One step forward, two steps back Maybe I spoke too soon. The other day I talked about how my cynicism got the better of me and an article I thought was out to trash nutritional medicine did the exact opposite. But no sooner had I owned up to my mistake then I read the next article in my stack, which concluded with the following remark: "Even though [their] results suggest that increasing the vitamin D levels of adolescents and young adults could protect against MS, researchers do not recommend vitamin D supplementation for MS prevention until efficacy is proven in clinical trials." Statements like this always floor me - particularly when you're talking about protecting children from a disease that could potentially rob them of their futures, as multiple sclerosis (MS) does. And particularly when the existing evidence is so strong - clinical trials or not. But let's back up a step and go over what led the researchers to their conclusion. Based on records taken from nearly 175 MS patients who had had serum samples taken both before and after the onset of their symptoms, there was over a 40 percent decrease in MS risk for every 50 nmol/L increase in their vitamin D levels. The researchers also found that this translates into an even higher risk for adolescents and young adults since only one of the 39 MS cases and only 16 of the 76 controls in this age group had vitamin D levels that were at or above the recommended amount (100 nmol/L). Sounds like a pretty convincing argument for getting teens' and young adults' vitamin D levels up, whether that means getting them outdoors more to absorb the sun's vitamin-D- producing rays or supplementing with this essential nutrient. Why the research team didn't think so is anyone's guess. But those of us who have been around the natural medicine block a few times -- and noticed the lack of money to be made from endorsing nutrients -- will probably have a good shot at guessing correctly. What is...nmol/L? Nmol/L is a unit of measure referring to the number of nanomoles of a substance in each liter of blood. A nanomole is one billionth of a mole, a measurement used to evaluate atomic, subatomic, and molecular structures.
Nutrition & Healing Sources:
"Low vitamin D levels may predispose to multiple sclerosis," Reuters Health news, 12/19/06
"Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of multiple sclerosis," JAMA 2006; 296(23): 2,832-2,838
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