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(Medical-NewsWire.com, August 20, 2014 ) Hollywood, Florida -- The importance of vitamin D has been a hot topic for many years already. It first came to light in the 1920s when researchers discovered that vitamin D deficiency was the leading cause of Rickets, a childhood bone disease which can leave children with severe bone deformities. Without adequate vitamin D, the human body is not able to absorb sufficient calcium, thereby causing the bones to become soft and weak.
This discovery soon prompted researchers to investigate if a lack of vitamin D could also be responsible for other bone diseases such as Osteoporosis. Studies that were conducted at the time soon established that vitamin D deficiency was indeed a leading contributor to the onset of Osteoporosis in elderly people. Today, more and more researchers are looking beyond bone diseases. They are trying to establish if vitamin D deficiency could be causing other illnesses as well, and many of the results tend to suggest that vitamin D plays a major role in defending the body against a number of serious health conditions, including Alzheimer's.
One of the most recent studies, carried out by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, involved a total of 1,658 men and women aged 65 and over. At the start of the study, all participants were examined and were declared free of Alzheimer's. The researchers then tracked each of the participants for a period of six years. During this time they monitored for signs of dementia, and subsequently compared vitamin D levels at regular intervals. The findings, which are published in the journal Neurology, drew worldwide attention.
Researchers found that the risk of dementia was 53% higher among participants who were moderately deficient. Participants in the "moderately deficient" group also had a 69% higher risk of developing Alzheimer's. In contrast, participants who were deemed to be severely deficient had a risk increase of 122%.
Several studies involving laboratory animals have also shown that vitamin D deprivation causes irreversible brain defects. As a result, many researchers are now hoping to conduct further clinical trials in order to determine if vitamin D has the potential to prevent and/or treat Alzheimer's.
In the meantime, most healthcare professionals recommend that people pay closer attention to their vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency can be corrected by spending more time in the sun, or by taking good quality vitamin D3 supplements. A limited amount of vitamin D is also available in some foods, although food is generally considered to be a poor source of vitamin D.
"People can get all the vitamin D their bodies require just by spending time in the sun, but of course the overwhelming majority of people are concerned about skin cancer. Even some countries that get sun almost all year round have alarming rates of vitamin D deficiency" said Mr. Oliver Adams, a Nutra Mina spokesman.
When asked about a vitamin D rich diet, Mr. Adams replied: "In theory, it is possible to get all your vitamin D from the foods you eat, but then again, in theory anything is possible. Unfortunately, very few foods contain vitamin D, and even those that do, such as oily fish for example, only contain very small amounts. We need to remember that vitamin D is essentially a hormone rather than a vitamin. It is produced by the body when your skin is exposed to sunlight. I think it is safe to say that if we were meant to get vitamin from food, our bodies wouldn't have the ability to make it. Basically you only have two choices. You either have to spend enough time in the sun, or else you need to take a good vitamin D3 supplement."
Research into the potential benefits of vitamin D are ongoing, with many studies already showing a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and several serious diseases, including breast and prostate cancer.
About Nutra Mina
Nutra Mina - Vitamins and Supplements as a company are dedicated to providing customers with the most health supporting vitamin D supplements as well as the necessary information to help their customers to use their supplements in a responsible manner.
Nutra Mina
Oliver Adams
1-954-889-7566
info@nutramina.com
Source: EmailWire.Com 
Source: EmailWire.com
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