It appears that higher blood levels of Vitamin D can lessen the risk of early forms of macular degeneration. The findings were reported in the May 2007 issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology. This is a very important study and adds to the large body of research that points to the fact that Vitamin D is an essential compound, and low Vitamin D is related to many diseases. Of note, even modest increases in Vitamin D levels showed a protective affect, lowering the risk of macular degeneration by 36%. Most labs list the lower limits of normal for Vitamin D to be between 20 to 25 ng/mL. In this study patients in the lowest level of Vitamin D of less than 16.8 ng/mL had a relative risk of 1.0. Levels between 16.8-21.6 ng/mL had a risk of 0.97, not much difference. At levels of 21.6-27.24 the relative risk was 0.75 or a 25% decrease. From 27.24-33.65 the risk was 0.70, and greater than 35 the relative risk was 0.64 or a 36% decrease.
Now here is what I think is exciting and most significant. Many experts, such as those at the Vitamin D Council are suggesting that all of us should have our Vitamin D levels checked and maintain levels of at least 35 ng/ml and up to 50-80 ng/ml. These levels can not generally be obtained with diet alone and one usually needs supplementation to maintain these levels throughout the year. I would strongly recommend that anyone with macular degeneration have their Vitamin D level checked and work with their doctor to bring their level into the upper end of the normal range. I might also suggest that one might want to read a bit more about Vitamin D at the Weston A price Founation.
Michael A. Mong, M.D.
Ophthalmologist
Grapevine Texas
A study published this week in Arch Neurol. 2006;63:1545-1550 gives further support for what I have been advocating for my patients, that taking fish oils such as Carlson’s Cod Liver Oil, can reduce the risk of a number of chronic diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and macular degeneration.
There is a strong basis in biology for the neuroprotective effects of DHA (which is a major component of Fish Oil), writes Martha Clare Morris, Sc.D., Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, in an accompanying editorial.
"Lipids, a collective term for fats and oils, make up about 50 to 60 percent of the brain’s dry weight, and DHA is the most abundant fatty acid found in the cell membranes of the brain’s gray matter, she writes. Studies done in the 1980s and 1990s found that DHA is important to a variety of brain cell components and functions. "Indeed, the level of DHA in the brain has been shown to be very important for learning ability and memory in early life in studies of rodents, baboons and humans," Dr. Morris writes. "It is only recently that the omega-3 fatty acids have been investigated for their importance to the aging brain. The DHA composition of the brain decreases with age as a result of increased oxidative [result of oxygen exposure] damage to the lipid membranes."
Michael Mong, M.D.
Grapevine, Texas
For several years I have been encouraging my patients to consider adding high quality Cod Liver Oil to there diets. In addition to the growing body of evidence that Omega-3 fatty acids play a critical role in reducing ones risk of macular degeneration, Cod Liver Oil is a rich source of natural Vitamin D3. It now appears that there is growing recognition that the common form of Vitamin D that most people are taking, Vitamin D2, is not as effective as the natural form, Vitamin D3. The case against ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) as a vitamin supplement. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Oct;84(4):694-7. "The emergence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D as a measure of vitamin D status provides an objective, quantitative measure of the biological response to vitamin D administration. As a result, vitamin D3 has proven to be the more potent form of vitamin D in all primate species, including humans. Despite an emerging body of evidence suggesting several plausible explanations for the greater bioefficacy of vitamin D3, the form of vitamin D used in major preparations of prescriptions in North America is vitamin D2. The case that vitamin D2 should no longer be considered equivalent to vitamin D3 is based on differences in their efficacy at raising serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, diminished binding of vitamin D2 metabolites to vitamin D binding protein in plasma, and a nonphysiologic metabolism and shorter shelf life of vitamin D2. Vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, should not be regarded as a nutrient suitable for supplementation or fortification." I encourage all interested individual to look carefully at their Viatmin D3 intake.
Researchers looked at the dietary magnesium intakes of 4,637 Americans, aged 18 to 30 years, who were free from metabolic syndrome and diabetes at baseline. During 15 years of follow-up, 608 people developed metabolic syndrome. Results showed the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio of metabolic syndrome for participants in the highest quartile of Mg intake was 0.69, compared with those in the lowest quartile of intake. In other words, people with the highest Magnesium intake were about 30% less likely to develop Metabolic Syndrome. They also showed Mg intake was inversely correlated to individual components of the metabolic syndrome, including fasting insulin levels. Or in plain English, the more Magnesuim one took, the lower the fasting insulin levels were. The researchers concluded young adults with higher magnesium intake have a lower risk of development of metabolic syndrome. The study appeared in the March 27 issue of Circulation (113:1675-82, 2006).
As many of you know, I have been trying for the last several years to educate my patients on the many beneficial properties of Omega-3 fatty acids (so called fish oils). Diets high in fish oils and low in vegetable oils have been shown to reduce the risk of macular degeneration. Many studies in the last year or so have detailed case after case where these natural and essential dietary compounds are able to lessen the risk of vision loss and actually improve vision in several cases. NOW, researchers are discovering how. It appears that the cells underneath the retina (the retinal pigment epithelium or RPE for short) contain high amounts of DHA, one of the Omega-3 fatty acids. The RPE cells use the DHA to produce a substance, NPD1 that actually can turn off genes that produce substances that are harmful to the retina. WOW, fish oil can protect the eye by turning off harmful genes. The author of this recent study is quoted as saying “DHA has been shown by Dr. Bazan to promote survival and inhibit cell death not only of photoreceptor cells, but also of neurons in an experimental model of Alzheimer’s disease.”
So…If you want your eyes to be healthy and possibly prevent future injury and macular degeneration, I recommend taking (with input from your physician of course) a high quality fish oil such as that provided by Carlson Labs.
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