Vitamin D a Potential Remedy for Sunburns: Implications for Skin Cancer Treatment

According to scientists at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, large amounts of Vitamin D could be the solution to the bane of fair-skinned people - red, painful sunburns. People who ingested large quantities of Vitamin D one hour after getting a sunburn felt long-term benefits, which included a substantial reduction in redness, swelling and inflammation. The research was the first-ever study to explore the anti-inflammatory properties of Vitamin D. The study was published in the May edition of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

This research raises the question: Could quickly healing skin result in better protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun and, potentially, from getting skin cancer? Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer occuring in the U.S., according to data tracked by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During the study, twenty people received a sunburn utilizing a lamp, then were given a placebo, or varying amounts of Vitamin D. The Vitamin D doses were given in massive amounts ranging anywhere from 12,500% to 50,000% of the recommended daily amount. The people who received the largest amounts of the vitamin experienced the best results.  They had reduced skin irritation within two day and suffered from less redness.

The scientists theorized that the mechanism behind the fast healing is that Vitamin D increases anti-inflammatory enzymes in the epidermis. This enzyme acts to trigger the production of other anti-inflammatory proteins and stimulates repair of tissues.

The health benefits of Vitamin D have been controversial over time. A decade ago, research had linked a deficiency of Vitamin D to both osteoporosis and heart disease. However, more recently, an analysis of forty research studies indicated that healthy individuals were not likely to receive any benefits from taking Vitamin D.

The research is promising, but more, larger studies need to be conducted in order to further explore these early results.

Study: A Deficiency of Vitamin A Could Negatively Impact Stem Cells

A study done at the German Cancer Research Center has found that a vitamin A deficiency can negatively impact blood stem cells. Specialized cells located in the blood, digestive system, and skin have a relatively brief lifespan and require regular replenishment. They come from stem cells which constantly divide in order to survive.

In 2008, scientists found a group of specialized stem cells which are located in the bone marrow that are dormant the majority of the time, and only become active in order to combat viral or bacterial infections, loss of blood, or in reaction to chemotherapy treatments. When their task is completed, these powerful stem cells return to a dormant state.

The mechanisms that case the stem cells to activate and deactivate have now been identified. It was discovered that retinoic acid, which is a vitamin A metabolite, is critical for these processes. When retinoic acid isn't present, active stem cells aren't able to go back into dormancy and they develop into specialized blood cells, instead.

Using specially-bred mice, researchers learned that the stem cells are lost as a reservoir if there is a shortage of retinoic acid. "If we feed these mice on a vitamin A deficient diet for some time, this leads to a loss of stem cells," Nina Cabezas-Wallscheid, lead author of this study, stated. "We can prove for the first time that vitamin A has a direct impact on blood stem cells."

This research serves to help provide new insight into previous studies which indicated that vitamin A deficiency impairs the immune system. "This shows how vitally important it is to have a sufficient intake of vitamin A from a balanced diet," Cabezas-Wallscheid said.

Researchers speculate that these findings may play a role in future cancer treatments because cancer cells, like stem cells, rest in a dormant state and their metabolism is stopped, resulting in resistance to chemotherapy.

Study pulished in Cell.

Vitamin D's Many Health Benefits

Vitamin D is a nutrient that has long been associated with both calcium and maintaining healthy bones. While it is true that vitamin D is required to metabolize calcium and for good bone health, vitamin D plays a number of other crucial roles in the healthy functioning of your body.

Your skin is the primary way that the body produces vitamin D. During spring and summer you can generally make sufficient quantities of vitamin D simply by exposing your arms and face to the sun for about 15 minutes a day. Your body can produce up to 10,000 units just through adequate sun exposure. Vitamin D can then be stored in your fat for the long-term.

Vitamin D helps the body to absorb and control calcium and phosphorous. If your intake of calcium is too low, calcitriol in conjunction with a parathyroid hormone can draw calcium stores from bone. This can then result in bone loss. It is vital for women to build good bone density and to take steps to prevent bone loss. It is particularly vital for women who are perimenopausal and post menopausal to supplement their diets with vitamin D and with about 1500 mg of calcium every day. Maintaining good bone health is also necessary for men since men can also get osteoporosis when they get older as well.

One study has found that vitamin D may prevent falling and reduce the chance of getting a hip fracture. This may happen because vitamin D may be important in building muscle strength, as well as the density of bones. The standard dosage of vitamin D of 400 units doesn't seem to be sufficient to accomplish this and an amount of 800-1000 units may be required for this purpose. It appears likely that calcium, combined with vitamin D, is required for preventing falls.

Those who are dark skinned may not be able to produce enough vitamin D, even at lower latitudes. If you above the age of 60 your skin and/or kidneys may be less efficient at producing vitamin D compared to when you were younger. Additionally, vitamin D receptors may reduce as we age. Obesity can reduce the ability to produce enough vitamin D through sunlight. In the obese, the vitamin D they produce can be held in fat stores and not be available to the body in sufficient quantities. If you take prednisone, you also may need to take additional vitamin D. If you are a person in one of these categories, you may need to take a vitamin D supplement.

Vitamin D May Help Prevent Type-1 Diabetes

There is currently a theory that type 1 diabetes in children and teenagers is an autoimmune response. Supplementation with vitamin D may act to inhibit an autoimmune response of beta cells in the pancreas that can ultimately result in diabetes.

Multiple Sclerosis and Vitamin D

It has been found that multiple sclerosis (MS) has an elevated incidence in people who live in northern latitudes. There is some evidence which suggests that vitamin D in elevated amounts may act to inhibit the autoimmune reactions that result in MS. In those that already suffer from MS, taking sufficient vitamin D is integral to decreasing or minimizing flare-ups of the disease. The exact amount required isn't known and it is vital to have blood levels tested.

Vitamin D and Cancer Prevention

Having too low a level of vitamin D could put women at a higher risk for cancers of the breast and colon, and men at an elevated risk for cancers of the colon and prostate. There is some evidence suggesting that sufficient quantities of vitamin D may inhibit the growth of these cancers.

Vitamin D and Mood

Insufficient levels of vitamin D may be a contributing factor to depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or simply a bad mood. The low energy and mood of seasonal affective disorder could be an effect of both low levels of light and inadequate levels of vitamin D. It is particularly vital to take a vitamin D supplement during the winter, in addition to getting more exercise and as much sunlight exposure as possible.

Vitamin D Speeds Up Tuberculosis Recovery

Vitamin D may help speed up the antibiotic treatment of tuberculosis, according to a new randomized, controlled, double-blind research study. The study was conducted at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. The study was published in The Lancet.

In the research study, which was headed by Dr. Adrian Martineau of the Centre for Health Sciences at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, 146 study participants who suffered from a drug-sensitive form of tuberculosis were selected from 10 National Health Service Trusts in London and then randomly and evenly picked to receive either 4 doses of 2.5mg of vitamin D, or a sham treatment. All of the patients in the study were getting the standard antibiotic treatment for tuberculosis.

The mean time to recovery of tuberculosis from the lungs among all the patients was six weeks for participants who were getting standard therapy alone and five weeks for patients who were receiving additional vitamin D, although this difference is not big enough to achieve statistical significance. However, participants with a specific genetic type of vitamin D receptor were significantly more vitamin D responsive than the others and were clear of TB bacteria much faster if they took vitamin D in addition to the standard treatment.

Ninety-seven percent of the participants (122/126) did not have adequate levels of vitamin D at baseline. Vitamin D deficiency is often seen in TB patients - an attribute which may be due to lack of sun in the UK, or to diets which are low in vitamin D. It may be possible that tuberculosis can contribute to vitamin D deficiency by a mechanism which is not known at present.

Vitamin D is mostly known for its effects on bone - that it helps prevent rickets and osteomalacia - but it also has significant effects on the human immune system. High doses of vitamin D were used in the treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics were available, but previous clinical trials which have been performed did not find out how tuberculosis patients' genetic make-up could alter their response to a vitamin D supplement. The result that participants who have a specific type of vitamin D receptor are particularly responsive to vitamin D is a new one, and gives us information about how vitamin D could affect the immune response.

People Who May Need to Take a Magnesium Supplement

Healthy adults who consume a balanced-mixed and healthy variety of foods will not generally need to take any additional magnesium supplementation. Supplementation of magnesium is only usually needed in the presence of specific health problems or conditions which can cause an extreme loss of magnesium, or can result in the body being able to absorb a limited amount of magnesium.

A magnesium supplement might be needed by people who suffer from conditions which cause excessive loss of magnesium through urination, chronic malabsorption of magnesium, chronic diarrhea, and/or chronic or severe vomiting.

Diuretics, including Lasix, Bumex, Edecrin, and Hydrochlorothiazide, can increase the loss of magnesium through urination. Medications, such as Cisplatin, a widely used cancer treatment, and antibiotics such as Gentamicin, Amphotericin, and Cyclosporin, can also cause the kidneys to excrete excessive magnesium through urination. Physicians routinely monitor magnesium levels of people who take these medications and will prescribe magnesium supplementation if necessary.

Diabetes that is not well controlled, can increase the loss of magnesium through urine, and could increase a person's need for extra magnesium. A physician would generally ascertain the need for additional magnesium in these situations. Routine magnesium supplementation isn't generally needed for people who have well-controlled diabetes.

Alcoholics have an elevated high risk for magnesium deficiency since alcohol increases the level of excretion of magnesium in urine. Low blood levels of magnesium are tested in 30 to 60% of people who abuse alcohol, and in almosty 90% of people going through alcohol withdrawal. Also, alcoholics who tend to replace food with alcohol will generally have a lower intake of magnesium. Physicians routinely determine the need for additional magnesium in these cases.

Losing magnesium through both diarrhea and the malabsorption of fats can happen after intestinal surgery or infection, however it may also happen with chronic malabsorptive problems such as Crohn's disease, gluten sensitive enteropathy, and regional enteritis. People who suffer from these conditions may require additional magnesium. A common symptom of a problem absorbing fat, or steatorrhea, is passing greasy, bad smelling stool.

Vomiting, on occasion, shouldn't be enough to cause excessive loss of magnesium, but conditions which cause chronic and/or severe vomiting could cause a loss of magnesium substantial enough that supplementation is needed. In these types of situations, a physician would ascertain whether a magnesium supplement is needed.

For more information regarding magnesium deficiency, see Magnesium Deficiency (Wikipedia).

What is Selenium?

Selenium is a trace element which is commonly found in soil, and it is needed in tiny amounts in order to be healthy. It is required for various bodily processes and is located in virtually every cell of your body, particularly in the kidneys, liver, spleen, testes, and pancreas.

Selenium functions as an antioxidant which fights free radicals in the body which damage DNA. It is often connected with Vitamins E and C as nutrients which aid in fight against cancerous cells, heart disease and the aging process. Selenium has been widely utilized to battle viral infections and may potentially impede the progress of AIDS/HIV. Additionally, it contributes to overall good health by aiding normal liver function.

Additional health benefits associated with selenium include helping to protect against heart disease, guarding the body against the effects of toxic minerals, and neutralizing the negative effects of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and fats. It may also help to improve male potency and is integral to maintaining healthy hair, skin and eyes.