Just 2 cents a day of vitamin D:
- reduces falling and fractures,
- improves cognition,
- decreases chance of Alz and Parkinson’s,
- increases chance of surviving hospital,
- Improves balance,
- reduces muscle loss,
- reduces flu,
- reduces need for antibiotics,
From 10 reasons why seniors have low levels of vitamin D
- Senior skin produces 3X less Vitamin D for the same sun intensity
- Seniors have fewer vitamin D receptors as they age
(The effect of low Vitamin D receptor genes does not show up on vitamin D test results) - Seniors are indoors more than when when they were younger
not as agile, weaker muscles; frail, no longer enjoy hot temperatures
(if outside, stay in the shade), however, seniors might start outdoor activities like gardening, biking, etc. - Seniors wear more clothing outdoors than when younger
fear skin cancer/wrinkles, sometimes avoid bright light after cataract surgery - Seniors often take various drugs which reduce vitamin D (some would not show up on vitamin D test) statins, chemotherapy, anti-depressants, blood pressure, beta-blockers, etc
- Seniors often have one or more diseases which consume vitamin D ( osteoporosis, diabetes, MS, ...)
- Seniors generally put on weight at they age - and a heavier body requires more vitamin D
- Seniors often (40%) have fatty livers – which do not process vitamin D as well
- Seniors not have as much Magnesium needed to use vitamin D
(would not show up on vitamin D test) - Seniors with poorly functioning kidneys do not process vitamin D as well
(would not show up on vitamin D test) 2009 full text online Also PDF 2009 - Vitamin D is not as bioavailable in senior digestive systems (Stomach acid or intestines?)
- Category Seniors and Vitamin D
341 items In addition, some seniors are low because they are:
- Living in Northern latitudes and do take a winter trip to a sunny area in the winter
- Overweight
- Dark skinned
- Had recent surgery/traumaCLICK HERE for an Vitamin D Workshop for Seniors which was held Aug 2011
By Henry Lahore - the admin of Vitamin D Life
Falls and Fractures
Many studies have proven that increasing vitamin D decreases falls and fractures.
By several mechanisms- 1) improve reaction time
- 2) Improve muscle,
- 3) increase bone density
There are not just association of low vitamin D and falling/fractures, but scores of actual random controlled trials – from all around the world
- Overview Reduce Falling
- More vitamin D needed to prevent osteoporosis in seniors – May 2010
- 4000 IU helped after hip fracture (file)
- Muscle cells differentiate into fat cells if there is low vitamin D in petrie dish – April 2013
- 1000 IU minimum to decrease falls and fractures Swiss - 2009
- Meta-analysis of RCT – vitamin D might increase senior muscle function – Sept 2010
- Hip fractures in India - editorial with recommendation Sept 2010
- Vitamin D3 loading dose of 500,000 IU for elderly – Aug 2009
- 600,000 IU vitamin D normalized virtually all seniors in 3 months – May 2012
- Cochrane review finds that Vitamin D prevents FALLS – Feb 2010
- Cochrane review finds that Vitamin D helps prevent FRACTURES – Feb 2010
- Cochrane review finds that Vitamin D prevents falls in nursing homes – Feb 2010
- Only vitamin D helped prevent falls after stroke – July 2010
- Vitamin D 2nd most recommended way to prevent hip fracture - Nov 2010.PDF Canada
- Fraser Health giving 20000 IU vitamin D weekly to reduce falls – Nov 2011
- Those who were 80 had better cognition and standing if higher level of vitamin D – Sept 2012
Seniors and Fraility
- Muscle increased 17 percent in vitamin D insufficient elderly getting 4,000 IU for 4 months – RCT Oct 2013
- Fraility Call to Action: Vitamin D is one of the action items – June 2013
- CLICK HERE to use Google to search this site - 152 items as of Jan 2015
- Frailty and Vitamin D – with influence diagram Miller Oct 2010
- Elderly with less than 15 ng were 3.7X more frail – May 2010
- 80 percent of the characteristics of frailty associated with low vitamin D – May 2013
- Physical performance of seniors increases with vitamin D up to 30 ng – Jan 2013
- Seniors with higher vitamin D levels have better physical performance – Sept 2012
- Vertigo treated by Vitamin D - many studies
- Seniors with less than 12 ng of vitamin D were not stable – March 2012
- 4.7X less likely to feed self in nursing home if vitamin D deficient – Oct 2013
- Elderly lost extra half pound of leg and arm muscle mass if low vitamin D (6 years) – Oct 2014
Seniors and Cognition
- Overview: Cognitive decline and vitamin D includes Dementia and Alzheimer's
- Influence diagram for vitamin D and cognition - 2008
- Vitamin D less than 10ng associated with cognitive decline – July 2010
- Do Vitamin D Deficiency and Cognitive Decline Go Hand-in-Hand? – Jan 2010
- Low Vitamin D Levels Associated With Increased Risk for Cognitive Impairment - July 2010
- Elderly with more than 257 IU vitamin D daily had less cognitive impairment – Nov 2010
- Cognitive impairment 4X more likely when vitamin D less than 10 ng – Nov 2010
Seniors and Depression
- Senior women with less than 20 ng vitamin D were 2X more likely to become depressed May 2010
- Seniors with less than 10 ng of vitamin D had depressive symptoms – July 2010
- Elderly men lacking vitamin D tend to be depressed – Sept 2010
- Hypothesis lack of vitamin D leads to depression leads to alcohol use
Breathing
Also many papers showing that Vitamin D greatly decreases winter flu and colds
– which occur at the time that vitamin D blood levels are lowest. (4+ months away from time in the sun)
Dosing CLICK HERE for Overview How much D__
Some Doctors are starting with very high single doses to stop being deficient as soon as possible
Try a small dose first. I am concerned that this does not allow for possible reactions to vitamin D which can be tested by taking a much smaller amount for a week or so. Only a tiny fraction of the population is allergic to vitamin D3, but I feel that it is better to check first before plunging in.
Consider using vitamin D before surgery.
A variety of studies show D3 does not work much below 1200 IU / day, perhaps even less for D2
Some studies show that vitamin D thwarted by vitamin A- Diagnosis and management of vitamin D deficiency (10,000 IU) - BMJ Jan 2010 (file)
- Increase vit D 50% in blood when take with largest meal
- Dr Oz: recommends 50ng/ml
- Vitamin D level from primates thru 4000 IU (file)
- Vitamin D repletion 5000 IU daily for seniors May 2010
- Scientists call for vitamin D action 2000 IU and more than 40 ng – 2008
- Vitamin D and health status in elderly - June 2010.pdf
Loading Dose = how much to start with to recharge = Stoss Therapy
- Loading dose of 5000 IU for elderly - Whiting 2010.pdf
- 600,000 IU vitamin D normalized virtually all seniors in 3 months – May 2012
- Formula for vitamin D loading dose – April 2010
- Vitamin D Dosing and loading- Pizzorno ND Feb 2010.pdf
- Variety of vitamin D loading dose recommendations in the UK
Supplements
Should take bone supplement along with Vitamin D – but only 500 to 750 milligrams of Calcium– see supplements section and graph
Category Supplementing D Calcium Magnesium
Cancer
OK to take vitamin D when have Cancers – seems to even help prevent some cancers. Might treat a few.– see Cancer file gallery- Is vitamin D the only supplement which consistently helps cancer survivors – Aug 2010
- Vitamin D use with chemotherapy – July 2010
Some other files of interest
- All items in category Seniors and Vitamin D
341 items - 4700 IU of vitamin D needed by most seniors – an equation -July 2014
- Essential nutrient requirements of the elderly (vitamin D, etc.) – June 2014
- Intestines need more vitamin D as you age – June 2012
- Seniors, like everyone else, need vitamin D but should avoid sunburns – 2011
- Half of the seniors needed more than 50,000 IU vitamin D3 monthly – April 2011
- Elderly often trapped in vitamin D vicious circles
- Drugs which create a vitamin D deficiency
- Table of outcomes for seniors vs vitamin D level
- Vitamin D might reduce having to go to pee in the middle of the night
- Elderly sunbathe less - 2009
- Elderly and vitamin D interactions
- Why is the world experiencing a vitamin D epidemic
- Ways to reduce muscle loss by elderly include increasing vitamin D - 2010.pdf
- How elderly can remember to take vitamin D weekly
- Overview Vitamin D3 better than D2 some multivitamins still use D2
- Very few people have an allergic reaction to Vitamin D start slowly so as to check for allergies
Diabetes
- Overview Diabetes and D
- Diabetes category
454 items - Diabetes - video and books
- Diabetics are 2X more likely to die if severely vitamin D deficient
- Diabetes Statistics (file)
- 4000 IU for 10 years - safe and resulted in less diabetes (file)
- Chart of diabetes vs latitude
- Diabetes 2X less likely for those with median 34 ng of vitamin D – Sept 2010
- You Can Reverse PreDiabetes – Nov 2009
- To reduce diabetes probably need vitamin D - Review July 2010.pdf
- Review Diabetes and vitamin D - Sept 2010.pdf
- Single dose 100000 or 20000 IU and diabetes - June 2010.pdf
Mortality and D
- Vit D deficiency best prediction of death in hospital
- US Mortality and vit D (file)
- All Cause Mortality big improvement from 15 to 27 ng - Heaney chart 2010 (file)
- Higher vit D associated with 5 year longer teleomere (file)
- Recommend 2500-4000 IU per day to reduce all-cause mortality by 18%– Grant Netherlands April 2010
- Swedish elderly with more than 40 ng had higher death rates – Aug 2010 - perhaps cod liver oil
- Women very low on vitamin D 56 percent more likely to die in nursing home – Feb 2012
Far less likely to die when vitamin D blood level is greater than 27 ng/ml - Heaney May 2010
Upper Limit and Toxicity
Overview Toxicity- Can You Overdose on Vitamin D - It's Harder Than You Think
- Toxicity of vitamin D 300 ng but selected 100 ng to be prudent – Aug 2008
Clinical trials as of Sept 2010 - shows the dose size being tested nowPotential Elderly interactions with vitamin D
CLICK HERE for the Vitamin D Deficiencies page - which has a more complete chart for all people
Half of seniors did not respond to 1600 IU of vitamin D daily for a year
RED square = reduction in serum level
from slide presentation: https://www.vitad.org/tiki-index.php?page_id=2269See also Web
- Search the Journal Age and Ageing for Vitamin D 358 items as of May 2012
Why do geriatric outpatients have so many moderate and severe vertebral fractures? Exploring prevalence and risk factors - 2012
Editor's Choice: Frailty in the older surgical patient: a review - 2012
Seasonal variation of serum vitamin D and the effect of vitamin D supplementation in Irish community-dwelling older people - 2011
Prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in Dutch psychogeriatric nursing home residents by weekly half-body UVB exposure after showering: a pilot study - 2011
Here comes the sun: good news for bone health! - 2011
Diabetes, falls and fractures - 2010
Declining hip fracture rates in the United States - 2010 - 1700 IU daily average did not help seniors Phd dissertation 2012
- Billions of people over age 60 Kurzweilai July 2014
See also Metaformin
- Big pharma is trying to get the FDA to approve ageing as a disease which can be treated by Metaformin - May 2017
"The TAME Study (Targeting Aging With Metformin) began in 2016, aiming to enroll 3,000 seniors, ages 70 - 80, and study them for 5 - 7 years at 15 centers across the U.S. Study subjects can have or be at risk for any or all of 3 common aging conditions: cancer, heart disease, and dementia." - There is no Vitamin D industry to pay for the tests and lobbying needed to show that Vitamin D is far better than Metaformin
- {https://www.vitad.org/Search+Results?hl=en&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&btnG=Google+Search&googles.x=0&googles.y=0&q=metaformin&domains=vitad.org&sitesearch=vitad.org|Search Vitamin D Life for Metaformin] 80 hits as of May 2017 - which include
‘Cracking the Aging Code' with vitamin D, Metformin, etc. Book June 2016
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