Vitamin D3

The high rate of natural production of vitamin D3 cholecalciferol (pronounced koh·luh·kal·sif·uh·rawl) in the skin is the single most important fact every person should know about vitamin D, a fact that has profound implications for the natural human condition.

Technically not a "vitamin," vitamin D is in a class by itself. Its metabolic product, calcitriol, is actually a secosteroid hormone that targets over 2000 genes (about 10% of the human genome) in the human body. Current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more.

Vitamin D's influence on key biological functions vital to one's health and well-being mandates that vitamin D no longer be ignored by the health care industry nor by individuals striving to achieve and maintain a greater state of health. Vitamin D3 deficiency is common in older adults and has been implicated in psychiatric and neurologic disorders. For example, in one study of 80 older adults (40 with mild Alzheimer’s disease and 40 nondemented persons), Vitamin D3 deficiency was associated with low mood and with impairment on two of four measures of cognitive performance. Musculoskeletal disorders have been linked to Vitamin D3 deficiency in a number of studies. One of the newest studies explored the role that low Vitamin D3 levels play in the development of chronic low back pain in women. Sixty female patients in Egypt complaining of low back pain lasting more than three months were studied. Researchers measured levels of Vitamin D3 in the women with low back pain and compared those levels to those of 20 matched healthy controls.

The study revealed that patients with low back pain had significantly lower Vitamin D3 levels than controls. Low Vitamin D3 levels (25 OHD < 40 ng/ml) were found in 49/60 patients (81 percent) and 12/20 (60 percent) of controls.

One of the best known and long-established benefits of Vitamin D3 is its ability to improve bone health and the health of the musculoskeletal system. It is well documented that Vitamin D3 deficiency causes osteopenia, precipitates and exacerbates osteoporosis, causes a painful bone disease known as osteomalacia, and exacerbates muscle weakness, which increases the risk of falls and fractures. Vitamin D3 insufficiency may alter the regulatory mechanisms of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and cause a secondary hyperparathyroidism that increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. Scientists are developing a greater appreciation for Vitamin D3’s ability to improve cognition. In a recent study, Vitamin D3 deficient subjects scored worse on mental function tests compared to individuals who had higher levels of the Vitamin.9 The researchers wrote, “In conclusion, the positive, significant correlation between serum 25(OH)D concentration and MMSE [mental state examination scores] in these patients suggests a potential role for Vitamin D in cognitive function of older adults.” One researcher first noted the connection between Vitamin D3 and protection from cancer in the 1940s, when he discovered that individuals at sunny latitudes had a reduced rate of deaths from cancer. He suggested that sunlight provided “a relative cancer immunity.”

Since then, a number of studies have strongly suggested that Vitamin D3 deficiency is associated with an increased risk of developing many forms of cancer including breast, ovarian, prostate and colon cancer.10 In one recent clinical trial, researchers studied 1,179 healthy, postmenopausal women (all 55 years or older and free of known cancers for at least 10 years prior to entering the study) who were taking large amounts of Vitamin D3 with calcium. The subjects were randomly assigned to take daily dosages of:

(1) 1,400-1,500 mg supplemental calcium,
(2) 1,400-1,500 mg supplemental calcium plus 1,100 IU of Vitamin D3, or
(3) placebos.

Over the four-year trial, women in the calcium/Vitamin D3 group experienced a 60 percent or greater reduced risk of cancer than their peers in the placebo group, who were not consuming these supplements. Because there was the chance that some women may have had undiagnosed cancers at the study’s start, the researchers threw out the first-year results and then analyzed the results from the last three years of the trial. These later years resulted in even more dramatic decrease, with the calcium/Vitamin D3 group experiencing a 77 percent reduction in cancer risk. Another interesting study demonstrated that in vitro Vitamin D3 may cause tumor cells to be more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs, increasing the efficacy of the cancer treatment.

Scientists have linked various aspects of immune health to a Vitamin D3 deficiency. Vitamin D3 regulates T cells, which are important to the functioning of a strong immune system. Vitamin D3 acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive expression of inflammatory cytokines and increasing the killing efficiency of macrophages. In addition, it dramatically stimulates the expression of potent anti-microbial peptides, which exist in immune system cells such as neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells, and in cells lining the respiratory tract. These Vitamin-D3-stimulated peptides play a major role in protecting the lung from infection. In addition, Vitamin D3 deficiency may influence development and progression of various autoimmune diseases.