Explanations and Analyses of Articles: Vitamin D Supplementation and Cancer Prevention

2. Vitamin D- A group of steroids; resistant to heat, oxidation, acids, and bases; stored in liver, skin, brain, spleen, and bones. Promotes absorption of calcium and phosphorous; promotes development of teeth and bones. Sources: produces in skin exposed to ultraviolet light; in milk; egg yolk; fish liver oils; fortified foods. Excess: Diarrhea calcification of soft tissues, renal damage. Deficienceis: Rickets,bone decalcification and weakening.

Boosting your immune system,Vitamin D helps your body regulate the absorption of your calcium and phosphorus.

Vitamin D plays a critical role in many normal bodily functions as well as fighting against a wide number of health barriers. In an article by Jacqueline Kanopa, studies revealed that exposure to ultraviolet rays play a huge part in Vitamin D production, as well as having preventative effects on a disorder known as rickets; which leads to weakened bones due to lack of Vitamin D. This study supports the belief that exposure to UV rays play a critical role in Vitamin D production, and can be beneficial to those prone to certain

After looking at my analysis I was surprised because there I was lacking a lot of vitamins and minerals. Without minerals, our bodies wouldn’t be able to function which is why I was worried when I saw my reports. I was lacking vitamins such as Vitamin A where my intake was 392.53 mcg when it’s supposed to be at a high 700.00 mcg. I also barely had one of the most important vitamins in my body, Vitamin D. Being one of the most important vitamins to our body a Vitamin D deficiency is not healthy for the body in any way possible. Restraining from Vitamin D can cause problems such as fatigue, hair loss, depression, anxiety, bone weakness, and being prone to more diseases because your body isn’t fighting off the illnesses brought in from the outside. Aside from lacking vitamins, I’m also lacking a good number of minerals. The recommended amount of Calcium is about 1,000mgs, but my intake fell under 454mgs. Calcium is one of the most important minerals for the human body for the bones to grow stronger to prevent diseases such as osteoporosis, which is commonly found in women after the age of 50. Osteoporosis is a common disease where the bones become weak from loss of tissues around the bone structure. Not only is osteoporosis caused by lacking Calcium, but is also caused by Vitamin D deficiency, which are two things that my body lacks. If I don’t increase my vitamin/mineral intake it could be a huge determent to my

The body can synthesize vitamin D with the help of sunlight, from a precursor that the body makes from cholesterol. Osteoporosis is, " any failure to synthesize adequate vitamin D or obtain enough from foods sets the stage for a loss of calcium from the bones, which can result in fractures" (Whitney & Rolfes, 2013, p. 349). There are several common risk factors for developing osteoporosis, which lead to the condition of reduced bone density.

Grandma is a young sixty-five years who fell and broke her hip. She is healthy, active, and never had any problems with her hips before. Why did grandma fall and why did her hip break? The truth is that grandma fell because her hip popped out of its socket causing her to fall. The hip popped out of its socket because her bones have been deteriorating since she had her hysterectomy at age forty-five. Her bones started to break down due to lack of estrogen and lack of vitamin D causing her to develop osteoporosis or “porous bones”. Unfortunately, this is a very common for women and the good news is that is can be slowed down significantly with the help of vitamin D supplements.

There’s always a new drug or supplement in the news or on the drugstore shelves that promises to work health miracles; but most end up forgotten because they don’t deliver on their promises. Vitamin D isn’t one of those. Vitamin D benefits your heart, your skin, your immune system, your mental health and can lower your risk of certain types of cancers, like breast, colorectal, prostate and ovarian. While you can take supplements to boost your Vitamin D levels, you can also try losing just 5% of your body weight, exercising and eating more fatty fish, like wild salmon.

The role of the skin in maintaining adequate serum vitamin D (VD) levels has been well established [6]. VD, or calciferol, is a liposoluble prohormone available in two forms: VD2 and VD3. Many studies have suggested that VD is essential for bone health because of its role in the regulation of calcium and phosphate

The study involved 168 women who were placed into 4 groups: a placebo group, a group that was given milk powder containing 1g of calcium, a group given calcium tablets 1g/night, and a group given calcium tablets 1g/night and exercise regimen. The group with the exercise went through 4 hours of extra weight-bearing exercise per week. Bone mineral density at the lumbar spine, 3 hip sites, and two different sites of the tibia were measured in 6-month intervals. A food record also evaluated dietary intake. By the end of the study, Prince and his colleagues found that calcium supplementation by either calcium tablets or milk powder resulted in loss of bone mineral density at the hip sites. The group that was given calcium and exercised had less bone loss at the femoral neck site than any other group. Overall, there was significant reduction in the rate of bone loss at ultra distal site of the tibia. This study showed that supplements and exercise helped promote an increase in bone mineral density in order to prevent other health risks

Moreover, there are few studies on the effects of vitamin D supplementation on muscle strength and mobility in older people with low vitamin D status, although a recent study has suggested benefit on mediolateral sway in participants who had large sway at baseline. Recent investigations have posited a direct link between vitamin D and skeletal muscle, with a deficiency correlating with muscle atrophy, decreased strength, functionality, and greater prevalence of falls and fractures. Moreover, this deficiency is increasingly recognized as a worldwide epidemic [Cando et al. 2011; Holick 2007] [Girgis et al. 2012] with more than a billion people worldwide deficient in vitamin D [Jannsen 2009].

Osteoporosis is a secondary aging musculoskeletal disorder that increases bone degeneration and disruption of bone mineral development. A major challenge with treating osteoporosis lies in the difficulty of diagnosing it in the early stages, because no symptoms appear until an actual complication such as a bone fracture occurs. Thus, osteoporosis is known as a “silent disease” (Cosman, 2014). During the childhood years, bones normally grow in size and strength until the person’s peak bone mass has been reached at approximately 20 years old. Around 40 to 50 years old, men and women are affected by age related decline in bone mass (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, n.d.). Women above 40 years old and of Chinese or Caucasian ethnicity are of high risk for developing osteoporosis (Wilbiks lecture, 2014). Other risk contributions to the condition include old age, female gender, small body size, low calcium and vitamin D, decrease of estrogen, lack of exercise and genetics. A slender, thin-boned tall woman is at greater risk for osteoporosis compared to a woman with a proportional amount of fat, bone and height. To prevent the development osteoporosis, people who are at high risk should take preventative measures, and this guide suggests three methods that have been supported by various researchers: 1) Supplementing calcium into diet; 2) Changing lifestyle patterns; and 3) Quitting smoking. All these preventative measures have been shown to

Vitamin intake is a commonly overlooked necessity in basic nutritional health. What most people do not know is that certain vitamin deficiencies can cause many health risks and problems. Many people believe that are getting all the vitamins they need from their diet, however most of the time they are not. One of the most common vitamin deficiencies is the low intake of Vitamin D. There are some vitamins that are produced by the body such as vitamin K; however some of the most important vitamins are not produced by the body. Vitamin D is one of the vitamins that our body needs to function correctly that is not naturally produced by the body. Vitamin D can be consumed through

Osteoporosis is described by the NHS as “a condition that weakens bones” and is fairly common, affecting roughly 3 million, with more than 300,000 people receiving treatment each year. Fractures are extremely common as the weakened bones are more susceptible to damage, even coughing may cause vertebral damage. Osteoporosis can be classified as type I or II, “both type I and type II osteoporosis occur through an imbalance between total skeletal bone formation and bone resorption which is sustained over many years” (Theobald, 2005), and are related to a lack of vitamin

The purpose of this study is to show the relationship between low dietary calcium and risk to fractures and osteoporosis among old men and post-menopausal women.

A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine found that 75 percent or more of American teens and adults are deficient in Vitamin D. That is why we have so many serious illnesses, like cancer, diabetes and heart disease (Huff, 2010).