Original Article:
An Oldie Vies for Nutrient of the Decade by Jane E. Brody (NY Times Personal Health 2/19/08)
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/health/19brod.html
Synopsis:
From recent studies , high blood levels of vitamin D are linked to greater strength and better balance. A dosage of 800 i.u. of Vitamin D along with 1200 milligrams of calcium can promote bone health.
Vitamin D also was found to strikingly reduce tumor growth in animal studies. And a large number of observational studies in people have linked low vitamin D levels to an increased risk of cancer, including cancers of the breast, rectum, ovary, prostate, stomach, bladder, esophagus, kidney, lung, pancreas and uterus as well as Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
Vitamin D also seems to dampen an overactive immune system. The incidence of autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis has been limked to low levels of Vitamin D.
My comments:
My most recent blood test revealed a low level of vitamin D (85 out of an optimal 135), so my interest in this article was rather personal. My doctor suggested a daily dosage of 1000 i.u. Vitamin D and 1200 milligrams of Calcium. It was a surprise to me that I have low vitamin D levels. I live in sunny southern California and spend a lot of time outdoors. I am asian and have a permanent tan because of long periods spent on the tennis courts and beaches and hiking trails. My doctor explained to me that as we get older, the ability of our skin to absorb Vitamin D naturally is considerably impaired, so that we will need to take more of it in supplementary forms.
Calcium had always been safe to to be taken in large doses because the body can handle the excess easily. But there are some concerns that large doses of Vitamin D may cause toxicity, so it is important not to exceed 2000 i.u. per day.
My feelings on this regimen are that since the intake of calcium and Vitamin D has been in practice for many years and had not been found to cause any side effects, it is an easy and inexpensive way to bolster bone health, especially for mature women who are near or past menopause, and as for the possible added benefits of reducing cancer risk, that even gives us more reason to do so.
Friday, February 22, 2008
First notes - Day One Feb 22, 2008
Just some brief notes of introduction on myself and what my intentions are for this blog.
I am a newspaper junkie. Every morning I read three newspapers delivered to our home. And aside from the election news which so recently had completely flooded the newspaper pages, I also devour any news of medical studies which are recently conducted.
I am a 62 years old woman, recently retired from my previous profession of software development. I am healthy and active. I see my doctors regularly for preventive health maintenance. One of my biggest priorities of life is to live healthily, both mentally and physically into my old age.
With the proliferation of internet usage, it has become very easy to access medical information on the net instantly. But the more abundant the information is, the more confusing it is to the average person. I am also amazed at how frequently new information on study results are becoming available in the newspapers.
But how is a person going to keep up with this onslaught of new information? even just to be alerted these results in a timely fashion. And since I am primarily interested in preserving my own health and therefore am most interested in health matters for my age group, I am starting this blog just to record what I gathered on a day-to-date basis and share that with other women in the same stage of life.
I am visualizing the infomation alerts here as blips of tips on health for women.
As I refer to studies from newspapers or other websites, I will provide the URLs to the original source. And if anyone wishes to receive these urls on an alert basis, she can leave a comment in the blog and I will automatically email her the links whenever a subject of interest comes up.
I am a newspaper junkie. Every morning I read three newspapers delivered to our home. And aside from the election news which so recently had completely flooded the newspaper pages, I also devour any news of medical studies which are recently conducted.
I am a 62 years old woman, recently retired from my previous profession of software development. I am healthy and active. I see my doctors regularly for preventive health maintenance. One of my biggest priorities of life is to live healthily, both mentally and physically into my old age.
With the proliferation of internet usage, it has become very easy to access medical information on the net instantly. But the more abundant the information is, the more confusing it is to the average person. I am also amazed at how frequently new information on study results are becoming available in the newspapers.
But how is a person going to keep up with this onslaught of new information? even just to be alerted these results in a timely fashion. And since I am primarily interested in preserving my own health and therefore am most interested in health matters for my age group, I am starting this blog just to record what I gathered on a day-to-date basis and share that with other women in the same stage of life.
I am visualizing the infomation alerts here as blips of tips on health for women.
As I refer to studies from newspapers or other websites, I will provide the URLs to the original source. And if anyone wishes to receive these urls on an alert basis, she can leave a comment in the blog and I will automatically email her the links whenever a subject of interest comes up.
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