One of the nutrients that has been receiving increasingly compelling research headlines, is Vitamin D. Regulars to the blog will know that I have written several posts on this vitamin that thinks it is a hormone..
A quick reminder of the reasons that Vitamin D is so essential for our health before a look at some of the research into the link between Vitamin D and autism.
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that is found in some food sources. We are also designed to make the vitamin in our body after exposure to the ultraviolet rays from the sun. When it is manufactured in the body it takes on a number of different forms, each of which have a different function to perform.
The main function is to maintain the correct balance of calcium and phosphorus in the blood and then to ensure that calcium is absorbed efficiently so that new bone is formed and maintained throughout our lifetime.
This link to calcium resulted in the first major nutritional breakthrough nearly 100 years ago when it was identified that children with rickets, usually from poor and industrial areas suffered from Vitamin D deficiency and were supplemented with fish liver oils resulting in a virtual eradication of the disease.
How the balance of Calcium in the body is linked to cancer
Calcium plays a crucial role in other functions in the body but one of the most important as far as cancer is concerned, is its ability to maintain the acid/alkaline balance within all our operating systems. With adequate calcium in our blood it produces an alkaline environment.
Cancer thrives in an acidic environment and cancerous cells also produce lactic acid with drives the normal pH balance within the body down even further. In addition, in an effort to maintain alkalinity in the blood, acid is dumped into the normal cells and they become toxic. Their oxygen levels decrease which would normally signal their death, and whilst some will die and add to the already increased acidity in the body, some, in an effort to survive will adapt and become abnormal cells… cancer. A fascinating book by Keiichi Morishita put forward that theory in 1976.
This creates a perfect storm resulting in increased cancer cells in the body. Vitamin D also works to promote healthy cell growth and actively prevent the formation of abnormal growth which strengthens the link between not only breast cancer and a deficiency but other cancers as well. Incidences of breast, prostate and colon cancer in the cloudier, Northern parts of the United States are two to three times higher than in Sunnier states. A link has been established to a deficiency of Vitamin D with all these types of cancer.
You can help the body achieve a healthy acid/alkaline diet by maximising certain foods and reducing other that create an acidic environment.. such as sugar. You can find a whole chapter on the way to rebalance the pH in your body in this chapter from my book Turning Back the Clock.
Vitamin D maintaining a healthy balance of calcium is also important for hormones.
There is also a strong link between magnesium and calcium in the role of balancing hormones and are used very successfully in the treatment of PMS and menopausal symptoms.
Oestrogen the female hormone has been identified as the fuel that breast cancer cells prefer and this is why during the menopause when levels are likely to be elevated, we are more likely to develop tumours. This can therefore be linked back to a deficiency in Calcium and by definition a lack of vitamin D which enables the mineral to be absorbed and used by the body.
Vitamin D also works to promote healthy cell growth and actively prevent the formation of abnormal growth which strengthens the link between not only breast cancer and a deficiency but other cancers as well. Incidences of breast, prostate and colon cancer in the cloudier, Northern parts of the United States are two to three times higher than in Sunnier states. A link has been established to a deficiency of Vitamin D with all these types of cancer.
Apart from working with other nutrients to provide a healthy balance, Vitamin D is also associated with a number of other chronic diseases including Osteoporosis (calcium) Diabetes, Heart disease, arthritis (immune system) Multiple sclerosis (autoimmune system) Obesity ( lowers the levels of leptin hormone produced by the fat cells which regulates weight) , PMS and infertility, chronic fatigue and depression.
Vitamin D and Seasonal Affective Disorder – SAD
Many people in countries with long wet and dark winters suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Vitamin D which has been activated in the adrenal gland regulates an enzyme called tyrosine hydroxylase which is necessary for the production of neurotransmitters in the brain such as dopamine and epinephrine. Not only do they regulate how we feel but also are linked to some interesting parallel conditions associated with a lack in Vitamin D namely obesity, PMS and menopausal symptoms such as migraines, and chronic pain associated with arthritis etc.
The latest research into the connection between Vitamin D and Autism.
Posted in Science Daily with materials supplied by the University of Queensland: http://www.uq.edu.au/
Giving vitamin D supplements to mice during pregnancy prevents autism traits in their offspring, University of Queensland researchers have discovered.
The discovery provides further evidence of the crucial role vitamin D plays in brain development, said lead researcher Professor Darryl Eyles, from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute.
“Our study used the most widely accepted developmental model of autism in which affected mice behave abnormally and show deficits in social interaction, basic learning and stereotyped behaviours,” Professor Eyles said.
“We found that pregnant females treated with active vitamin D in the equivalent of the first trimester of pregnancy produced offspring that did not develop these deficits.”
In human studies, QBI researchers recently found a link between pregnant women with low Vitamin D levels and the increased likelihood of having a child with autistic traits.
Read the rest of the report: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170317131556.htm
The link between Vitamin D deficiency and IBS
This research was featured in Science News.
Vitamin D supplements could help to ease painful Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms, a new study from the University of Sheffield has found.
Scientists from the University’s Department of Oncology and Metabolism reviewed and integrated all available research on vitamin D and IBS — a condition which affects two in 10 people in the UK.
The study showed a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in IBS patients — regardless of their ethnicity.
The Sheffield team also assessed the possible benefits of vitamin D supplements on IBS symptoms. Whilst they believe more research still needs to be conducted, their findings suggested supplements may help to ease symptoms which can include abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation. Vitamin D was shown to have the most benefit on quality of life in IBS.
Read the rest of the article: Science Daily Vitamin D
There are several post on Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the Health Column Directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/smorgasbord-health-column-news-nutrients-health-conditions-anti-aging/
©Sally Cronin Just food for health 1998 – 2018
A little bit about me nutritionally.
A little about me from a nutritional perspective. Although I write a lot of fiction, I actually wrote my first two books on health, the first one, Size Matters, a weight loss programme 20 years ago. I qualified as a nutritional therapist and practiced in Ireland and the UK as well as being a consultant for radio. My first centre was in Ireland, the Cronin Diet Advisory Centre and my second book, Just Food for Health was written as my client’s workbook. Here are my health books including a men’s health manual and my anti-aging book.
All available in Ebook from: http://www.amazon.com/Sally-Cronin/e/B0096REZM2
And Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sally-Georgina-Cronin/e/B003B7O0T6
Comprehensive guide to the body, and the major organs and the nutrients needed to be healthy 360 pages, A4: http://www.moyhill.com/html/just_food_for_health.html
Thank you for dropping in and if you have any questions fire away.. If you would like to as a private question then my email is sally.cronin@moyhill.com. I am no longer in practice and only too pleased to help in any way I can. thanks Sally
All really important information. Lifestyles have changed and people/children don’t get enough outdoor natural sunshine for vitamin D or eat the old farmer’s diet of fresh and unprocessed. Good health takes a bit of trying now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am afraid it does. Even the food is not as nutritious as it was even 20 years ago. Still thankfully for most of us there is still plenty of fresh produce to choose from. Thanks for commenting.. Sally
LikeLiked by 1 person
Crumbs, that gives me something to think about – again! My Vitamin D levels are low, have been for a while, ( I take a supplement now) but one of my sons has been diagnosed with autism, and in all likelihood his brother probably is too.
Low Vit D is also associated with connective tissue / autoimmune disease – as I am now learning. Super article as always Sally x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you found useful and unfortunately your genetic background does play a part in how you absorb Vitamin D. It is one of the nutrients that is rapidly becoming deficient in many. I am fine when getting sunshine but found pills as supplements were not helping. I am better now I am on a daily spray.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a good point, I haven’t had my levels checked since taking the supplements – maybe I should. I’m waiting to find out if I have Lupus- so I need to be careful with sunshine which will be hard to bear – I love being outdoors
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a good idea to have your levels checked and I do recommend the spray.. in particular with K2 Better You make a combination.. I use and it kept me going last winter better than the year before.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a feeling you have referred to the spray – it sounds familiar. Thanks Sally, I will look into that,
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t know there was a link between breast cancer and vitamin D. That is very good to know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great Robbie.. thanks xxxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another excellent article Sally. I heard somewhere: with regards to SAD that in the northern Hemisphere in the depths of winter when the sun is low, even on the bright days we cannot manufacture Vitamin D. I think it was because the sun needs to be a certain height above the horizon. Do you know if this is true? Pxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would say that we are probably alright where we are… except it is not around enough! You need to get the sunlight directly onto your skin, and even on an overcast day it still gets through. I would think you would have to be pretty far north and at certain times of the year for that to be the case… xxxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Sally Px
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Vitamin D deficiency is becoming a real concern as it is linked to many of our autoimmune diseases, IBS, autism and cancer. It is also needed in many processes in the body and to enable other nutrients to be effective.
LikeLike
Excellent informational post! 🙂 Sharing…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing Bette..hugs xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fascinating info here Sal for people to learn the importance of Vitamin D and how it works in the body. It’s so essential to stay on the alkaline side – something I often struggle with so I know what to take. And don’t get us started on SAD LOL 🙂 xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think we need a blogger convention in the land of the midnight sun so we can recharge our batteries! XXX😆
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yesssssssssss! 🙂 xxx
LikeLike
WOW, Sally. This is riveting stuff. Thanks for the information. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Colleen.. hugs ♥
LikeLiked by 1 person
wow, thank you so much for this, Sally. I suffer from terrible IBS and SADS, I think it’s time I started Vitamin D supplements. xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
They may help Adele.. if you are in your health food shop they should have some brands of spray Vitamin D.. it is absorbed through the cheek straight into the bloodstream. I use one that also has Vitamin K2 another component of health bone. xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, Sally xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sally. You’re a mine of information. We are lucky in that we live in Spain, but as we are now a lot older, and my husband has bad circulation in his legs (although he smoked very little many years ago and is a very moderate drinker), he was advised to take more magnesium. Have you anything more to add to that? Many thanks. Hugs. x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Joy, the magnesium will certainly help and here is a post that I did on the other nutrients needed and the foods that you find them in. https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/smorgasbord-health-the-circulatory-system-eat-your-omegas-and-shitakes/ Also I use magnesium oil and rub into my calves and the rest of my legs.. 5 drops in the palm of the hand and then rubbed will in.. here is the link https://betteryou.com/transdermal-magnesium hope that helps.. hugs xx
LikeLike
Thanks, Sally.You’re a diamond. Hugs xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sally, Did this post ever hit home. I’m a two-time survivor of cancer. One of the several symptoms was my deficiency of Vitamin D. My doctor still keeps me on Vitamin D supplements and checks my levels regularly. HUGS
LikeLike
Pingback: Smorgasbord Weekly Round Up – Josh Groban, Getting to Know Carol Taylor and Barbara Villiers unveiled. | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life
Pingback: Smorgasbord Health Column – Nutrient in the News – Vitamin D could reduce number of #migraine attacks! | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine