Vitamin D links
The best way to research things like vitamin D supplementation is to use google
under searches like: vitamin d3 50,000 diabetes osteporosis
Note: D3 is the best supplement. D2 is not as easily made bioavailable. I did
not include those learned discussions in this list.
I was unable to locate the journal article regarding osteoporosis, better
walking for the elderly, correction of bone loss, etc. that I gave to my doctor,
last week, but it is out there. It was a group of endos who did a medical study
and were convinced vitamin d3 supplmentation in doses of 50,000 IU were
appropriate.
Here are links that even the most dedicated science guy or gal should have few
problems accepting as valid. There are a great deal more out there. One I
found on a naturopathic site, which I did not include, cited using doses of
50,000 IU for PCOS, which I mention for our PCOS sufferers.
May 29th, 2004 at 6:11 pm
I have great reservations about the 10000 iu per day of vit d on a
continuing basis you are suggesting. As a fat soluble vitamin it can lead
to toxic levels which cause, among other things, harm to heart and kidney
which would be of great concern to a diabetic. Based on research, the
benefits for a diabetic are realized at far lower levels. In the below
links one can find that 1000 iu achieved the desired diabetic effect, and
perhaps even more important, taking it in combination with calcium gets the
best bang for the buck at a lower dose.
One of my concerns is the too frequent thinking that if some amount helps
then more is better, not so. In all biological processes there is the rule
of the minimal, optimal, and maximal. The min is where an effect is seen,
the opt is where it has most effect and the max where no additional effect
is seen and negative effects start to occur. I fear in this case the 10000
iu is an example of the latter and flirts with toxic levels. The most
generous suggested level for maximum daily use is less then 10000 iu,
another source put it at 5000 iu. As mentioned above, the optimal levels
for a diabetic are most likely achieved at a fraction of even the latter.
May I suggest consulting these in confirmation:
A two part article which includes the research on diabetes and is an all
round good resource for the whole topic with the second discussing what is
enough vit d and the great variation in the factors that make 10000 iu a
great toxic risk in many people.
A research article ‘Vitamin D and calcium intake in women’ with the vit d
with calcium for lowest t2 risk at moderate intake levels. If you can
consult the full article, there is discussion that the calcium might be in
fact the deciding factor that vit d just helps along because it enhances
absorption. Calcium is involved in all aspects of insulin production and
use.
See for another good allround discussion of all aspects of the topic of vit
d, including how much is enough and what is toxic. This reference resource
is always excellent for vitamin and mineral and nutrition scientific based
research.
XB
IC|XC
May 31st, 2004 at 2:22 am
The concern over Vit D is probably good as a corrective but the fact remains
that many persons with Diabetes are deficient in D. The best way to test is to
measure the Vit D in the system and then act accordingly. A level of 120 is
considered OK. I think it is only under a Dr supervision that one should take
larger doses of Vit D. A dose of 10,000 a day is a good start. But everyone is
June 7th, 2004 at 4:14 am
The question of what the normal range of blood levels of vit d is and what
is effective to aid in diabetes treatment is a complex one. For those
interested I again urge reading this two part article which covers the
entire question of vit d in detail starting at:
The second part includes mention of research results which shows a blood
level of 75 reverses the insulin factors risk due to a low blood level of
vit d.
While, as the article above discusses, there are many factors that affect
how much vit d we get and how much raises it on a daily constant basis to a
blood level in the normal range, it is on the order of 800 to 2000 iu per
day. As the links provided by Marsha show, one approach to achieve normal
levels is to jump start it by using large amounts for a short period until
the normal range is reached. That doesn’t support a usual daily practice of
mega doses on a continuing basis.
Note also once again the other research to which readers were referred
supporting the notion that it is the interaction between vit d and calcium
levels of intake that is the most effective measure of risk of t2 diabetes
and when with 1200 mg of cal plus 800 iu of vit d on a daily basis was
used, the lowest risk level was realized.
"calcidiol level in the serum is the best indicator to define vitamin D
status, which is classified thus (in nmol/L) in decreasing order of
severity: deficiency (012 .5), insufficiency (12.5 50), hypovitaminosis (50
100), and sufficiency (100 250), with hypervitaminosis D toxicity
considered to be greater than 250.7 However, defined cut-off values between
stages would appear to be arbitrary and related risk factors would also
need to be factored in."
XB
IC|XC