Vitamin D supplements could fight Crohn's disease

[RogerDoger]

"Montreal, January 27, 2010 – A new study has found that Vitamin D, readily available in supplements or cod liver oil, can counter the effects of Crohn's disease. John White, an endocrinologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, led a team of scientists from McGill University and the Université de Montréal who present their findings about the inflammatory bowel disease in the latest Journal of Biological Chemistry."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/muhc-vds012710.php

 

[D Bergy]

Thank you for the great information.

I had my vitamin D checked as it is one of routine things I have my blood tested for. My protein was on the lower end, which is always the case, but everything else was good with one exception, vitamin D levels.

My Summer level was in the forties. This Winter I started supplementing with 1,000 iu to try keep it at where it was at, or boost it into the sixties, which is where I want it.

My test was at twenty. In spite of using 1,000 iu it dropped to less than half what it was in the Summer.

Now I will take 5,000 iu in an attempt to get it up to something closer to normal, until Summer comes.

Sunlight does a much better job of producing D than supplements. If you live in a climate which allows you to be outside with skin exposed to the sun, that is the best way to do it.

Dan

 

[D Bergy]

Others that have been keeping a normal vitamin D range I have contacted said that 5,000 iu keeps them where they are at. I may take 10,000 iu for a week to get it back up.

My brother took 10,000 iu for a month to get his level back up to normal. That was what his doctor told him to use.

Dan

 

[D Bergy]

They are available here.

Your country is under the CODEX rules, which they are also pushing here. this means what supplements you have available, are in such small dosages that they basically are useless if taken as directed.

It is pushed as a safety measure, but since supplements cause virtually no deaths, a better explanation is to eliminate competition for pharmaceutical products.

That is why there is a big battle here to keep these supplements available here without government intervention.

Dan

 

[D Bergy]

I never heard about that event.

LSD in vitamins is frowned on I am sure. Probably sell a lot more of them though.

Dan

 

[RogerDoger]

It is pushed as a safety measure, but since supplements cause virtually no deaths, a better explanation is to eliminate competition for pharmaceutical products.

BINGO!

I'm getting tired of capitalism. It's gotten to the point where huge multinationals
are wrapping their tentacles around this planet and squeezing the life out of it for profit. Democracy doesn't work when our politicians are so easily corrupted.
Big Pharma, Big Food, Big Military. It's all for money, despicable money.

I know somebody whose 8 year old son is on Ritalin. Now she decided that her 5 year old son is getting too hard to manage, so she's taken it upon herself to give the 5 year old Ritalin as well, without consulting their doctor! What the hell did we do before their were pharmaceuticals? Discipline! A good whallop! Now we'd rather drug up our kids than discipline them the old fashioned way. Oh no, that's too much effort. Ritalin, the Chemical Nanny.

We don't stand a chance if everyone is going to be drugged from childhood onward. How is America (and the rest of western society) going to remain in the global lead when its youth is too pharmed up to think straight? China's rise to Superpower status may come quicker and easier than they think.

I am slowly disconnecting myself, tiny wire by tiny wire, from this illusion of advanced society. (Except for the net, of course! )

 

[Astra]

Hi Dan
could you help me please
re; vitamin D
I take a multivitamin & iron, just one tablet a day, it includes Vit D, it says on the box what each tablet contains-vit D contains 5.0 (and I think it says jug?) cant work out what it says really, all the other ingredients say mg.
It's something that has never been mentioned to me before about Vit D levels and how important they are to Crohns.
Now I'm wondering whether this is enough, living in the UK, we'll be very lucky to get much sun this year!
Don't fancy sunbeds neither, our govt is trying to ban them!
Also Dan, when you say 10,000 iu, what does this mean? iu?
Thanks
Joan

 

[D Bergy]

iu means international units if I remember right.

You may have a different measurement there, so I am not sure what your reading means unless it is in milligrams, and the abbreviation is mg.

A multivitamin usually contains minimal amounts. Mine has 400 iu.

Dan

 

[saidinstouch]

While my opinions on pharmaceutical companies are fairly well known, I do agree that the push to regulate supplements is not necessary. I think the FDA should have the power to request companies provide certain safety information in the case of supplements that appear to be unsafe. However, regulating the dose should be a last resort like potassium dose regulation due to heart safety. If a supplement can't hurt you, then no reason to make it unavailable, however I do think everyone taking any form of a pharmaceutical should contact their doctor to be certain there will be no interactions (i.e. grapefruit has a compound that inhibits the enzyme that metabolizes entocort and can lead to high levels). If not a doctor, then talk to a nutritionist trained in treating IBD who can ensure you don't exacerbate the your situation. If people are responsible enough to do this, then little to no regulation is needed, except to ensure companies make honest claims and don't sell a truly dangerous product.

 

[shazamataz]

I just started a course of Vitamin D yesterday. I was given some when i was diagnosed in July but chose to try and get sun instead. I have been painfully exhausted and barely coping. My GP insisted I try the Vit D. She said they don't usually even bother testing it here because everyone they test comes back low. After only one tablet of 50,000 IU I felt like a different person after only a few hours - is that even possible??!!

 

[D Bergy]

See what happens for the longer term. I do not know if it would have an effect that fast or not, but lack of it seems to create a kind of fatigue in me. I have had that every Winter for as long as I can remember.

I had it lately and that is one reason I had it checked. I still have it but it is less, and I have not taken as much as you have. I need your dosage, but I have not made it to the store yet.

Dan

 

[RogerDoger]

There is likely an upper limit onhow much you should take.
You should Google "Vitamin D overdose", take it all in, and find a happy
medium that you're satisfied with. It's at least good to be familiar with the
signs of Vitamin D overdose.

It's becoming obvious that we, in general, are not getting enough Vitamin D, but
there's no consensus on what constitutes excessive dosage.

 

[saidinstouch]

50,000 iu once a week is fairly safe, you just don't want to take that amount consistently. It is a good suggestion to look at the signs of an overdose because it is a very high dose and not everyone will tolerate it as well, but in general you should be ok if your doctor is monitoring you. As for the fast effect, it wouldn't surprise me that you saw such a quick change given the nature of the vitamin D receptor being in the same family as the glucocorticoid receptor. This isn't to say it performs the same functions by any means, but biologically speaking, they are related in terms of how they do their jobs, just not what their jobs are.

 

[Nytefyre]

I take 50,000 IU every week. My level was a 6.