You Asked!
- I am out in the sun at least 15 minutes a day. Therefore, I shouldn't worry about vitamin D deficiency, should I?
- Can Vitamin D prolong life?
- Can Vitamin D prevent Heart disease?
- Should I be tested for diabetes even though I don’t have any symptoms?
- I am on Levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid) but I am still tired. Any suggestions!
Q: I am out in the sun at least 15 minutes a day. Therefore, I shouldn't worry about vitamin D deficiency, should I?
A: Unfortunately, this myth is quite common. It's true that the sun is the main natural source of vitamin D. However, most people don't get enough vitamin D from sun exposure. Why?
There are many variables that determine how much vitamin D your skin can manufacture from sun exposure.
These variables are:
1. Geographic location with reference to latitude. The farther you live from the equatar, the less effective sun rays are during winter months to provide adequate vitamin D synthesis.
2. Season
3. Time of the day
4. Clouds
5. Air pollution
6. Use of sun screen and make-ups, containing sun screen
7. How much skin is exposed without the use of sun screen
8. Amount of color in the skin
9. Age
With so many variables, any generic recommendation can't be scientifically correct.
For example, a person out in the sun in Florida will have a different amount of vitamin D synthesis in his skin as compared to a person living in Boston.
Even in the same location vitamin D synthesis will be different in older folks than young people, in people with dark skin versus fair skin and in people wearing long pants versus those wearing shorts.
Click here to learn about vitamin D.
Q: Can Vitamin D prolong life?
A: the answer is yes.
Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin but a hormone. A hormone is substance produced in one part of the body, gets in blood circulation and has its affects on various organs in the body.
When you are low in Hormone D, you are actually suffering from a disease state, which has negative effects on various organs of the body. The organs that are particularly affected by a low Hormone D state are: heart, muscles, bones, joints, immune system, insulin producing cells, kidneys and skin cells.
For this reason, people low in vitamin D are at increased risk for heart attacks, cancer, infections, diabetes, immune disorders, osteoporosis, fractures, high blood pressure and kidney failure. These illnesses obviously can reduce your life expectancy. In addition, they also significantly reduce your quality of life.
Do people with higher level of vitamin D live longer than those who are low in vitamin D.
The answer is yes. In an excellent study (1) published in 2008, researchers found that over a period of 8 years, only 10% of patients with vitamin D level more than 30 ng/ml died as compared to 35% of those with vitamin D less than 15 ng/ml. It is an amazing finding!
References:
1.Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC ) study.J. Endocrinol. Metab. 2008;93:3927-3935
Q: Can Vitamin D prevent Heart disease?
A: The answer is quite likely.
When it comes to heart disease, everyone thinks of cholesterol. What most people don’t know is that vitamin D deficiency is also linked to heart disease.
Is there any scientific evidence to show the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and heart disease?
The answer is yes. Scientific evidence to show the link between vitamin D deficiency and heart disease continues to grow. An article (1) published in 1989 in Lancet, a respected British Medical Journal, a researcher noted a relationship between latitude and heart disease: the farther you live from the equator, the lower you are in vitamin D and the higher your risk for heart disease.
Over the years, numerous studies continue to show a relationship between low vitamin D level and heart disease. However, this vital information hardly received any public attention until 2008 when two studies finally got the attention of the news media.
In the first study (2), published in January 2008 in Circulation (the official journal of the American Heart Association), researchers followed 1739 participants for the development of heart disease. The mean follow-up was 5.4 years. These researchers found a 2-fold increase in the risk for heart disease in individuals who had a low level of vitamin D.
In the second study (3), published in the June 9, 2008 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine (the official journal of the American Medical Association), investigators looked at the level of vitamin D in men who developed a heart attack during a 10 year follow-up period. The results were stunning: the lower the vitamin D level, the higher the risk for heart attack. Men whose vitamin D level was at least 30 ng/ml had half the risk of a heart attack compared to men who had a vitamin D level below 30 ng/ml.
Therefore, you should take Vitamin D Supplements To Prevent Heart Disease.
In the last three decades, heart disease has become so prevalent that it’s the number one killer in the U.S.; During the same time period, vitamin D deficiency has grown to epidemic proportions.
Compelling scientific evidence indicates that vitamin D appears to be a significant factor in heart disease. Vitamin D is cheap, has virtual no side-effects and has many benefits in addition to cardiovascular benefits. Isn’t it time to get on board and take charge of your vitamin D needs?
References:
1. Fleck A. Latitude and ischemic heart disease. Lancet. 1989;1:613.
2. Wang TJ, Pencina MJ, Booth SL, et al. Vitamin D deficiency and risk of cardiovascular disease. Circulation.2008;117:503-511.
3. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB. 25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men. A prospective study. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1174-1180.
Q: Should I be tested for diabetes even though I don’t have any symptoms?
A: Type 2 diabetes, the most frequent type of diabetes, usually does not cause any symptoms for a long period of time. It is a silent killer.
People with the following characteristics are at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes and therefore, should undergo testing for diabetes even if they have no symptoms:
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Age greater than 30 years
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Family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol disorder, heart attack or stroke.
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Overweight, especially in the abdominal area. (waist-line more than 35 inches in females and 38 inches in males)
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High blood pressure (Blood pressure greater than 130/80 mm Hg.
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Triglyceride level greater than 150 mg/dl
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HDL cholesterol less than 45 mg/dl. in males and less than 55 mg/dl in females
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Heart attack, angioplasty, stent placement or heart bypass surgery.
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Stroke, mini-strokes or dementia
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History of gestational diabetes or delivery of a baby over nine pounds
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Women with a history of irregular menses, excessive hair growth or facial acne.
Q: I am on Levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid) but I am still tired. Any suggestions!
A: This is a common problem. Possible reasons for continued tiredness after a person is on thyroid replacement are as follows:
Levothyroxine (brand names Synthroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid) provides only T4. If someone's T3 continues to be low, then tiredness will continue because a good level of T3 is important to take care of tiredness and other symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Click here for more information on Under-active Thyroid.
People with hypothyroidism are also at increased risk for Vitamin B12 insufficiency and Adrenal Insufficiency, both of which cause marked tiredness.
Other common causes of tiredness include Vitamin D deficiency, sleep deprivation, sleep apnea, stress, depression, anemia and side-effects of medications.
This article was written by Sarfraz Zaidi, MD, FACE. Dr. Zaidi
specializes in Diabetes,
Endocrinology
and Metabolism.
Dr. Zaidi is an assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA and Director of the Jamila Diabetes and Endocrine Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California.
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