Most Everyone Can Use More Vitamin D | Dr. Mercola

Vitamin D and K

Warning: Vitamin D use without K2 = Calcification. Supplement with large quantities of Kale if possible or other k2 sources like Natto or fermented vegetables. Doubles your chance of heart problems without the k2.

Most Everyone Can Use More Vitamin D

By Dr. Mercola

 

New research has emerged linking low vitamin D levels with a risk of cognitive decline and mental impairment, according to studies conducted on elderly Chinese.

Duke-NUS (a collaboration between Duke University in North Carolina and the National University of Singapore)1 announced the deficiency is caused primarily by lack of exposure to sunlight, which scientists already knew humans require to maintain strong bones and healthy muscles.

The new research has now broadened to encompass vitamin D as necessary for optimal brain function. 

European and North American studies that have associated low “D” levels with cognitive decline further support previously noted heart and neurodegenerative diseases in individuals with the same deficiency. News-Medical observed:

“Regardless of gender and extent of advanced age, individuals with lower vitamin D levels at the start of the study were approximately twice as likely to exhibit significant cognitive decline over time.

In addition, low vitamin D levels at baseline also increased the risk of future cognitive impairment by [two to three] times.”2

Researchers concluded that the findings reinforced theory that vitamin D protects against neuron damage and loss.

They anticipate further reviews on the mechanisms vitamin D exerts in protecting neurons and how optimizing vitamin D levels may curtail the rapidly increasing number of aging individuals suffering from cognitive decline.

Scandinavia Is Not the Only Place With Low Vitamin D Levels

Elle UK reported that Brits ingest an average of 3 micrograms (120 IU) of vitamin D in food and receive low levels of year-round sunlight, which puts them at greater risk for bone-related diseases.

“Women in particular should take note — history shows our bones degrade faster than our male counterparts. 

When we hit menopause, the loss of bone density accelerates rapidly (up to 20 [percent] in just [seven] years), so keeping vitamin D levels topped up can only help to hedge our bets against calcium deficiency and irreversible bone loss later in life.”3

Residents of the British Isles have long noticed that sun is a relatively rare commodity. That’s why Public Health England (PHE)4 issued a report recommending that its inhabitants take vitamin D supplements, whereas only “at risk” individuals and children under 5 were previously given this recommendation.

PHE suggested 10 micrograms (400 IU) daily, which is still far below the amount most people need to stay healthy. Online British newspaper Health Spectator noted: 

“When the sun goes into hiding, it’s difficult to achieve that through food alone. Why do we need vitamin D? Well, it regulates the calcium and phosphate in the body, making it vital for bone, muscle and tooth development and growth. 

A lack of it can lead to a higher risk of bone disease and fracture and, in the worst cases, rickets. There are also studies that suggest vitamin D can help the battle against cancers, cardiovascular disease and multiple sclerosis.” 5

In mid-December 2015, Scandinavians in Oslo basked in sun for only six hours and four minutes, between the hours of 9:08 a.m. and 3:12 p.m. Edinburgh, Scotland, got an hour more than that, so authorities in that area of the world are well aware of the need for vitamin D. 

Norway Devises Plan to Reflect Sunlight on Residents

Norway’s Food Safety Authority even upped the recommendation to 20 micrograms (800 IU) per day in 2013 and advised people not to neglect sun exposure, and to supplement with foods high in vitamin D, such as cod liver oil and other oily fish.

Even the Vikings understood the importance of this practice, and reportedly rubbed cod liver oil into their skin for muscle pain and consumed whole cod livers dipped in cod liver oil for a double whammy.

The town of Rjukan, Norway, devised an ingenious plan to literally reflect sunlight on its residents. The town, shadowed by mountains for six months of the year, installed three gigantic mirrors on the mountains to bring not just the reflection of the sun but also its warmth. As The Guardian enlightened:

“Helicoptered in and installed 450m [1,312 feet] above the town square, the 5m [16.4 feet] kroner (£520,000 [$694,000]) computer-controlled mirrors, or heliostats, are more commonly used to create solar power in sun-drenched regions of the Middle East. 

Here, the solar energy the heliostats capture is used to power their tilting trajectory as they follow the sun’s brief dash across the Norwegian winter sky.”6

People of the town can also catch a cable car and zip to the mountaintop for their sun connection.

Sunscreen Versus the Vital Need for Vitamin D

Although the horror stories of excess sun and subsequent skin cancer have scared most Americans and Brits into the shadows, Louis Levy, head of nutrition science at Public Health England, told BBC Radio that people using sunscreen as recommended will not get enough vitamin D.

“This is a change in advice, previously we have said that babies from [6] months to [5] years should have a supplement and only those people at risk of deficiency should take a supplement.

Previously we felt that everybody would get enough from the sunlight. This is new advice based on evidence looked at over the last five years. When you go out, you do need to have short bursts without sunscreen and make sure that you don’t get sunburnt.”7

In America, even the National Institutes of Health (NIH) admits that sunscreens block vital vitamin D-producing sunrays, and suggests that a little sun without sunscreen is good. On its webpage, the NIH says:

” … [A]pproximately [five to] 30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 [a.m.] and 3 [p.m.] at least twice a week to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen usually lead to sufficient vitamin D synthesis.”

What Does Vitamin D Deficiency Look Like?

With the absence of a sunny vista, distressingly low vitamin D levels can be manifested in several ways.

SAD Syndrome, aka seasonal affective disorder, is a type of depression related to changes in seasons, thought to be related to the lack of sunlight. Between 60 percent and 90 percent of sufferers are women between the ages of 15 and 55. Psych Central describes it perfectly:

“While some perceive winter as a festive time when their worlds are blanketed by the purity of snow, others feel that they are being suffocated by a literally colorless existence.”8

Science reveals that when people are exposed to sunlight, their mood automatically elevates due to the brain hormone serotonin. Researchers examined the effects of vitamin D on the relative cheerfulness of 80 elderly patients and found the ones with the lowest vitamin D levels were 11 times more prone to depression.9

Additionally, older adults are more inclined to stay indoors, so they get less sun exposure. People over the age of 50 also don’t produce vitamin D as easily by metabolizing sunlight, and their kidneys don’t convert vitamin D into a form their body can use quite as quickly. 

African Americans and others with darker skin are even more prone to a vitamin D deficiency because it takes 10 times more sun exposure to generate the same amount as in someone with pale skin. That’s because the more pigment you have, the more sunlight you need to get adequate “D” levels.

People with higher body weight or muscle mass also require more vitamin D than people with slighter statures because vitamin D is fat soluble — your body acts like a “sink” and collects it.

You may also experience gastrointestinal problems that inhibit the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, as in gut disorders such as celiac and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Not Enough Vitamin D Versus Too Much

Official estimates of deficiency in this vitamin in England are 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 children. According to BBC News, vitamin D is important because:

“Its main function is to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, which are vital for the growth and maintenance of healthy bones, teeth and muscles. In extreme cases, low levels can lead to rickets in children — where the bones become soft and weak and misshapen as they continue to grow. 

In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteomalacia — causing severe bone pain and muscle aches. But there is a balance — too much vitamin D can lead to high levels of calcium in the blood which can cause heart and kidney problems.”10

In the U.S. it is estimated that as much as 41.6 percent of the general population could be vitamin D deficient, when defining deficiency as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration of less than 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L). When looking at specific populations such as blacks and Hispanics, the numbers may be as high as 82.1 percent and 69.2 percent, respectively.11

How do you know if you have enough vitamin D? One approach to determining optimum vitamin D levels is to look at the current recommendation for nursing mothers, says professor and endocrinologist Dr. Robert Heaney, who founded Creighton University’s Osteoporosis Research Center, which focuses on bone biology.

“Very recent work coming out of the Medical University of South Carolina has shown definitively that such a woman needs 6,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day, every day, in order for her infant to be adequately nourished, at least as far as vitamin D is concerned.”

How Much Vitamin D Is Ideal?

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) of serum concentration of 25-hydroxy vitamin D as an adequate level, or 600 IUs a day up to age 70 and 800 IUs if you’re over 70, but many vitamin D researchers believe that’s not even enough to prevent osteomalacia, let alone take advantage of vitamin D’s additional health benefits.

Fortunately, vitamin D supplements are readily available, but due to government nutrition recommendations for children and the elderly, only informed choices will help people stay on track with the vitamin D levels that will offer optimal health. If you can’t get enough sunshine for whatever reason, then you can take a vitamin D3 supplement. 

As a general guideline, research by GrassrootsHealth suggests adults need about 8,000 IUs per day to achieve a serum level of 40 ng/ml. If you do opt for a vitamin D supplement, please remember that you also need to boost your intake of vitamin K2 through food and/or a supplement, as well as get your levels tested to be sure you’re safely within the therapeutic range.

Vitamin D in Food

Foods containing vitamin D and their recommended dietary allowance (RDA), according to the George Mateljan Foundation,12 a not-for-profit food and nutrition science organization, include:

• Four ounces of wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon — 128 percent of the RDA
• 3.2 ounces of sardines — 44 percent of the RDA
• One egg — 11 percent of the RDA
• Shiitake mushrooms — 5 percent of the RDA

Keep in mind that the RDA is far lower than necessary to raise your vitamin D levels into the therapeutic range, so it’s difficult to achieve enough vitamin D from dietary sources alone. In addition, it’s ideal to get your vitamin D from sunlight because the sun offers a wealth of health benefits above and beyond vitamin D.Vitamin D in Food

Foods containing vitamin D and their recommended dietary allowance (RDA), according to the George Mateljan Foundation,12 a not-for-profit food and nutrition science organization, include:

• Four ounces of wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon — 128 percent of the RDA
• 3.2 ounces of sardines — 44 percent of the RDA
• One egg — 11 percent of the RDA
• Shiitake mushrooms — 5 percent of the RDA

Keep in mind that the RDA is far lower than necessary to raise your vitamin D levels into the therapeutic range, so it’s difficult to achieve enough vitamin D from dietary sources alone. In addition, it’s ideal to get your vitamin D from sunlight because the sun offers a wealth of health benefits above and beyond vitamin D.Vitamin D in Food

Foods containing vitamin D and their recommended dietary allowance (RDA), according to the George Mateljan Foundation,12 a not-for-profit food and nutrition science organization, include:

• Four ounces of wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon — 128 percent of the RDA
• 3.2 ounces of sardines — 44 percent of the RDA
• One egg — 11 percent of the RDA
• Shiitake mushrooms — 5 percent of the RDA

Keep in mind that the RDA is far lower than necessary to raise your vitamin D levels into the therapeutic range, so it’s difficult to achieve enough vitamin D from dietary sources alone. In addition, it’s ideal to get your vitamin D from sunlight because the sun offers a wealth of health benefits above and beyond vitamin D.

 

Vitamin D in Food

Foods containing vitamin D and their recommended dietary allowance (RDA), according to the George Mateljan Foundation,12 a not-for-profit food and nutrition science organization, include:

• Four ounces of wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon — 128 percent of the RDA
• 3.2 ounces of sardines — 44 percent of the RDA
• One egg — 11 percent of the RDA
• Shiitake mushrooms — 5 percent of the RDA

Keep in mind that the RDA is far lower than necessary to raise your vitamin D levels into the therapeutic range, so it’s difficult to achieve enough vitamin D from dietary sources alone. In addition, it’s ideal to get your vitamin D from sunlight because the sun offers a wealth of health benefits above and beyond vitamin D.

The Role of Vitamin D in Disease Prevention

A growing body of evidence shows that vitamin D plays a crucial role in disease prevention and maintaining optimal health. There are about 30,000 genes in your body, and vitamin D affects nearly 3,000 of them, as well as vitamin D receptors located throughout your body.

– Sources and References

Health Spectator July 22, 2016 

News-Medical July 27, 2016 

Elle UK July 25, 2016 

Time July 26, 2016 

1 The Gerontological Society of America June 19, 2016

2 News-Medical July 27, 2016

3 Elle UK July 25, 2016

4 PHE July 21, 2016

5 Health Spectator July 22, 2016

6 The Guardian Oct. 30, 2013

7 BBC News July 21, 2016 

8 Psych Central 1995-2016

9 AJGP Dec.2006 

10 BBC News July 21, 2016

11 Nutrition Research January 2011 

12 Vitamin D, The George Mateljan Foundation 2001-2016

 

Vitamin D and K2 Work in Tandem to Slow Arterial Calcification

Story at-a-glance 

Taking vitamin K2 along with vitamin D slowed the progression of arterial calcification, whereas vitamin D alone did not 

Vitamin K2 engages in a delicate dance with vitamin D, and you need both in adequate amounts for optimal health 

Vitamin D and vitamin K2 work together to produce and activate Matrix GLA Protein (MGP), which congregates around the elastic fibers of your arterial lining, guarding them against calcium crystal formation 

If you take oral vitamin D, you need to also consume in your food or take supplemental vitamin K2 

By Dr. Mercola

As I’ve discussed on numerous occasions, vitamin D is a critical nutrient for optimal health and is best obtained from sun exposure or a safe tanning bed. 

However, many are taking oral vitamin D, which may become problematic unless you’re also getting sufficient amounts of vitamin K2. 

Vitamin K2 engages in a delicate dance with vitamin D, and you need both in adequate amounts for optimal health. The importance of this was once again highlighted in a new study…

Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 Slow the Progression of Arterial Calcification

The study was designed to compare the effect of oral administration of vitamin K2 (MK-7) plus vitamin D, or vitamin D alone, on the progression of coronary artery calcification score and carotid intima media thickness (the lining of the main arteries in your neck that feed blood to your brain), which are hallmarks of potentially lethal heart disease and stroke. 

The data revealed a slower progression of calcification in those taking both vitamin K2 and vitamin D compared to those taking vitamin D alone.1 The study’s lead author said:

“In this study, the K2 and D protected against cardiovascular calcification, while the D group alone did not. Clearly, this has positive implications for human health.” 

This makes sense because whereas vitamin D provides improved bone development by helping you absorb calcium, there is new evidence that vitamin K2 directs the calcium to your skeleton, while preventing it from being deposited where you don’t want it.

For example, in your organs, joint spaces and arteries. A large part of arterial plaque consists of calcium deposits (atherosclerosis), hence the term “hardening of the arteries.” 

Moreover, atherosclerosis can progress for many years, even decades, without symptoms, because the opening of the artery (lumen) formed by the arterial lining is still elastic enough to stretch to accommodate a degree of accumulated plaque.

That is, only if the artery has not begun to calcify, as the formation of a calcified fibrous cap on top of the arterial plaque deposit prevents further compensatory luminal expansion and therefore is the final, fatal step in the progression of the fatal disease. 

We also know that vitamin K2 activates a protein hormone called osteocalcin, produced by osteoblasts, which is needed to bind calcium into the matrix of your bone. Osteocalcin also appears to help prevent calcium from depositing into your arteries. 

In other words, without the help of vitamin K2, the calcium that your vitamin D so effectively lets in might be working AGAINST you — by building up your coronary arteries rather than your bones.

Calcium and Vitamin D Without Vitamin K2 May Be Dangerous

If you take calcium and vitamin D but are deficient in vitamin K2, you could be worse off than if you were not taking those supplements at all, as demonstrated by one meta-analysis that linked calcium supplements to heart attacks.2

This meta-analysis looked at studies involving people taking calcium in isolation, without complementary nutrients like magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin K2, which help keep your body in balance. 

In the absence of those other important cofactors, calcium CAN have adverse effects, such as building up in coronary arteries, initiating excessive clotting and causing heart attacks, which is really what this analysis detected. So if you are going to take calcium, you need to be sure you have balanced it out with vitamin D and vitamin K2.

Vitamin K2 and Matrix GLA Protein (MGP)

The authors of the featured study noted that, in addition to its role with osteocalcin, one of the mechanisms by which vitamin K2 exerts a protective role on the progression of vascular damage may be connected with its impact on Matrix GLA Protein, or MGP.3  MGP is the protein responsible for protecting your blood vessels from calcification. 

When your body’s soft tissues are damaged, they respond with an inflammatory process that can result in the deposition of calcium into the damaged tissue. 

When this occurs in your blood vessels, you have the underlying mechanism of coronary artery disease — the buildup of plaque — that can lead you down the path to a heart attack.

Vitamin K2 and vitamin D again work together to increase MGP, which, in healthy arteries, congregates around the elastic fibers of your tunica media (arterial lining), guarding them against calcium crystal formation. According to Professor Cees Vermeer, one of the world’s top vitamin K2 researchers:

“The only mechanism for arteries to protect themselves from calcification is via the vitamin K-dependent protein MGP. MPG is the most powerful inhibitor of soft tissue calcification presently known, but non-supplemented healthy adults are insufficient in vitamin K to a level that 30 percent of their MGP is synthesized in an inactive form. 

So, protection against cardiovascular calcification is only 70 percent in the young, healthy population, and this figure decreases at increasing age.”

Vitamin K2 as MK-7: What You Should Know

There are several different forms of vitamin K2. MK-8 and MK-9 come primarily from fermented dairy products, like cheese. MK-4 and MK-7 are the two most significant forms of K2 and act very differently in your body. 

MK-7, which is the form used in the featured study, is a newer agent with more practical applications because it stays in your body longer; its half-life is three days, meaning you have a much better chance of building up a consistent blood level, compared to MK-4 or vitamin K1. 

MK-7 is extracted from the Japanese fermented soy product called natto, and you can obtain all the K2 you’ll need (about 200 micrograms) by eating 15 grams of natto daily, which is half an ounce. 

However, natto is generally not appealing to a Westerner’s palate, so you can also find vitamin K2, including MK-7, in other fermented foods, including fermented vegetables made with the proper starter culture (a starter culture of vitamin K2-producing bacteria). Gouda and Brie cheeses each contain about 75 mcg of vitamin K2 per ounce, while scientists have found high levels of MK-7 in a type of cheese called Edam. 

Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue, a naturopathic physician, estimates that about 80 percent of Americans do not get enough vitamin K2 in their diet to activate their K2 proteins to shuttle the calcium where it needs to be and remove it from the places where it shouldn’t be.

The next best thing to dietary vitamin K2 is a vitamin K2 supplement. MK-7 is the form you’ll want to look for in supplements, because in a supplement form the MK-4 products are actually synthetic. Although the exact dosing is yet to be determined, 

Dr. Vermeer recommends between 45 mcg and 185 mcg daily for adults. You must use caution on the higher doses if you take anticoagulants, but if you are generally healthy and not on these types of medications, I suggest 150 mcg daily.

Remember: If You Take Oral Vitamin D, You Need Vitamin K2

If you remember only one thing from this article, make it this: if you opt for oral vitamin D, you need to also consume in your food or take supplemental vitamin K2. Dr. Rheaume-Bleue warns:

“There are so many people on the vitamin-D-mega-dose bandwagon, taking more and more of vitamin D. And it could absolutely be causing harm if you are lacking the K2 to complete the job to get the calcium where it’s supposed to be. We don’t see symptoms of vitamin D toxicity very often. But when we do, those symptoms are inappropriate calcification. That’s the symptom of vitamin D toxicity. And it is actually a lack of vitamin K2 that can cause that…”

The Role of Vitamin D in Disease Prevention

A growing body of evidence shows that vitamin D plays a crucial role in disease prevention and maintaining optimal health. There are about 30,000 genes in your body, and vitamin D affects nearly 3,000 of them, as well as vitamin D receptors located throughout your body.

 Sources and References

Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 2013, Volume 28, Issue supple 1, pp 1352-1357 

NattoPharma 2013 

1 Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 2013, Volume 28, Issue supple 1, pp 1352-1357

2 BMJ 2010;341:c3691

3 Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 2013, Volume 28, Issue supple 1, pp 1352-1357