. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. Sugar and grains trigger insulin.
More Studies-Vitamin D and Cancer Prevention (Labrix Clinical: 2010) “It is estimated that 85,000 cases of breast cancer and 60,000 cases of colorectal cancer could be prevented in North America alone with sufficient vitamin D levels. A recent study compiled data on breast and colon cancer and vitamin D levels and found that dosages of 3500 IU/day would reduce breast cancer and 2000 IU/day would reduce colon cancer by 50%. Current median adult intake of vitamin D in the US -230 IU/day.”
Mechanisms by which vitamin D may modify cancer risk are not fully understood, but laboratory studies have shown that vitamin D promotes cellular differentiation, decreases cancer cell growth, hinders angiogenesis, and stimulates apoptosis.
Several observational studies and a few prospectively randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that adequate levels of vitamin D can decrease the risk and improve survival rates for several types of cancers including breast, rectum, ovary, prostate, stomach, bladder, esophagus, kidney, lung, pancreas, uterus, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.
The effects of vitamin D serum levels on colorectal cancer were illustrated in the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study. The EPIC study enrolled more than half a million adults in 10 western European countries who were initially free of cancer. Full intakes and lab work (including vitamin D levels) were performed on all participants. After several years of follow up, 1248 subjects developed colorectal cancer and these individuals were matched to 1248 study participants who did not develop colorectal cancer. The researchers report that people with the highest pre-cancer levels of vitamin D were about 40 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer than those with the lowest levels.
People can get some of the vitamin D they need through sunlight exposure and diet.
The few foods that naturally contain vitamin D include fatty fish, fish liver oil, and eggs. Most dietary vitamin D comes from fortified foods, such as milk, juices, yogurt, bread and breakfast cereals.
Unfortunately most people do not get adequate vitamin D from these sources and insufficiency is literally an epidemic. New statistics extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found that more than 90% of the population with pigmented skin, and 75% of the white population, have insufficient levels of vitamin D.
How Much Vitamin D3? NBH Lifetime Health offers a 5,000 mg capsule of Vitamin D3, 100 caps for only $30.00. *It is pharmaceutical grade and has been shown in our lab testing to raise levels to optimal levels of 60 to 90. The maintenance dose is only $0.30 per day. In some instances, we recommend a prescription 50,000 mg capsule for the first eight (8) weeks followed by the maintenance dose.
Rx for the Heart: We recommend that adults take 5,000 mg per day of our Pharmaceutical Grade vitamin D3. We also recommend at least 2,000 mg per day of EPA and DHA from our Marine Fish Oil (purified). If you want to promote cardiovascular health beyond these two nutrients, we also recommend red yeast rice, niacin (nicotinic acid – 100 mg to 1500 mg) and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) – 100 mg/day or 200 mg to 300 mg of CQ10 if you have cardiovascular disease. Anyone on a statin drug should take CoQ10.
[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]