Vitamin D Warning

Vitamin D discovery outpaces FDA decision making.

You can get the full free text for this paper at the following link:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/117885976/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 

Marshall TG. Vitamin D discovery outpaces FDA decision making.
Bioessays. 2008 Jan 15;30(2):173-182 [Epub ahead of print] Online
ISSN: 1521-1878 Print ISSN: 0265-9247 PMID: 18200565

If Marshall is correct, taking Vitamin D supplements could be as bad
for the immune systema/lyme infection as a prescription-only steroid.

Regards
Lara

PS - also see the news article with a summary of the Marshall
research:

Vitamin D Deficiency Study Raises New Questions About Disease And
Supplements

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125223302.htm

ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2008) — Low blood levels of vitamin D have
long been associated with disease, and the assumption has been that
vitamin D supplements may protect against disease. However, this new
research demonstrates that ingested vitamin D is immunosuppressive
and that low blood levels of vitamin D may be actually a result of
the disease process. Supplementation may make the disease worse.

In a new report Trevor Marshall, Ph.D., professor at Australia's
Murdoch University School of Biological Medicine and Biotechnology,
explains how increased vitamin D intake affects much more than just
nutrition or bone health. The paper explains how the Vitamin D
Nuclear Receptor (VDR) acts in the repression or transcription of
hundreds of genes, including genes associated with diseases ranging
from cancers to multiple sclerosis.

"The VDR is at the heart of innate immunity, being responsible for
expression of most of the antimicrobial peptides, which are the
body's ultimate response to infection," Marshall said.

"Molecular biology is now forcing us to re-think the idea that a low
measured value of vitamin D means we simply must add more to our
diet. Supplemental vitamin D has been used for decades, and yet the
epidemics of chronic disease, such as heart disease and obesity, are
just getting worse."

"Our disease model has shown us why low levels of vitamin D are
observed in association with major and chronic illness," Marshall
added. "Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone, and the body regulates
the production of all it needs. In fact, the use of supplements can
be harmful, because they suppress the immune system so that the body
cannot fight disease and infection effectively."

Marshall's research has demonstrated how ingested vitamin D can
actually block VDR activation, the opposite effect to that of
Sunshine. Instead of a positive effect on gene expression, Marshall
reported that his own work, as well as the work of others, shows that
quite nominal doses of ingested vitamin D can suppress the proper
operation of the immune system. It is a different metabolite, a
secosteroid hormone called 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, which activates
the VDR to regulate the expression of the genes. Under conditions
that exist in infection or inflammation, the body automatically
regulates its production of all the vitamin D metabolites, including
25-hydroxyvitamin D, the metabolite which is usually measured to
indicate vitamin D status.

Vitamin D deficiency, long interpreted as a cause of disease, is more
likely the result of the disease process, and increasing intake of
vitamin D often makes the disease worse. "Dysregulation of vitamin D
has been observed in many chronic diseases, including many thought to be autoimmune," said J.C. Waterhouse, Ph.D., lead author of a book
chapter on vitamin D and chronic disease.

"We have found that vitamin D supplementation, even at levels many
consider desirable, interferes with recovery in these patients."

"We need to discard the notion that vitamin D affects a disease state
in a simple way," Marshall said. "Vitamin D affects the expression of
over 1,000 genes, so we should not expect a simplistic cause and
effect between vitamin D supplementation and disease. The
comprehensive studies are just not showing that supplementary vitamin
D makes people healthier."

Journal reference: Marshall TG. Vitamin D discovery outpaces FDA
decision making. Bioessays. 2008 Jan 15;30(2):173-182 [Epub ahead of
print] Online ISSN: 1521-1878 Print ISSN: 0265-9247 PMID: 18200565

Adapted from materials provided by Autoimmunity Research Foundation,
via AlphaGalileo.