Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine - June 15, 2008

Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine
June 15, 2008

Update on Vitamin D

The hottest subject in medicine today is the amazing
number of diseases associated with low vitamin D levels. People
with low levels of vitamin D are at double the risk for blocked
arteries in their legs, called peripheral artery disease
(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, June 2008);
markedly increased risk for heart attacks and strokes, angina, and
heart failure (Circulation, January and April 2008, Archives of
Internal Medicine June 2008); increased rate of aging of their
tissues (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November
2007); cancers of the breast, lung and colon (American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, November 2007); diabetes (Epidemiology, May
20, 2008). Other recent articles show that Vitamin D helps pain
control (Pain Medicine, April 2008); and vitamin D reduces the risk
of falls (Archives of Internal Medicine, March 2008).

Next winter, ask your doctor to draw blood tests called
vitamin D3 and D2. If your D3 level is below 40 ng/ml, you are at
increased risk for a host of diseases. You can take pills
containing D2 or D3. D2 is the plant pre-vitamin D that is so weak
that it usually will not help raise your blood level. On the other
hand, D3 is the animal pre-vitamin D that appears to be quite
effective. Scientists do not agree on the optimum dose for people
with blood levels of D3 below 40 ng/ml. It used to be 200
international units per day. Today, many doctors think that it
should be at least 2000 international units. You can also meet
your needs for vitamin D from sunlight by exposing a few inches
of skin for 15 minutes every other day in the summer. However,
during the winter in northern climates, the sun's rays come in at
an angle and are therefore markedly reduced by the increased areas
of atmosphere through which the sun's rays must pass. You can
solve this problem with a tropical vacation.

I have found that tanning beds provide almost no vitamin D.
Ultraviolet light is classified into UVA and UVB. UVB are the
rays that cause skin cancer. They are also the rays that cause the
skin to manufacture vitamin D. Since manufacturers of tanning
bulbs are concerned about skin cancer, they reduce the
percentage of UVB emitted from tanning lamps. This also
markedly reduces the rays that provide vitamin D.


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Reports from DrMirkin.com

Lowering blood pressure
http://www.drmirkin.com/heart/3046.html

Piriformis syndrome
http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/F230.html

Light spots on suntan
http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/G232.html

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Dear Dr. Mirkin: When competing during very hot weather,
is there a good way to recover between events?

Researchers at Edith Cowan University in Australia
showed that you can recover faster and compete at a higher level
by soaking your legs in cold water (14 degrees C) for five minutes
during rest periods between events (British Journal of Sports
Medicine, June 2008). The cooling session dropped body
temperature a half degree centigrade and the athletes were able
to cycle faster with greater power output.

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Dear Dr. Mirkin: Are heart attacks more common in summer or
winter?

Breathing cold air turns on your immunity. Your immunity
is supposed to attack and kill germs, but as soon as the invading
germ is gone, your immunity is supposed to shut down until the
next attack. If it remains active, it causes inflammation, a
condition in which your immunity attacks your own body to damage
your blood vessels, joints and other tissues. Researchers at the
German Research Center for Environmental Health in Neuherberg
showed that exposing men, who had previously had heart attacks,
for five consecutive days to colder weather increased blood levels
of three markers of inflammation: C-reactive protein, interleukin-6
and fibrinogen (Epidemiology, May 2008). This could explain why
heart attacks occur more commonly in the winter. Cold
temperatures also increase blood pressure.

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Recipe of the Week

Summer Vegetable Curry
http://www.drmirkin.com/recipes/recipe12.html

You'll find lots of recipes and helpful tips in
The Good Food Book - FREE at
http://www.drmirkin.com/goodfood/index.html