I can't remember when we started Layla on Vitamin D3 drops. I personally think our pediatrician recommended it sometime after she turned 1. We do remember discussing it with one of the stem cell docs and they said it was okay to administer during treatment. At the time, I didn't do much research on the vitamin and was nervous about giving the correct dosage to Layla because the RDA was so low. Now they keep upping the RDA because they realize the importance, go figure. My recent research has led me to better understand this vitamin/hormone and it's interactions with other minerals and vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin K, and calcium. My understanding is that with a vitamin A source such as cod liver oil, the potential for toxicity is very low and completely eliminates risk of kidney stones in adults, for example. You do not want to get all your vitamin D from cod liver oil, however, because the vitamin A dosage would be way too high and can block absorption of vitamin D. Vitamin D also regulates/enables the body to use calcium efficiently. This is very important for Layla as she is allergic to dairy and may have times of low calcium intake. I am not an expert in this either, but regulation of calcium is very important in treating cancers and angiogenesis of tumors. I am currently researching calcium supplementation for a later post. The videos below are very informative and will give you all the knowledge you would ever want to know about vitamin D.
When looking for vitamin D, if you are not using the Carlson baby drops and your child can take capsules, make sure you avoid the soybean oil caps. Soy has a terrible effect on the thyroid which is already under stress with chemo and radiation. I looked at Wal-Greens, CVS, and our local grocery store and was unable to locate a source of vitamin d3 without soybean oil or other toxic substance. From research it is best to find a capsule that is blended with MCT oil, which is basically extracted from coconut oil. This will give the best absorption.
Recommended Dosage:
Children over the age of 1 year should take 1,000 IU per every 25 pounds of body weight per day, depending on latitude of residence, skin pigmentation, and sun exposure. On the days they are outside in the summer sun, they do not need to take any; in the winter they will need to supplement accordingly.
Children over the age of 10 years old should follow instructions for adults detailed above.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml
Research:
Vitamin D Prevents Cancer: Is it True?
50% less chance of recurrence of cancer!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ-qekFoi-o&feature=player_embedded
Mayo Clinic finds higher vitamin D levels associated with improved lymphoma survival
A presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology held December 5-8 this year in New Orleans reveals the finding of researchers from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Iowa of an association between higher levels of vitamin D and greater survival in individuals being treated for lymphoma. In a study funded by the National Cancer Institute, researchers participating in the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) measured serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in 374 patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The team chose to study lymphoma due to the higher incidence of the disease in northern latitudes, a finding that may be related to decreased exposure to sunlight which results in lower levels of vitamin D. The study is the first to evaluate lymphoma outcome in relation to vitamin D levels.
Half of the patients were found to have deficient serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of less than 25 nanograms per milliliter. This group had a 1.5 times greater adjusted risk of disease progression and twice the rate of dying over the course of the study compared to those with optimal levels.
Vitamin D has been found to regulate numerous genes involved in prostate, breast, colon and other cancers. A deficiency of the vitamin may be involved in the genesis of some cancers as well as influencing the outcome of the disease. "The exact roles that vitamin D might play in the initiation or progression of cancer is unknown, but we do know that the vitamin plays a role in regulation of cell growth and death, among other processes important in limiting cancer," explained lead investigator, Matthew Drake, MD, PhD, who is an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "It is fairly easy to maintain vitamin D levels through inexpensive daily supplements or 15 minutes in the sun three times a week in the summer, so that levels can be stored inside body fat."
"These are some of the strongest findings yet between vitamin D and cancer outcome," Dr Drake concluded. "While these findings are very provocative, they are preliminary and need to be validated in other studies. However, they raise the issue of whether vitamin D supplementation might aid in treatment for this malignancy, and thus should stimulate much more research."
Vitamin D and Brain Health-(Relevant to brain cancer and/or brain radiation)
Control of the nervous system
Vitamin D3 actions in the nervous system include induction of Vitamin D Receptor content (VDR is expressed in the brain and on several regions of the central and peripheral nervous system), the conductance velocity of motor neurons, and the synthesis of neurotrophic factors, such as nerve growth factors and neurotrophyns, that prevent the loss of injured neurons. Vit.D3 also enhances the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, a potential candidate for treatment of Parkinson's disease.
In addition to increased nerve growth factor, combined treatment with Vit.D3 and 17beta-estradiol in rats elicits neuroprotective effects after focal cortical ischemia induced through the photothrombosis model.
Vit.D3 influences critical components of orderly brain development. In the embrionic rat brain, the VDR increases steadly from day 15 to day 23, and Vit.D3 induces the expression of nerve growth factor and stimulates neurite outgrowth in embryonic hippocampal explants and primary cultures. Low prenatal Vitamin D in utero leads to increased brain size, brain shape, enlarged ventricles, and reduced expression of nerve growth factor in the neonatal rat.
The association of vit.D deficiency and abnormal brain development makes Vitamin D an attractive candidate for tretment of schizophrenia, a disorder resulting from gene-environment interactions that disrupt brain development.
Also, transient prenatal vitamin D deficiency in rats induces hyperlocomotion in adulthood with sever motor abnormalities.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15951480&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum
Vitamin D Role in Preventing Cancer
http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=18715
D-Lightful Vitamin D: Bone & Muscle Health and Prevention of Autoimmune and Chronic Diseases (Very Entertaining)
http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15773
Vitamin D Deficiency: Analysis and Approach in a Comprehensive Cancer Center
http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15769
General Information Sites
http://www.grassrootshealth.net/
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
Sources:
I personally like to purchase from http://www.iherb.com/
I also look at Whole Foods Grocery when I am shopping there.
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