Can Vitamin D Prevent Arthritis? | Arthritis Information

 

Many researchers now believe that the "sunshine vitamin" may one day play a key role in preventing the development and progression of arthritis. Researchers, including scientists at Johns Hopkins under the direction of Uzma Haque, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins, have been looking at the effect of vitamin D on rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and the data are quite suggestive. Vitamin D is proving to be a most promising area for arthritis research.



Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that's essential for human health. Vitamin D levels are assessed with a simple blood test that measures levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, or 25(OH)D, the metabolite that reflects vitamin D stores; results are expressed in terms of nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).



Although there is continuing debate over what constitutes an optimal level, most experts now agree that the level should be 30 ng/mL or higher. Yet most Americans -- up to 60% by some estimates -- have suboptimal blood levels of vitamin D. In part, that's because we spend less time outdoors and absorb less vitamin D from sunlight. However, it also may be because we don't get enough vitamin D from our diet. Only a few foods contain significant amounts of vitamin D.



It has long been recognized that vitamin D is essential to bone health because it promotes calcium absorption. Vitamin D regulates as many as 1,000 different genes, including those that weed out precancerous cells and slow the runaway reproduction of cancer cells. Vitamin D also helps maintain a healthy immune system and activates cells that fight infection, including the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.



During the past decade, there's been an explosion of research suggesting that vitamin D plays a significant role in joint health and that low levels may be a risk factor for rheumatologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.



Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D is not just a simple nutrient. It's also an active steroid hormone that binds to receptors in a host of vulnerable tissues -- including the joints affected by arthritis -- and works to keep these tissues healthy. Arthritis patients may be even more likely than the general population to have low levels of vitamin D. According to a study presented at the 2008 European Union League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) meeting in Paris, nearly 75% of patients who presented at a rheumatology clinic -- including those who were subsequently diagnosed with inflammatory joint diseases, soft-tissue rheumatism, uncomplicated musculoskeletal backache, or osteoporosis -- were deficient in vitamin D.



If your D level is lower than 30 ng/mL, the parathyroid gland becomes overactive and sets in motion a process that depletes calcium from bones in order to maintain normal blood levels of calcium. This currently accepted optimal level of vitamin D is based solely on vitamin D's calcium function. However, it ignores other important functions. As we learn more about vitamin D, Dr. Haque anticipates that the optimal level will be pushed considerably higher, with an ideal range between 50 and 70 ng/mL.





http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/alerts/arthritis/JohnsHopkinsArthritisHealthAlert_3300-1.html

I agree and have felt that alot is hormonal... and Vit D is a hormone.

Thank you Lynn49 for posting this!!

 

However, I seriously doubt it prevents autoimmune arthitis. My Vitamin D level has ALWAYS been superb, and only 15+ years after I was diagnosed with PsA and seronegative arthritis did my Vitamin D level tank.

 

Before everyone goes rushing out to buy supplements, have your Vitamin D level checked first when you have your next labs done. Why? Because if you overdo the Vitamin D it will raise the Calcium. If the Calcium is too high, then all sorts of cardiac problems can occur.

 

If your labs show your Vitamin D level is low, get an Rx from your physician. The OTC stuff is terribly unreliable.

 

 

What does it take to over do Vit D....  consider sitting outside in the bright midafternoon sunshine and receiving over 10,000 IU for each 30 minutes you spend in the sun....  That could potentially be over 50,000 IU's !!! do that on a daily basis and what happens?  you absorb more... remember that D is not water soluable.. ... and yet, those that work out in the bright sun absorbing all that D appear to be the healthiest of us..... a little research into vit D toxicity:   Vitamin D toxicity usually results from taking an excessive amount of vitamin D supplements — not from your diet or too much sun exposure. That's because your body produces only a limited amount of vitamin D from sun exposure, and even fortified foods don't contain large amounts of vitamin D. Although vitamin D toxicity is rare even among people who take supplements, you may be at greater risk if you have health problems, such as liver or kidney conditions, or if you take thiazide-type diuretics. source:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-d-toxicity/AN02008Thanks for that info Babs.  I thought this information may be useful.  Be sure to check out the list of food and other sources of Vit. d.
http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp

[QUOTE=babs10]What does it take to over do Vit D....  consider sitting outside in the bright midafternoon sunshine and receiving over 10,000 IU for each 30 minutes you spend in the sun....  That could potentially be over 50,000 IU's !!! do that on a daily basis and what happens?  you absorb more... remember that D is not water soluable.. ... and yet, those that work out in the bright sun absorbing all that D appear to be the healthiest of us..... [/QUOTE]