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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Vitamin D and Calcium Not The C Cure

It would seem to be the answer to mankind's battle against cancer, but again, it is not. What a blooper!
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Cancer cure doesn't lie in Vitamin D and Calcium

WASHINGTON - Doctors are cautioning the benefits of Vitamin D and calcium as a possible antidote for cancer, heart disease and more.

After reviewing about 1,000 studies on the supposed links between low Vitamin D levels and higher risk of serious diseases, the panel of US and Canadian experts concluded that they showed inconsistent results, sometimes due to shoddy research methods.

The experts also issued new guidelines -- the first since 1997 -- for North Americans, saying people should take between 700 and 1,300 milligrams of calcium and anywhere from 600 to 800 international units of vitamin D each day.

Most people "probably don't have vitamin D deficiency, that is the first message," said Glenville Jones, a Canadian doctor who was on the 14-member committee for the US-based Institute of Medicine.

"We think there has been an exaggeration of the public's interest in vitamin D deficiency. (People) should be reassured that vitamin D deficiency is quite rare in North Americans at this point in time."

Just by eating a balanced diet and possibly taking a vitamin supplement in the winter, because sun exposure boosts vitamin D levels, most North Americans would have no difficulty meeting the recommended allotment, he said.

The panel's establishment of new guidelines offer a more solid recommended daily dose than the 1997 approach of suggesting adequate intake (AI) amounts.

The previous recommendations set the amount of calcium at between 210 and 270 milligrams per day for babies, 500 to 1,300 for children aged one to 18, 1,000 per day for adults aged 19-50 and 1,200 for those 50 and older.

For vitamin D, the old recommendations were 200 international units for those under age 50, 400 IU for people 51-70 years old and 600 IU for those over 71.

Jones declined to characterize the new guidelines as higher than before, saying it would be like "comparing apples to pears."

Humans need calcium to help clot blood and for proper functioning of muscles and nerves, and vitamin D is necessary for the body to absorb calcium.

Inadequate calcium has been shown to lead to bone fractures and osteoporosis.

The experts noted that some populations are likely to need more Vitamin D than other groups -- including breastfed babies, people with dark skin and those living in northern latitudes where daylight exposure is limited.

Also, the panel did not entirely rule out all benefits from Vitamin D or all studies that suggested beneficial links.

"There are claims about vitamin D in heart disease, in cancer, autoimmune diseases -- you name it, there are claims out there that are not based upon a lot of studies," said Jones.

"Our dilemma is that there are mixed reports that are not all consistent," said Jones, who is a professor of biochemistry at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.

"Some of the studies are not well controlled," he said.

"We don't want to base public health recommendations upon a mixed conclusion where some studies say there is a benefit in cancer and other studies say they don't," he added.

Jones would not rule out the possibility that future studies could result in more certain benefits toward beating cancer and other diseases, but said "the only really consistent information that was well worth using was information on bone health."

The panel also set upper limits for both calcium (2,000 milligrams per day) and vitamin D (4,000 IUs per day), beyond which point risks such as kidney and tissue damage begin to mount.

"Higher levels have not been shown to confer greater benefits, and in fact they have been linked to other health problems, challenging the concept that 'more is better,'" the report said.

-AFP/sf

Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Cancer cure doesn't lie in Vitamin D and Calcium

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Vit D risk in-between races

Image via WikipediaIs it due to our genes? Of course, the skin color is there, but that is no longer the norm.
So I can say that it is due to our genes. Stronger, eh?
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Vitamin D deficiency doubles the risk of fatal stroke in whites but not in blacks, study finds

A vitamin D deficiency doubles the risk of fatal strokes in whites, but has no effect on the risk in blacks, even though blacks are more likely to have vitamin D deficiencies and are 65% more likely to die from strokes, researchers said Sunday. The results were puzzling, said Dr. Erin Michos of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. "We thought maybe the lower vitamin D levels might actually explain why blacks have higher risks for strokes," she said.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 140,000 Americans annually and permanently disabling more than half a million.

Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin involved in bone health, helps prevent rickets in children, protects against severe bone loss in adults, and may lower the risk of heart disese, cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and other medical conditions. Natural sources include exposure to ultraviolet B rays in sunlight and eating fatty fish, egg yolk, and fortified foods such as milk and breakfast cereals.

Michos and her colleagues analyzed health records of 7,981 black and white adults who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of Americans, conducted between 1988 and 1994, following the participants for a median of 14 years. They reported at a Chicago meeting of the American Heart Assn. that, among the participants, 6.6% of whites and 32.3% of blacks had severely low levels of vitamin D in their blood, classified as levels below 15 nanograms per milliliter. During the period of the study, 116 whites and 60 blacks died of stroke. Accounting for age and other risk factors, blacks were 65% more likely to suffer a stroke. Higher levels of diabetes and hypertension probably account for some of the increased risk, but not this much, Michos said. "Something else is surely behind this problem. However, don't blame vitamin D deficits."

The lack of sensitivity to low levels of vitamin D may be an adaptation to historic low levels associated with the sun-blocking effects of skin pigments, she added. The blacks in the study also had fewer incidents of bone fracture and greater overall bone density than whites. "In blacks, we may not need to raise vitamin D levels to the same level as in whites to minimize their risk of stroke," she concluded.

Taken from below article:
Vitamin D deficiency doubles the risk of fatal stroke in whites but not in blacks, study finds

Monday, October 26, 2009

Save your breath

Image via Wikipedia

Early detection and treatment can help COPD sufferers breathe better

Eveline Gan
eveline@mediacorp.com.sg

FOR more than three decades, Mr Mohamed Zaid Bin Sahari, a heavy smoker, lived with a chronic cough that he thought was a common smoker's ailment. Then in 2000, he started suffering from breathlessness.

"Every step that I took felt like I just ran 1km," said the 56-year-old, who used to puff 40 sticks of cigarettes daily.

The condition, which affected him so much that he was unable to walk or talk, almost killed him in 2007.

The unbearable breathlessness Mr Mohamed Zaid experienced was a result of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a serious respiratory disease that is the eighth most common cause of deaths in Singapore, according to the Ministry of Health.

Presently, about 64,000 people here suffer from moderate to severe COPD. And the number is expected to rise, according to respiratory specialist Dr Ong Kian Chung, president of the COPD Association (Singapore).

Dr Ong added that sufferers are also expected to exhibit symptoms of the disease at a younger age, as youth are experimenting smoking at an average age of 16.

Smokers, including second-hand smokers, are at risk of the condition because harmful gases from smoking can cause an abnormal inflammatory response in the lungs. Those who are regularly exposed to pollutants, such as industrial dust and exhaust fumes, are also at risk.

Out of breath

The debilitating disease, which generally affects those above 40 years old, causes the patient to gradually lose the ability to breathe. "It restricts the patients' ability to carry out normal activities and is often undiagnosed in the early and moderate stages," said Dr Ong.

For Mr Mohamed Zaid, being out of breath constantly meant that he was unable to keep up with his daily activities. He also had to take medical leave from work often because he felt unwell. Mr Mohamed Zaid is currently unemployed.

"In the worst-case scenario, the patient literally runs out of breath and it can be fatal," said Dr Ong.

The good news is that COPD can be treated, the doctor said.

And the earlier the diagnosis and treatment, the better the end result, added Dr Tan Tze Lee, a general practitioner at The Edinburgh Clinic, and vice-president of COPD Association (Singapore).

According to Dr Tan, early detection and treatment has been shown to improve patients' health and quality of life.

Simply breathe into the mouthpiece of the spirometer to find out if you have the condition.

GPs to offer COPD screening

Presently, 200 local GPs are equipped and trained to offer COPD screening in their clinics using handheld spirometers, which are usually available only at specialist clinics and hospitals. (Visit www.copdas.com for clinic details.) A spirometer is an instrument that measures how well the lungs are working.

Under the "Save Your Breath Singapore" scheme initiated by the COPD Association (Singapore), patients can find out if they're suffering from the disease by taking a breathing test. Screening and consultation fees vary at different clinics.

Smokers and ex-smokers above 40 years old, especially those with chronic cough, lots of phlegm and who suffer from breathlessness, are urged to go for the spirometry test.

Unfortunately for Mr Mohamed Zaid, smoking has caused irreparable damage to his lungs. Although he feels better with treatment, Mr Mohamed Zaid's lung function is currently only at a low 32 per cent. A normal person's lung function is typically above 80 per cent.

"Mr Mohamed Zaid is one example of a COPD patient who suffered the disease for years without knowing it. By the time it was found out, his lungs have severely deteriorated," said Dr Ong, who added that more than half of COPD sufferers are unaware of their condition.

Dr Tan added: "Once the damage of the lungs occurs, it's not reversible. It simply becomes worse over time. If we can 'catch' COPD earlier, we can reduce a lot of suffering and improve patients' quality of life."

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Women with COPD

Women can also get COPD. In fact, female COPD sufferers may be worse off compared with male patients.

According to respiratory specialist Dr Ong Kian Chung, some studies have found that symptoms of the disease may affect women more because they have smaller lungs. Another reason may be due to a later diagnosis, he said.

"Women may suffer more in silence, so by the time they seek medical attention, their lung function would have severely deteriorated."
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From TODAY, Health – Tuesday, 29-Sep-2009