Study: Crohn's, UC Less Likely in Women Living in Sunnier Regions

Guess that vitamin D (from the sun) can make a difference for some...vitamin D was just mentioned on my local news yesterday in reference to IBD....how IBDers tend to lack vitamin D compared to non-IBDers....so they're definitely linking vitamin D to IBD (or lack there of).

Yeah, but I think if you're predisposed to it for one thing and the fact that there is a high possibility of many other environmental factors, the fact that she gets/got enough vitamin D wasn't enough to save her from getting UC due to other factors (like other environmental triggers) playing their role to trigger it for her. Researchers are unclear but assume that it's likely more than one environmental trigger that can actually trigger the disease to "come out".

I live in a climate with 300 days a year of sunshine and I still got UC. My vitamin d was tested after getting diagnosed and my level was very low. But I've been told to always wear sunscreen when going in the sun, so I have. Wish I'd known before that spending some time in the sun is beneficial. The news media, doctors, etc all tell us being in the sun is bad and we have to wear sunscreen or we'll get skin cancer.

There seems to be a lot of press lately about the beneficial effects of vitamin D3.

Nearly 10 years ago, my GI told me to take extra calcium to avoid osteoporosis but did not mention Vit D until a few years ago when I tested low. He did not specify how much D I should add.
Recently I've seen info that says about 4000-4500 IUs a day are needed.

I've been taking about 2000+ IUs of D3 (softgels) daily for quite a while and my recent test number is 34 where 30-100 ng/ml is considered sufficient.

Sooooo.... I guess I can double my intake and not worry about ODing on D

Sometimes, this "being responsible for your health" is exhausting.

ItsAlwaysSomething,

Sometimes, this "being responsible for your health" is exhausting. Yes, I agree - but I'd still rather be in charge than leaving it to the doctors, .

Vitamin D3 is important, and it's good you're taking it. Although if you are supplementing, you should get regular blood work for it.

But to make it more bio-available, it must be taken with  fat (salmon, butter, etc....), and if you take K2 with it, it will work synergistically as well.

My GP prescribed 100,000. I.U. every 10 days, and the last time I was tested, my blood serum levels were at around 68 or so. I do believe, based on all I've read, that optimal levels for those with chronic and serious diseases is close to 80, so I am still working on getting my levels up a little more.

There's a huge connection between low levels of vitamin d3 and many diseases.

 

Sara14,

I share your frustration when you said "it's not necessarily the vitamin D".

It frustrates me that everyone is looking for a silver bullet. Pro-med people as well as their anti-med counterparts are all looking for silver bullets. I really doubt that IBD is the result of a vitamin D or slippery elm deficiency, or a result of not taking enough rectal meds.

Having said that I would be skeptical of any article from WebMD:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebMD
Allegations have been made that WebMD biases readers towards using drugs sold by their pharmaceutical sponsors in cases in which the drug is unnecessary

There are some rigorous studies compiled by Grassroots Health that indicate that vitamin D really is helpful for many diseases. (I admit Grassroots may be on the anti-med side, but their studies are rigorous). I don't have the numbers for IBD but breast cancer incidence is reduced by 30% when vitamin D blood level is at least 34 ng/ml vs the baseline of 25 ng/ml. Not exactly a silver bullet but helpful enough so that everyone should get their vitamin D blood level checked.

Rickets is reversed by 99 percent with only a level of 18. Multiple Sclerosis by 33 percent at a level of 44 and reduced by 54 percent when blood levels are over 56 ng/ml. Heart attack in men can be reduced by 30 percent with blood levels of 34. The list goes on and on.

Of course there will be people who see this and immediately overdose looking for the magic bullet. Gary Null was hospitalized several months from overdosing from vitamin D by taking his own supplements that he sells to the public. Then there is Dr. Joe Mercola, famous nutrition and vitamin advocate, who also OD'd on vitamin D:

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/05/06/mushrooms-your-newest-vitamin-d-source.aspx
It is my strong recommendation that anyone taking regular oral vitamin D, should have their blood levels checked.

You really need to be careful about all forms of oral vitamin D as it is just too easy to overdose...

An overdose of oral vitamin D can cause a number of serious problems, including:
Vomiting
Constipation
Weight loss
Kidney failure
Calcification of the arteries
Even with this approach, it may take many months to normalize your levels from elevated levels due to taking ORAL vitamin D.

Yeah, it's hard to know what to do sometimes, and science is continuously evolving as we learn more.

Thanks for the info., BabeintheWoods.