Vitamin D has suddenly become the most popular vitamin in articles about nutrition and health. It is taking over from vitamin C.
With recent horror for the damage that sun can do, plus our increasingly indoor lives, many people are vitamin D deficient.
Vitamin D plays a major role in our immune systems, cancer, heart disease and bone health.
It has been known for a while that in temperate latitudes that heart attacks peak in the winter months, whereas in tropical latitudes there is no peak in the winter. One suggestion has been that this difference may be due to increased vitamin D deficiency in winter in temperate latitudes.
In an analysis of the scientific literature, that covered nearly 100,000 middle aged and elderly, researchers have found that having high levels of vitamin D reduced the risk of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The reductions were significant. A 33% lower risk for cardiovascular disease and a 55% lower risk for type 2 diabetes, for those who had high levels of vitamin D as compared to those that had low vitamin D levels.
Additionally, a study showed that those women with higher vitamin D levels had longer telomeres. The post exercise may keep your cells younger, talks more about how telomere (the ends of chromosomes) length is related to aging. Longer telomere length means slower aging.
These studies provide more evidence that low levels of vitamin D can speed aging. Remember besides quality of life issues, dying of an age-related disease is the ultimate in aging.
If you are not happy about getting controlled sun exposure, take vitamin D supplements to slow aging and the development of age-related diseases. The AIs for vitamin D are 19-50 years, 200 IU (5 mcg) 51 to 70 years 400 IU (10 mcg) and 71+ years 600 IU (15mcg).
photo credit: Simon&Beek
