Vitamin D Blood Level Critical to Prevent Most Chronic Diseases

Prominent research studies continue to extol the virtues of maintaining proper levels of critical nutrients such as vitamin D throughout life to prevent most diseases that plaque western cultures. Publishing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition scientists found that by simply raising the low end of the vitamin D blood saturation range (from 30 ng/mL to 44 ng/mL), all-cause mortality could be reduced by 7.6% to 17.3% for most women.

This supports the extensive body of work published by Dr. Bruce Ames that explains low nutritional status through life results in the development of diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia. A high quality multi-vitamin taken daily can provide a broad range of protection against a host of chronic illnesses.

Lower All-Cause Mortality Up to 20% for Pennies a Day

If you found out that you could lower your risk of dying by as much as 20% simply by increasing vitamin D intake, would you be willing to make the change? For most people this would mean taking an additional 1500 IU of the sunshine vitamin at a daily cost of $.03. While some people can benefit directly from sun exposure, aging adults (over 50), those in Northern climates and dark-skinned individuals will need to take an oil based supplement and monitor blood levels to ensure optimal protection.

You won`t hear about results that show that increasing vitamin D intake or other essential nutrients can significantly lower your risk for developing chronic disease. The scientists performing this study on European women found “Increasing serum 25(OH)D levels is the most cost-effective way to reduce global mortality rates, as the cost of vitamin D is very low and there are few adverse effects from oral intake and/or frequent moderate UVB irradiance with sufficient body surface area exposed.”

Triage Theory Explains Long Term Nutritional Deficiency Leads to Early Death

Dr. Bruce Ames has been studying the long term effect of poor nutrition on health for more than 30 years and proposed the triage theory in 2006. The theory explains how long-term deficiency in nutrients such as vitamin D and K increase genetic mutations over time and cause diseases associated with aging like cancer, heart disease, and dementia.

Dr. Ames explains that his research demonstrates that nutritional deficiencies over the course of decades (and even short term deficits in the case of vitamin D) cause the body to promote metabolic processes that support short term survival and reproduction. Long term maintenance goals that effect repair and regeneration of genetic material including chromosomes and DNA are allowed to go unattended when adequate nutrients are lacking in cellular stores.

Very few health-minded individuals would argue against the virtue of a well-balanced and unrefined diet centered on a colorful array of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and legumes. Most children and adults will want to ensure optimal intake of vitamins, minerals, fats and amino acids through a sensible approach to diet and taking a high quality whole food based multi-vitamin each day.