Properties of vitamin D – what health problems does it prevent?

Dry eye syndrome is a condition caused by insufficient tear production or excessive evaporation of the tear film. Researchers at the Kocaeli Derince Hospital in Turkey have conducted studies to show the relationship between vitamin D levels and symptoms of dry eye syndrome. 98 women aged over 50 participated in it. Half of them were deficient in this vitamin. During the test, it was shown that the number of tears produced in five minutes was significantly lower in this group of respondents than in women with normal vitamin D levels. Disturbed tear production in patients with vitamin D deficiency may indicate that it plays an important role in the prevention of the syndrome. dry eye.

Scientists argue that vitamin D protects against cancer and extends the life of cancer patients. Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski from the Center of Preventive Medicine in Warsaw emphasizes that vitamin D inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells and the formation of new blood vessels that favor tumor development. The observations carried out in 2012 showed that taking vitamin D3 protects against breast, colon, prostate and ovarian cancer, while the results of other studies published in 2014 showed that vitamin D supplementation after 2-7 years of use reduces the risk of death from cancer.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals researchers conducted a study on 163 patients with heart failure who had low levels of vitamin D in the body. Throughout the year, some of the study participants were given a tablet containing 100 micrograms of vitamin D, while others – a placebo, i.e. a sugar pill. As it turned out, the administration of the vitamin improved the heart’s ability to pump blood. In patients receiving vitamin D, the volume of blood pumped from the chambers of the heart increased from 26 to 34 percent (in a healthy person it is 60 – 70 percent). In addition, the heart has become smaller, suggesting it is more efficient and reducing the risk of a heart attack.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield studied more than fifty people diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a condition that is accompanied by frequent abdominal pain and abnormal bowel movements. They noted that as many as 82 percent of them were deficient in vitamin D. The patients who had the greatest deficiency complained more often than the rest of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms worsening and a poor quality of life.

Research conducted by scientists from the University of Ulster has shown that vitamin D deficiency in the body disrupts the work of the immune system, especially in people over 35 years of age. Scientists examined the concentration of the vitamin and the so-called pro-inflammatory indicators, i.e. markers whose high level indicates an infection in the body. They found a surprising correlation – almost 40 percent of the studied people had too high levels of markers and decreased vitamin D levels. circulatory diseases, rheumatism, and even multiple sclerosis. Dr. Mary Ward, who leads the team of scientists, noticed that the results allowed us to clearly state the immune system stimulating effect of vitamin D. Its deficiency significantly reduces its efficiency and leads to faster development of the disease.

Research by American scientists has shown a link between vitamin D and the development of Hashimoto’s disease. It is the most common thyroid disease in Europe and the US, and one of the most difficult to treat. Hashimoto’s disease is very common, especially among women, and is accompanied by a number of unpleasant symptoms, incl. muscle weakness, sudden weight gain and loss, hair loss. Scientists from the Medical University of Ankara studied 180 patients who had been suffering from hypothyroidism for a long time and 180 people with recently diagnosed Hashimoto’s disease, as well as 180 healthy people. It turned out that only 20 percent of healthy people had low vitamin D levels, while only 10 patients had normal levels of vitamin D. Interestingly, the study also showed a relationship between vitamin D levels and the size of the thyroid glands – the lower it was, the greater it was.

Vitamin D allows you to maintain the proper calcium and phosphorus balance in the body, as well as the proper structure and function of the skeleton. Its lack can lead to osteoporosis. Studies have been carried out in which postmenopausal women have been given vitamin D for over a year. This has been shown to minimize the risk of fracture in the vertebrae and possibly other bones as well. Some reports also emphasize the indirect effect of vitamin D on the reduction of fractures, through its invaluable effect on improving muscle functioning, and thus reducing the likelihood of a fall.

Scientists from McGill University in Canada analyzed the DNA of tens of thousands of Europeans in terms of the incidence of multiple sclerosis and genetic predisposition to low vitamin D production in the body. Then they examined people with typical genes. It turned out that the tendency to vitamin D deficiency contributes to the occurrence of multiple sclerosis. Research is already underway to find out whether giving additional doses of vitamin D could prevent the disease.

Iranian scientists examined the level of vitamin D in the blood of people suffering from schizophrenia and anxiety neurosis (as many as 20 percent of Poles suffer from it) and in a control group of healthy people. The results were clear: 65 percent of patients with schizophrenia had a vitamin D deficiency. Its level was lower by 5,91 ng / ml. In the case of anxiety neurosis, it was also important – it was lower by over 4,2 ng / ml. Years ago, a direct relationship between vitamin D deficiency and depression was demonstrated. Some psychiatrists decided to treat patients not only with antidepressants, but also with preparations containing easily digestible vitamin D. The results were optimistic. It seems that similar therapy will be effective in patients with anxiety neurosis and schizophrenia.

Researchers from the Medical Faculty of the University of California, San Diego have shown that people with too low blood vitamin D levels are twice as likely to die prematurely than those with high vitamin D values. Such conclusions were led by their analysis of 32 previous studies, conducted in 1966-2013, devoted to the relationship between the concentration of vitamin D in the body and mortality. Prof. Cedric Garland, lead author of this study, argues that deficiencies in the vitamin of the sun are associated with a greater risk of premature death not only from skeletal disease but also from any other medical condition. He also mentions that his team has demonstrated that there is a borderline level of vitamin D in the body below which the risk of death doubles. It is 30 ng / ml.

Vitamin D is often associated with bone disease, but recent studies have revealed that vitamin D also acts as a versatile hormone that affects almost all tissues in the body. Vitamin D receptors are found in almost every cell in our body. Scientists have even linked its deficiencies with the development of diabetes. Obese people with no glucose metabolism disorders have higher vitamin D levels than diabetic patients. Also, slim people suffering from diabetes or pre-diabetes more often had too low levels of this compound in their blood. Scientists emphasize that there is a direct relationship between vitamin D levels in the body and glucose levels, but that it does not affect the body mass index. There is a group of genes in the human genome called biological clock, which turn on and off during the day. As a result, the level of proteins encoded by them decreases and increases every 24 hours. We know that working at night and eating irregularly have an influence on the action of these genes. It turns out, however, that our biological clock is also influenced by vitamin D. Researchers at Escuela de Medicina Tecnologico Monterrey in Mexico looked at the behavior of two genes in human fat cells. Cells behaved just like in the human body when they were immersed in blood serum or in vitamin D. And when the medium was depleted of the vitamin, the biological clock did not work.

Vitamin D deficiencies can increase the risk of chronic headaches. This has been proven by studies by Finnish scientists. Their results were published in the Scientific Reports magazine. Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland analyzed data on the blood levels of vitamin D in about 2600 men aged 42 to 60 years. Due to the concentration of vitamin D, men were divided into four groups. It turned out that those who had the lowest levels of it were twice as likely to suffer from chronic headaches as men from the group with the highest concentration of this compound. In addition, chronic headaches were more common in men tested at times of the year other than summer. In summer, thanks to more sunlight and the resulting stronger exposure to UVB rays, the skin of people away from the equator produces a sufficient amount of vitamin D, and its concentration in the body is higher. At other times of the year, however, the main source of this relationship is what we eat. Foods that provide the body with vitamin D are, first of all, fatty marine fish. Experts recommend that people in countries remote from the equator take vitamin D supplements between September and April.

Researchers from the University of California in San Diego analyzed data on the number of leukemia cases in 172 countries around the world. They found that populations living in higher latitudes had at least twice the risk of developing leukemia than those living near the equator. Dr. Garland suggests that many cases of leukemia around the world may be related to the vitamin D deficiency epidemic that occurs in winter among people living in latitudes far from the equator.