In Britain pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are recommended to take ten micrograms of vitamin D daily but a study has suggested higher doses may be more beneficial. Lack of vitamin D, which the body can make from sunlight in summer months in Britain, can cause rickets. It has been estimated that two in ten adults in Britain could be deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D is found in foods like fortified cereals, eggs and fish but most people also need around 15 minutes of sunshine three times a week to ensure sufficient levels. In the 1950s and 1960s it was thought vitamin D could cause birth defects but it is now known that it is vital for good health of the mother and the developing feotus. Some pregnant women are advised to take doses of up to 25 micrograms a day but doctors have been cautious of higher doses as there is evidence that very high doses can cause calcium levels in the blood to rise causing nausea, thirst, dizziness and headaches. In the study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada, pregnant women were randomly assigned to take one of three doses of vitamin D daily.
The women took either ten microgram doses, 50 microgram doses, or 100 microgram doses. They were monitored throughout, including calcium levels in their blood, and there were no ill effects at any of the prescribed doses. Their vitamin D levels before the study were the same. The team from University of South Carolina found the women taking the highest dose were 50 per cent less likely to suffer from problems including premature labour, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and infections, than those on the lowest dose. Dr Carol Wagner, lead author of the study, said: "The spectacular part of the study was it showed women replete in vitamin D had lower rates of preterm labor and preterm birth, and lower rates of infection." She said the results showed the high dose was safe and effective so they could recommend all pregnant women take 100 micrograms of vitamin D daily. Patrick O'Brien, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the study was interesting but the full data was needed before drawing conclusions.
"He added: "When giving vitamin D supplements in pregnancy there needs to be a degree of caution as there have been some theorectical concerns in the past that too much vitamin D could be harmful but the initial data from this study appears reassuring on this aspect."There’s a reason vitamin D is one of my Top Six Biohacks. I didn’t have time to go into all the benefits in the video, and to do so would require a separate blog all by itself. But in this post, we will cover the vitamin D benefits for women who want to be Bulletproof. After all, I’m not going to have nearly as much fun being Bulletproof if I have to do it without my lovely wife Lana (who is also an MD and avid Bulletproof Diet fan).More than half the readers of this blog don’t have children, but many will some day, so I’m placing some emphasis on why D3 is important for pregnancy and growing a healthy baby. Even if you have no interest in kids – being fertile is important for a number of health reasons.
You single guys will sound like a total experts on pregnancy, which is sometimes useful on dates.While researching the Better Baby Book, my wife and I found a library of evidence supporting the use of vitamin D. The more we dug, the more studies popped up.When you look at the research behind vitamin D, its importance becomes obvious. Here’s what happens without vitamin D.Vitamin D deficiency is serious.Being deficient in vitamin D is one of the best ways to sabotage your health. A study in 2010 put it best,“Vitamin D status during pregnancy is important for the health of the mother and offspring across a range of possible health outcomes.”This is true for both the mother and the child. Vitamin D deficiency before, during, and after pregnancy is disastrous. This study found the same thing,“There is considerable evidence that low maternal levels of 25 hydroxyvitamin D are associated with adverse outcomes for both mother and fetus in pregnancy as well as the neonate and child.”
Here are the top 5 reasons women need to take vitamin D.A study in 2010 showed that high doses of vitamin D lowered estradiol and progesterone. Estrogen dominance is one of the main causes of infertility and a host of other problems.As said by Dr. Cannell of the Vitamin D Council,“The favorable implications for breast cancer come immediately to mind… I can tell you that lower female hormones sometimes help women in all kinds of ways… I suspect the women also became more fertile.”His suspicions have been supported by many studies. In rats, vitamin D deficiency has been shown to increase infertility by 75 percent. Supplemental vitamin D has also been shown to improve the success of in-vitro fertilizations.Vitamin D has also may increase fertility rates by six percent. Studies have shown that vitamin D works synergistically with other vitamins. It may not be too much vitamin D that’s the problem, but a deficiency in other nutrients. Either way, a good place to start for supplementation would be 1000 IU of D3 per day for every 25lbs of body weight, as per The Vitamin D Council’s recommendations.
If you want to supplement more accurately, test and re-test your vitamin D levels.Seventy percent of women with breast cancer are vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D has been shown to prevent breast cancer cell growth and decrease the expression of cancer causing genes.JoEllen Welsh, a researcher with the State University of New York at Albany, has studied the effects of vitamin D for 25 years. She believes vitamin D may be just as powerful as the most modern anti-cancer drugs.“What happens is that vitamin D enters the cells and triggers the cell death process. It’s similar to what we see when we treat cells with Tamoxifen, a drug used to treat breast cancer.”Breast cancer risk drops by 30 percent when vitamin D levels reach 40 ng/mL, a relatively small amount. Observational data suggests an “Intake of 2000 IU/day of Vitamin D per day” can cause a, “reduction by 50% in incidence of breast cancer.” Another study showed, “800 IU/day of vitamin D may be associated with enhanced survival rates among breast cancer cases.”
Besides breast cancer, vitamin D has been shown to decrease the risk of all cancers in women.“Improving calcium and vitamin D nutritional status substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women.”During pregnancy, the mother needs calcium for both her skeleton and the baby’s. Without vitamin D, calcium won’t be absorbed in the hard tissues like bone and teeth. This can cause bone loss and severe osteopenia for both the mother and the child. Vitamin D has also been shown to increase the absorption of calcium from food.In 2007, researchers found that vitamin D deficient women were 77 percent more likely to suffer a hip fracture. Giving elderly women vitamin D has been shown to increase life expectancy by 6 percent (two years).Brittle bones are though of as an unavoidable consequence of aging. It may be that this condition could be fixed with adequate vitamin D levels.“Because vitamin D deficiency is preventable, heightened awareness is necessary to ensure adequate vitamin D nutrition…”
Vitamin D supports the “Killer cells” of the immune system. These are important for seeking out and destroying pathogens.These “Killer cells” lie dormant around the body until they’re needed to fend off an invader. They rely on signals from the body to be activated. Vitamin D is one of the most important ingredients for these signals. Vitamin D plays a role in the cell’s ability to go into alert mode, and tells the cell to calm down when the job is done. If the “Killer cell” continues to rampage through the body, it can cause collateral damage and may contribute to autoimmune disorders. Most cases of infertility have some level of autoimmune disturbance. When pregnant, it’s also beneficial to avoid disease, as this might lead to problems with the fetus.Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is one of the leading causes of infertility. Most women with PCOS are vitamin D deficient. As this 2011 study concluded,“…vitamin D deficiency is associated with multiple metabolic risk factors in PCOS women.”