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June 2nd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda FRIDAY, June 1 (HealthDay News) — Too little vitamin D has been
linked to a host of health problems, including obesity, diabetes and high
blood pressure, and new research now suggests that a lack of this
important nutrient may also contribute to mobility problems in old
age.
The researchers followed more than 3,000 people between the ages of 70
and 79 for six years, and found that those with the lowest vitamin D
levels at the start of the study had nearly a 30 percent increased risk of
a mobility limitation at the end of the study and almost twice the risk of
a mobility disability as people with the highest levels of vitamin D.
“In a growing older population, trying to find ways to reduce the risk
of disability is really important,” said study author Denise Houston, an
assistant professor at the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest School of
Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. “Taking vitamin D could be one thing to do
that might reduce the risk of disability, but until a randomized,
controlled clinical trial is done, it’s premature to say if it will
definitely help prevent disability.”
A randomized, controlled trial, in which study participants are
randomly chosen to either receive a treatment or not, is the gold standard
for medical research.
Results of the new study, which was funded by the U.S. National
Institutes of Health, were published online in the May issue of the
Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.
The body produces vitamin D naturally when exposed to the sun’s rays.
However, because sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer, many
people limit their sun exposure or use sunscreen to protect their skin
from the sun’s potentially damaging light. As people get older, the skin
doesn’t absorb and process the sun’s ultraviolet light as effectively as
it does in younger folks.
Vitamin D plays an important role in muscle function, according to
Houston. It’s needed to get calcium into the muscles, which is needed for
muscle contraction, and she noted that muscles also have their own
vitamin D receptors.
In the current study, all of the volunteers were living on their own;
none were in a nursing home or other long-term care facility. At the start
of the study, the volunteers had no difficulty walking one-fourth of a
mile, climbing 10 steps, or performing basic activities of daily living,
the researchers noted. The participants were also free of any
life-threatening illnesses. Just over half were male and about one-third
were black.
The researchers measured vitamin D levels early in the study and found
that 29 percent had vitamin D levels of less than 50 nanomoles per liter
(nmol/L), while 36 percent had levels between 50 and 75 nmol/L. About 35
percent of the study volunteers had vitamin D levels over 75 nmol/L.
After six years of follow-up, 2,099 volunteers were still available to
answer questions about their mobility. Persistent mobility limitation was
defined as having two or more episodes of difficulty walking one-fourth of
a mile or climbing 10 steps without resting due to a health or a physical
problem. Persistent mobility disability was severe difficulty or an
inability to perform these tasks, according to the study.
Compared to those with the highest vitamin D levels, people with less
than 50 nmol/L had a 29 percent increased risk of having a mobility
limitation, while those with between 50 and 75 nmol/L had a 27 percent
increased risk. Those with the lowest levels of vitamin D had a 93 percent
increased risk of a mobility disability, while those with levels between
50 and 75 nmol/L had a 30 percent increased risk, the investigators
found.
“I wasn’t surprised to see that after six years, some people in their
70s had developed mobility issues. But, even after adjusting for age and
other variables, they found an association,” said Jessica Shapiro, an
associate wellness dietician at Montefiore Medical Center in New York
City.
“But, there are so many variables that can affect mobility, I don’t
think vitamin D is the only, or even a large factor causing mobility
issues,” Shapiro said.
Houston said this was an observational study, and wasn’t designed to
prove a cause-and-effect relationship. She said a randomized, clinical
trial where some people got vitamin D and others got an inactive placebo
would be the only way to see if improving vitamin D levels could have an
effect on mobility.
Right now, said Houston, it would be premature to recommend vitamin D
solely for preventing mobility issues. But, many people take vitamin D
supplements for other reasons.
“For most people, it’s difficult to get enough vitamin D through diet
alone,” said Houston. “The current recommendations are for 800
international units a day for people over 70 years old, she said, adding
that some experts think these levels should be even higher.
Shapiro said the vitamin is also found in fortified milks and juices,
fatty fish (such as salmon or tuna), egg yolks, cheese and mushrooms.
Houston said that fatty fish are the most significant dietary source of
vitamin D.
More information
Learn more about vitamin D from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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