Vitamin D - - AGAIN!!

More from Dr. Andrew Weil

Vitamin D and Asthma

More and more we hear that we should wear sunscreen or sunblock due to the hazardous effects of the sun. However, actions always leads to consequences. In this case, less exposure to the sun limits our bodies' ability to produce Vitamin D. I have posted several different posts regarding Vitamin D. Feel free to look back at the others.

If you suffer from asthma, take note: the lower your levels of vitamin D, the worse your symptoms may be. What's more, low vitamin D levels also appear to influence how much benefit you'll receive from treatments - the lower the levels, the poorer the response to steroidal asthma medications. These results were demonstrated in a small study of 54 asthma patients at the National Jewish Health Center in Denver. The investigators suggested that vitamin D supplements might improve matters for patients with low levels of "D," but the study wasn't designed to test whether this intervention actually would work. However, it did show that vitamin D levels were also lowest among the patients who were the most overweight. The study was published in the Jan. 14, 2010, online edition of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. I recently raised my recommendation of 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily to 2,000 IU because of emerging evidence that the higher dose is more appropriate to help maintain optimum health. The asthma study adds to what we already know about the importance of vitamin D.