In another example of the critical role that vitamin D plays in human development, it has been demonstrated now that children with low levels of this key nutrient develop allergies.
Vitamin D is relatively difficult to obtain from food (mostly fish) but we make it in our skin when irradiated by sunlight. Skin color variation is directly related to this necessity.
In the past lack of vitamin D in children (or their mothers) has been linked to rickets, incorrect brain development, autoimmune diseases and other immunity related problems. Allergies also fall within the problematic of inappropriate immunity and can well be considered autoimmune diseases, even if often mild and with very specific triggers.
Source: Science Daily.
Ref. Shimi Sharief et al., Vitamin D levels and food and environmental allergies in the United States: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2011. Pay per view.
See also:
Infant vitamin d supplementation and allergic conditions in adulthood: northern Finland birth cohort 1966
ReplyDeleteThe above comment is actually the title of a study which found that vitamin D supplementation increases the incidence of allergies. In my opinion it is irresponsible of you to imply that the opposite is the case
ReplyDeleteHere is a nutrition bloggers post on a paper which I have already drawn your attention to.
Vitamin D production from UV radiation: The effects of total cholesterol and skin pigmentation
In the comments somone asks "Since Vit D production isn't better in light-skinned people, why did lighter skin evolve when people left Africa? "
The reply " Perhaps for the same reason that birds evolved all kinds of weird ornaments eh?
Ole Darwin was right about so many things, maybe he got this one right too"
I think it is irresponsible of you to make the claims you make, specially when the "dark" category in that study is made up of white people (non ethnic Danish skin types V-VI) what may cause problems to truly dark-skinned people living in low sun radiation areas.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the case, the paper acknowledges contradictions with other papers, where "Higher doses were required for darker skin types", etc.
I think it is irresponsible of you to make the claims you make, specially when the "dark" category in that study is made up of white people (non ethnic Danish skin types V-VI) what may cause problems to truly dark-skinned people living in low sun radiation areas.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the case, the paper acknowledges contradictions with other papers, where "Higher doses were required for darker skin types", etc.
In a comment on your last Vitamin D post I said this
ReplyDelete'Blood Vitamin D Levels in Relation to Genetic Estimation of African Ancestry'
"African-Americans generally have lower circulating levels of 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] than Whites, attributed to skin pigmentation and dietary habits. Little is known about the genetic determinants of 25(OH)D levels nor whether the degree of African ancestry associates with circulating 25(OH)D.[...]The effect of high vitamin D exposure from sunlight and diet was 46% lower among African-Americans with high African ancestry than among those with low/medium ancestry. "
(And diet, think about the implications of that)."
You obviously didn't think about the implications.
Whatever.
ReplyDeleteHERE is a link to a couple of specialized nutrition blogs. If you look in the comments you will see that a couple of people (one of whom is an MD and laughed at me when I tried to warn him a year ago) have come round to my way of thinking after supplementing vitamin D and getting really ill.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your health.