Harvard scientists probe link between vitamin D and asthma
May 19, 2009 by Personal Liberty News Desk
New research appears to suggest that children with vitamin D insufficiency may be at an increased risk of severe asthma attacks.
Scientists from Harvard Medical School travelled to Costa Rica where they studied 616 children with the respiratory condition. They assessed each participant for allergic markers, lung function and circulating vitamin D levels.
What they found was that children with lower vitamin D levels were significantly more likely to have been hospitalized for asthma in the previous year and were likely to have used more inhaled corticosteroids than those with normal levels of the vitamin.
In addition to that, their airways tended to show increased hyperreactivity, and the children were also significantly more likely to be allergic to dust mites.
According to Drs. Juan Celedon and Augusto Litonjua, who were among the study’s authors, these results provide epidemiological support for what scientist have already suspected, namely that vitamin D deficiency may worsen asthma and allergy severity.
"[W]e suspect that giving vitamin D supplements to patients who are deficient may help with their asthma control," they conclude.
This is only the latest contribution to uncovering the extensive health benefits of
vitamin D.
Previous studies have found that insufficient levels of the vitamin are not only associated with rickets and other bone problems in children, but they may be linked to mature-age disorders such as heart disease and certain types of cancer.
A useful rule of thumb from The Vitamin D Council is to use 1000iu/daily of D3 for each 25~30lbs weight + 100iu/d for each 2.5~3lbs extra.
Grassrootshealth.org offer $40 postal 25(OH)D tests that will enable you to check if your family are keeping their status in the range associated with least chronic disease incidence.
If you search for
Disease Incidence Prevention by Serum 25(OH)D Level
you will find a chart that allows you to work this out.
For those who are pregnant or hoping to become so the article Does Vitamin D make the World Go round shows the vitamin D status that allows breast milk to flow replete with D3, This is to me another good reason to believe the primitive vitamin d status our bodies NATURALLY acquire if we live outdoors naked is the one our DNA evolved to function best with.
Generally speaking, in the UK (lat 52) it takes around 5000iu/daily to achieve 55ng 137.5nmol/l. UK readers will have to buy effective strength D3 from the USA online providers.
If you need vitamin D the best tablet available comes from http://www.vitaminD3world.com
You get 400 mini tablets for a great price-its is a very good deal and they are offering to supply customers children with vitamin D free of charge
We need to stop Codex which is due to kick in at the end of this year. If it goes into effect, many will die. This is URGENT!