Vitamin D With Calcium Increases Lifespan

Taking vitamin D combined with calcium can reduce mortality in the elderly, according to a Danish study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. The study's suggestion of an increased lifespan is only one of many benefits now being attributed to the "sunshine" vitamin, which is receiving increased recognition for its overall role in maintaining good health. The study pooled data from eight randomized controlled trials, each including more than 1,000 participants. Almost 90 percent were women whose median age was 70. The patients were randomized to receive either vitamin D supplements alone or vitamin D with calcium. During the three-year study, deaths were reduced by 9 percent in the groups treated with the vitamin D/calcium supplement. The researchers decided that the lower number of deaths wasn't due to a lower number of fractures, but represented a beneficial effect that went beyond the reduced risk of fracture. “This is the largest study ever performed on effects of calcium and vitamin D on mortality,” said Lars Rejnmark, Ph.D., of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark and lead author of the study. “Our results showed reduced mortality in elderly patients using vitamin D supplements in combination with calcium, but these results were not found in patients on vitamin D alone.” “Some studies have suggested calcium (with or without vitamin D) supplements can have adverse effects on cardiovascular health,” said Rejnmark. “Although our study does not rule out such effects, we found that calcium with vitamin D supplementation to elderly participants is overall not harmful to survival, and may have beneficial effects on general health.” Vitamin D has been shown to give health a boost in many areas including: • Heart disease. A British study found that middle-aged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D reduce their risk of heart disease by 43 percent. • Stroke. A study published in Stroke found that men who consumed the least amount of vitamin D in their diets increased their risk of stroke by 22 to 27 percent when compared to those who consumed the highest levels. • Breast cancer. An analysis of two studies found that women with the highest amounts of vitamin D in their blood lowered their risk of breast cancer by 50 percent when compared to women with the lowest levels. • Diabetes. Australian researchers concluded that people with below-normal vitamin D levels increased their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 57 percent when compared with people whose levels were normal. • Colon cancer. Cancer prevention specialists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California found that high amounts of vitamin D could cut colon cancer rates by two-thirds. • Bone health. Studies have found that people with a vitamin D deficiency absorb 65 percent less calcium than those with normal levels, raising the risk of bone fractures. A British study concluded that having adequate vitamin D levels could reduce hip fractures by as much as 50 percent. Yet the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a draft recommendation on Tuesday advising against healthy postmenopausal women routinely taking vitamin D and calcium supplements in doses equivalent to the usually recommended daily allowance. The supplement doesn't prevent bone fractures, the panel said, and could actually be harmful. • Parkinson's disease. A Finnish study published in the Archives of Neurology studied 3,173 men and women aged 50 to 79 over 29 years. They found that those whose vitamin D levels were in the top 25 percent had a 67 percent lower chance of developing Parkinson's disease than those in the lowest level — the bottom 25 percent. • Brain health. Recent research published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that vitamin D may work at the cellular level to clear the brain of amyloid beta plaques associated with memory-destroying disease.