Beauty Health for Life

Importance of Vitamin D for Smokers | In addition to bone health, recent research reveals about the benefits of vitamin D which is great for health, including preventing cancer. In a recent study revealed that: the benefits of vitamin D in protecting the lungs, especially for those who smoke.

In his study, Nancy E. Lange, MD, MPH, of the Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Womens Hospital studied 626 Caucasian men over a period of 20 years. The study assessed three time periods are completely different between 1984 and 2003. Pulmonary function of each participant was measured using a spirometer.

"Our results indicate that vitamin D may modify the damaging effects of smoking on lung function. This effect might be due to vitamin D has anti-inflammatory properties and anti-oxidants,"

said Lange.

This study has several limitations, including the observational information. Vitamin D levels are also likely to vary from time to time. Another limitation of this study involved only older men.

Alexander C. White MS, MD, chairman of the committee of the American Thoracic Society Tobacco Action, said: enough or not vitamin D levels in a person, should not overshadow the health risks and dangers associated with smoking. Those who smoke should be aware of the consequences of health problems that may be obtained.

The study is published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Low levels of vitamin D have been implicated as a potential cause of diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes. Now an extensive review suggests its really the other way around: Low levels of the "sunshine vitamin" are more likely a consequence -- not a cause -- of illness.

In their review of almost 500 studies, the researchers found conflicting results. Observational studies, which looked back at what people ate or the kinds of supplements they took, showed a link between higher vitamin D levels in the body and better health.

But, in studies where vitamin D was given as an intervention (treatment) to help prevent a particular ailment, it had no effect. The one exception was a decreased death risk in older adults, particularly older women, who were given vitamin D supplements.

"The discrepancy between observational and intervention studies suggests that low [vitamin D] is a marker of ill health," wrote review authors led by Philippe Autier, at the International Prevention Research Institute, in Lyon, France.

Vitamin D is known to play a key role in bone health. Low levels of vitamin D have been found in a number of conditions, including heart disease, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancer and Parkinsons disease. These findings may explain why so many Americans are currently taking vitamin D supplements.

Its nicknamed the sunshine vitamin because the body produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun (if someone isnt wearing sunscreen). Its also found in some foods, such as egg yolks and fatty fish, and in foods that have been fortified with vitamin D, such as milk.

The current review, published online Dec. 6 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, looked at 290 observational studies. In these studies, blood samples to measure vitamin D levels were taken many years before the outcome of the study occurred. The review also included results of 172 randomized clinical trials of vitamin D. In randomized trials, some people receive a therapy while others do not.

The observational studies showed a potential benefit from vitamin D. For example, vitamin D was associated with a 58 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular events, a 38 percent decreased risk of diabetes and a 34 percent decreased risk of colon cancer in these studies.

But, when the researchers looked to the randomized clinical trials that used vitamin D as a treatment, they failed to find any effect on disease occurrence or severity from raising vitamin D levels.

However, vitamin D did reduce the risk of dying from any cause in older people taking 800 international units a day, according to the review.

Dr. Shaun Jayakar, an internal medicine and geriatric specialist from St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, said the findings in elderly people "are likely due to a reduction in falls and fractures. Supplementing with vitamin D would lead to stronger bones, which would reduce falls and factures."

Because the majority of interventional trials failed to find any benefit from vitamin D, the reviews authors conclude that low vitamin D levels dont lead to ill health, rather theyre caused by ill health.

They theorize that inflammation that occurs in many illnesses may be what depletes vitamin D levels.

Dr. Robert Graham, an internist from Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said, "This comprehensive review did a really good job at trying to tease out the effects of different study designs, and the findings will be controversial."

He said there are currently five, large ongoing interventional trials that will help to better define vitamin Ds role in disease. However, the results of those studies wont be available for a number of years. Until then, he recommended, "Try to achieve homeostasis [equilibrium]. You dont want to get to a low level of vitamin D."

The Institute of Medicine recommends 600 international units of vitamin D for adults, and 800 international units for people over 70.

Both Graham and Jayakar agreed that those are reasonable supplement levels. Jayakar said that for most people, vitamin D supplements are harmless, but added that "its a pocketbook issue. Almost 50 percent of the population is taking vitamin D supplements. Thats a lot of money for something that likely has no benefit," he said.

Jayakar added that this reviews findings suggest that low vitamin D levels could be used as a marker -- a sign -- of disease in younger people. "If someone isnt feeling well and they have low vitamin D, maybe we should use that to start searching to see if something else is going wrong," he said.