Preferred Vitamin D Product Information

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that is found in food and can also be made in your body after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. Sunshine is a significant source of vitamin D because UV rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin

Helps in absorption of elemental calcium. RecommenD for users of coral calcium products. A 2 month supply in every bottle.

Most brands on the market on contain 200 to 400 iu per capsule. Our 5000 iu is a super value. The major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. By promoting calcium absorption, vitamin D helps to form and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D also works in concert with a number of other vitamins, minerals, and hormones to promote bone mineralization. Without vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen. Vitamin D sufficiency prevents rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, two forms of skeletal diseases that weaken bones.

Suggested Use: 1 capsule daily as a dietary supplement, or as Directed by your health care provider.

Caution: If pregnant or nursing, consult your physician before using any supplements. Keep all supplements out of reach of children. Keep tightly closed.

Importance Of Vitamin D

Nutrient Deficiencies are usually the result of dietary inadequacy, impaired absorption and utilization, increased requirement, or increased excretion (loss). A deficiency of vitamin D can occur:

Dosage Found in Multivitamins Reduces Risk by 40%
By Sid Kirchheimer
Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
On Monday, January 12, 2004
WebMD Medical News

An abundance of vitamin D seems to help cut the odds of developing multiple sclerosis, according to a study of stored blood samples from more than 7 million members of the U.S. military.

Jan. 12, 2004 - Evidence continues to mount showing that a little vitamin D can do a lot of good. The latest: A new study indicating that women who get doses typically found in daily multivitamin supplements - of at least 400 international units - are 40% less likely to develop multiple sclerosis compared with those taking over-the-counter supplements.

This finding, by a team of Harvard researchers and published in this week's issue of Neurology , comes just a few days after another study links Vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Like MS, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, a classification for some 80 different ailments in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue and organs in the body.

"We've known for some time that vitamin D can affect function of the immune system, which could explain why it seems beneficial to both of these autoimmune conditions," says Kassandra Munger, MSc, of Harvard School of Public Health, a researcher for this study. "In animal studies, vitamin D Vitamins has been shown to suppress the autoimmune response in rats with a disorder very similar to MS."

Other recent studies link Vitamin D deficiency to a greater risk of other ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, unexplained muscle and joint pain, and various forms of cancer. As with MS and other autoimmune diseases, the secret may be in how this nutrient affects cell activity.

"We need adequate amounts of Vitamin D to keep cell growth and activity in check," says Michael Holick, MD, PhD, director of the Vitamin D Research Lab at Boston University Medical Center and considered by many to be the nation's leading authority on this vitamin. When the body is deficient in this crucial nutrient - best known for coming from sunlight - cells go haywire, become overly active or multiplying too quickly.

That's why the new finding doesn't surprise Holick, who wasn't involved in it. "It's been well-known that if you live at a higher altitude, where there's less sun exposure, you're at a higher risk of developing MS," he tells WebMD. Conversely, if you live in a sunny climate where vitamin D Vitamins can be easily absorbed year-round from sunlight for your first 10 years, "it imprints on you a decreased MS risk that can last a lifetime," Holick explains.

Munger's results are encouraging because 20% to 80% of Americans may already be vitamin D Vitamins deficient - at least during winter months. While as little as 10 minutes of sun exposure on bare, unprotected skin can prevent Deficiencies in warm and sunny months, it's virtually impossible for most Americans to get that kind of exposure this time of year.

Good food sources of vitamin D include:

•  Fortified milk, 8 ounces contains approximately 100 IU of Vitamin D Vitamins

•  Cod liver oil, 1 tablespoon contains approximately 1300 IU of vitamin D

•  Cold-water fish such as salmon and herring, 3 ounces contains approximately 400 to 750 IU of Vitamin D Vitamins respectively

However, Munger says that no matter where they lived (which could help determine their Vitamin D exposure from sunlight), her study's participants who got the highest intake of vitamin D from supplements had the lowest risk of developing MS. Interestingly, those whose Vitamin D came only from food, but not pills, had no such decreased risk - no matter their intake.

Her study is part of the ongoing Nurses' Health Study that has been tracking, for nearly 20 years, how various nutritional and lifestyle habits impact health in some 190,000 women. It's the latest evidence to show that something as simple as taking a multivitamin can offer significant protection against a disease that afflicts some 400,000 Americans. Although the cause of MS is unknown, experts believe it is partly an autoimmune disease that causes lesions within the brain and spinal cord, slowing or blocking nerve signals that control muscle coordination, visual sensation, and other vital functions.

"Very few of the women in our study were taking 'straight' Vitamin D supplements," Munger tells WebMD. "Mostly, they got these benefits from a regular multivitamin pill with the standard dosage of vitamin D. While it's too early to conclusively recommend taking multivitamins to prevent MS, certainly many people have advocated taking them for other reasons."

Holick has long recommended that most Americans - especially those living in cold or gray winter climates - take a multivitamin and an additional vitamin D supplement between 400 and 1,000 IUs to prevent possible deficiencies. "My guess is that these study participants probably consumed closer to 600 IUs in their multivitamins," he tells WebMD.

"We found that taking vitamin supplements of 1,000 IUs caused changes in blood chemistry that indicated positive effects for multiple sclerosis patients - basically, it reduced their symptoms," says Margherita Cantorna, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition at Penn State University who headed that study. A longtime researcher on how vitamin D impacts multiple sclerosis, she was not involveD in Mungers study, but like Holick, says she isn't surprised by the findings.

"It's pretty clear that when theres vitamin d Deficiency, there's a greater tendency for cells that cause autoimmune problems to come out in those genetically susceptible people," Cantorna tells WebMD. "it's about pretty clear that taking supplemental vitamin D Vitamins is a good idea. You're hard-pressed to get enough vitamn D solely from food or from sunlight in the winter."

SOURCES: Munger, K, Neurology: Jan. 13, 2004 ; vol 62; pp 60-65. Kassandra Munger, MSc. Nutrition researcher, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Michael Holick, MD, PhD, director, The Vitamin D Research Lab; director, The General Clinical Research Center; professor of medicine, dermatology, physiology and biophysics, Boston University Medical Center, Boston. Margherita Cantorna, PhD,assistant professor of nutrition, Penn State University , State College , Pa. Saag, K.

Arthritis and Rheumatism, January 2004, vol. 50; pp.72-77