You May Need More Sun to Stay Healthy

Vitamin D has recently become increasingly prominent in the search for possible causes for a variety of diseases – and not just those involving bone. Chinese researchers have shown a link between the blood level of vitamin D and occurrence of the metabolic syndrome – a precursor of cardiovascular or diabetic disease. (By the way, do you have the metabolic syndrome?)

The study is reported in the online version of Diabetes Care. Plasma 25(OH)D (25 hydroxyl-vitamin D) was measured in 1,443 men and 1,819 women aged 50 to 70 in Shanghai and Beijing. They were also assessed for the presence of the metabolic syndrome. There was a close relationship between low levels of vitamin D and the metabolic syndrome.

As many as 94% of the people in the study had a vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency (deficiency is defined as being below 12 nanog/mL). And 42% of them had the metabolic syndrome. There was a relationship between the vitamin D levels and the metabolic syndrome – the lower the vitamin D in the blood, the more frequent the likelihood of the metabolic syndrome.

To avoid the metabolic syndrome, one should have a 25(OH)D level in the normal range, i.e. 35 to 55 nanog/mL. Sunlight, artificial light, oral or injected vitamin D, or a combination, should be used to restore 25(OH)D levels. Controlled sunlight is the safest form of vitamin D supplementation. Just avoid sunburn, a dangerous condition long-term.