Vitamin D FAQ

Vitamin D FAQ

Why is vitamin D needed?
Adequate levels of vitamin D are vital for bone health. But it must be taken not only for the prevention of rickets in children of the first year of life.
Skeletal system: mineralization and growth of the skeleton.
Muscular system: maintenance of muscle tone of the skeletal muscles.
Nervous system: involved in the conduction of nervous excitation, protective effect.
Circulatory system: participates in the regulation of blood coagulation processes.
Reproductive system: involved in the regulation of the formation of follicles in the ovaries and spermatogenesis.
Regulates the activity of over 200! genes involved in metabolic processes.
Diseases that are likely to be associated with low levels of vitamin D: bronchial asthma, osteoporosis, certain types of oncology, arterial hypertension, type 1 diabetes, autoimmune diseases.
How to get vitamin D?
Nutrition:

  • Fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines, tuna)
  • Butter
  • Egg yolk
  • Milk products

Production in the skin under the influence of UV rays:

Depends on:

  • wavelength and angle of incidence of solar radiation
  • climatic conditions (cloudiness), air pollution levels
  • degree of skin pigmentation (dark or light)
  • sunscreen use

What is the amount of vitamin D?

A good (adequate) level of vitamin D is more than 30 ng/ml (75 nmol/l),

Deficiency – 21-30 ng/ml (51-75 nmol/l)

Deficiency – less than 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/l).

What vitamin D to take?

The recommended drug for the prevention of vitamin D deficiency is cholecalciferol (D3).

Which solution is better: water or oil?

You can take any!

How can you tell if you have a vitamin D deficiency?

Make a blood test from a vein for 25(OH)D.

Do children need to be tested for 25(OH)D?

Children who are not at risk do not need to take a vitamin D test to prescribe prophylactic doses!

Risk groups: premature and low birth weight babies; overweight and obese children; clinical signs of rickets, as well as having bone deformities; children with malabsorption syndrome – celiac disease, cystic fibrosis; children with autoimmune diseases; patients with chronic kidney disease.

Will frequent sun exposure help avoid vitamin D deficiency?

Sun exposure is not an adequate measure to prevent vitamin D deficiency!

Be aware of the negative effects of overexposure to the sun.

Solarium lamps do NOT produce vitamin D in the skin.

How long to take for prevention?

Taking vitamin D in a prophylactic dosage is recommended year-round, without a break in the reception for the summer months, even for the southern and sunny regions

Excessive exposure to the sun leads to photoaging of the skin and increases the risk of developing skin cancer in the future (accumulative effect). Therefore, we recommend that you protect yourself from the sun by all known methods and take vitamin D.

Is it enough to take vitamin D only by the mother if the child is breastfed?

Not enough. The child should also receive prophylactic doses of vitamin D.

Does the prescription of vitamin D depend on the type of feeding of the child?

More publications in favor of the fact that it does not depend on the conversion of vitamin D in children to mixed and formula feeding is not required, despite the fact that the mixtures are enriched with vitamin D.

Do children need to take calcium along with vitamin D?

For healthy children, prophylactic calcium intake is not recommended.

Is it better to take it during the day or in the evening?

There are no clear recommendations. It is usually recommended to take it in the first half of the day.

Preventive – how much?

Children from birth to 12 months – 1000 IU/day.

From 1 year to 3 years – 1500 IU/day.

From 3 to 18 years old – 1000 IU/day.

Eat right to live longer

According to world statistics, unhealthy eating indirectly leads to 11 million deaths every year!

Norwegian scientists have found that you can significantly extend your life just by changing your diet.

Previously, they analyzed a large-scale study of the Global Burden of Diseases (literally “Global Burden of Diseases”) and came to the conclusion that life expectancy can be adjusted by introducing certain foods into your menu or removing certain foods from it.

Despite the active promotion of healthy food in our time, most people remain adherents of the Western type of food, where there are a large number of:

  • processed foods (sausage, sausages, snacks, pastries, etc.)
  • semi-finished products;
  • red meat;
  • foods high in salt and sugar.

There are practically no fruits, vegetables and greens in the Western menu.

According to Norwegian scientists, a diet that will help prolong life should contain in sufficient quantities:

  • fruits;
  • vegetables;
  • legumes;
  • whole grains;
  • nuts.

The scientists counted:

If you adjust your diet at a young age, you can increase life expectancy and its quality by 10 years.

If the transition to a healthy diet happens immediately after 60 years, there is a chance to extend life by 8 years.

Switching to a balanced diet after 80 will add 3 years to life.

Therefore, whenever you decide to embark on the path of healthy eating, it will always be a good idea.

Based on their findings, scientists have created an online calculator https://food4healthylife.org, where everyone can estimate how much their life expectancy increases/decreases when using a particular product.

It’s easy to use

There are 2 scales next to each product:

  • how many grams of this product you consume now;
  • how much do you plan to consume.

By changing the amount of the product using the slider, you will clearly see how many years of life it will add.

By clicking the “Optimal” button, you will see an example of a diet that will lead to the best results.

When is the best time to drink coffee to be more productive?

When is the best time to drink coffee to be more productive?

The established tradition to start the morning with a cup of coffee is not very correct.
If you need stimulants in the morning to get back to normal, then you need to figure out what is wrong. We should wake up refreshed and in good spirits. Fatigue can be the result of an incorrect daily routine, when you go to bed too late and you simply do not have enough time to sleep. Or went to bed with a full stomach.
But if you sleep anxiously, constantly wake up, often run to the toilet, then you need to find the reason. Look for specialized doctors – from urologists to somnologists (sleep specialists). Perhaps you need medication to restore the nervous system – anti-anxiety or antidepressants.
By adding coffee in the morning, we borrow energy from the body and brain. Constantly borrowing, we deplete both the nervous and endocrine systems. And it is in the morning that we do not need this loan at all.
When you wake up, it is better to raise your energy with exercises or a short walk. And you should drink coffee after dinner, when your batteries run out.

Hypotension

Low blood pressure or hypotension is when the blood pressure monitor shows values ​​below 90 mmHg for systolic (first digit) and 60 mmHg for diastolic (second digit).

Hypotension can be compared to body temperature: everyone is worried when it rises. Although in fact, a sharp drop in pressure is a million times more dangerous – it literally means that a person is dying. That is, it is an acute condition that requires immediate hospitalization.

When can we witness a life-threatening drop in blood pressure? With severe bleeding, myocardial infarction, hypoglycemic coma, anaphylactic shock, severe dehydration. Most likely, such a person will be unconscious or in a fainting state, and he needs to urgently call an ambulance.

“What if my blood pressure is below 90/60 mmHg, but I feel fine?” – The most important thing here is to understand when and under what circumstances it was measured. If low pressure has always been such a plus or minus, then you are healthy, it’s just ok for you. If there were complaints (dizziness, weakness, flies before the eyes), and the pressure gauge showed a lower pressure than usual, then this may indicate some kind of disease, against which the pressure decreased. This may be due to anemia, insufficiency of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) or adrenal cortex (Addison’s disease), etc. So, if there are complaints + pressure has decreased – go directly to the doctor for a diagnosis.

If you are a slender young lady (as most often happens), with a subtle spiritual nature and life-long low blood pressure, then alas, you can’t raise it on purpose, there are simply no such pills. Yes, this is not necessary – everything in the body is thought out individually for your constitution, and any external influences can only spoil everything.

Of the environmental recommendations for stabilizing pressure, permanent physical activity remains (load should lead to an increase in heart rate, duration of at least 30-60 minutes daily + dumbbells or a barbell 2-3 times a week), consumption of large amounts of water + salty foods (you can allow a lot of pickled cucumbers, lovely!).

If you suffer from darkening of the eyes (orthostatic hypotension) when getting up from a chair or bed, it is recommended that you do so slowly.

If you feel weak after eating, it is recommended to eat in small portions, but often.

In general, hypotension is not an independent disease, but rather a consequence of some other pathology or condition. If you feel normal with low pressure, then you can rejoice – most likely you will live longer than any hypertensive patient.

Scientists can predict what fate awaits a person as early as 8 years of age

Researchers from the University of Jyväskylä and the Research Center for Gerontology (Finland) have published data from a study that has been ongoing since 1968. They were looking for links between the behavior of 8-year-old children and how this will affect their body weight, love of physical education, smoking and alcohol addiction in adulthood.

For example, if girls were friendly and constructive in conflict situations, then this resulted in greater physical activity at the age of 40+.
And if children of both sexes were noticeably more sociable than others, played more with each other, then this predicted more active drinking by girls and smoking by boys.

If the children obeyed their elders well, then in the future this manifested itself in the form of increased self-discipline and, as a result, more active sports.

It also led to higher school success during adolescence and often higher education. And this, in turn, to the less attractiveness of alcohol and cigarettes.

As for obesity, according to the findings of scientists, children with “indicators of negative emotionality” are prone to this – that is, with neuroticism. In general, this condition in adulthood often led to bad habits. And they, in turn, lead to poor health, lower life expectancy, and so on.

What conclusion can be drawn from this?
The most banal.
Take care of your children, educate them, let them grow up happy, successful, healthy.

What happens if you eat eggs every day?

There is a possibility of food intolerance due to the monotonous diet.
I remember there was such a king in world history who adored eggs and ate them at every opportunity.
And supposedly contemporaries noted that the body of the king exuded a stench.
I don’t know if this is a historical fact or an anecdote.
But in general, a good illustration of the saying “you are what you eat.”

Can you eat only eggs?

Any mono-diets, even on such valuable products as eggs, are extremely harmful.
Especially for weight loss.
Eat well, please.

To whom can eggs be harmful?

In addition to those suffering from allergies, people with diseases of the biliary tract should be more careful.
Diabetics of both types, people with Gilbert’s syndrome, eggs are not prohibited.

The child is allergic to eggs. Is there a chance that allergies will go away with age?

As a rule, you will have to live with this for the rest of your life. Unfortunately.

Top main reasons why we get fat

1. We eat too much.

Violation of the balance of energy received from food and spent during physical activity, in favor of the first. Scientists have recorded a significant increase in the consumption of simple carbohydrates and saturated fats over the past 50 years.

2. We move too little.

Everything is clear here, it does not need to be deciphered.

3. We sleep a little, at the wrong time.

Disruption of the body’s circadian rhythms – working the night shift, sitting at the computer or TV at night, and even regularly going to bed for about 24 hours – is enough for weight gain.
In addition, people spend a significant amount of time not on the street, but indoors, depriving themselves of sunlight.

4. Age-related decrease in the synthesis of steroid hormones and enzymes, primarily of the digestive system.

It also contributes to an increase in the growth of adipose tissue and a decrease in the volume of muscle mass.

5. We eat a little protein.

We like carbohydrates more, and they are immediately deposited on the waist.

6. We live in conditions of chronic stress, which is absolutely unnatural for human physiology.

All modern life is accompanied by chronic stress: constant noise on the streets, a violation of the amount of light saturation, a violation of circadian rhythms, an unbalanced diet, a decrease in the amount of water you drink, an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota, a constant change of time zones (flights) and much more.

Stress should be in a person’s life, it makes him stronger and more stable. But only if the stress is short. Chronic stress leads to elevated levels of cortisol in the blood. And cortisol accumulates adipose tissue.

Hypertension FAQ

  1. If the pressure rises episodically, is this considered hypertension?

No. Hypertension is when your blood pressure is constantly elevated at rest.

  1. How to take the tablets for hypertension, in the morning or in the evening?

De jure look at the packaging. De facto in 99% it does not matter, since usually drugs to control pressure last more than a day. But canonically (unless otherwise stated on the package) are taken in the morning.

  1. Many elderly Nordic walkers (who walk with poles on a regular basis) note the normalization of pressure, linking this just the same with maintaining an active lifestyle.

It’s possible. Physical activity comes first in the non-pharmacological treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. In any case, I would not be surprised if a person with high blood pressure began to exercise and after some time his blood pressure decreased or even returned to normal.

  1. Is it true or a myth that in youth the working pressure is slightly lower, and at a more mature age such people suffer from hypertension?

Although there are exceptions, hypertension is still a disease of the elderly. Therefore, there is nothing surprising here that in youth, blood pressure is normal, at 40-60 years old it becomes elevated. It’s all to blame for the elasticity of blood vessels that worsens with age: they become less pliable, relax worse, which is why pressure rises.

  1. And how do you know that hypertension has “ended”? For example, a person began to behave super-super correctly, but he also drinks pills regularly. How will he understand that a “miracle” has happened and the hypertension has receded?

Most likely, such a person will experience a decrease in pressure below the usual level, because of which he may begin to feel worse (weakness, dizziness). This will be the reason to think about the abolition of pills. But it’s better not to experiment yourself – stopping the medication can lead to a reflex jump in pressure (crisis), with all the consequences.

  1. If a person takes drugs, but he still has pressure surges, does this mean that the therapy is chosen incorrectly?

Not always – a hypertensive crisis can happen even during therapy. In order to resist it, a hypertensive patient should always have first-aid drugs on hand, such as captopril (Capoten). They need to be taken on their own with a jump in pressure, and if they don’t help, then call an ambulance.

  1. And if I am hypotensive and my normal pressure is 100/60, what numbers do problems start with for me?

From the same ones as everyone else: if the pressure at rest is constantly above 140/90 mm Hg. (According to other recommendations above 130/80 mm Hg)

Is it possible to get rid of a cellulite?

What is a cellulite?

Cellulite is a collection of fatty tissue that protrudes from under the skin. It is most often seen on the buttocks, thighs and lower abdomen. Due to cellulite, the skin looks lumpy, folded, with small pits, somewhat reminiscent of cottage cheese or orange peel.

Although it may look ugly, cellulite is not a health hazard, it is purely a cosmetic problem. According to statistics, about 80-90% of women face it, so cellulite is often called normal adipose tissue. Men are more fortunate – only 10% develop such a problem.

Why does a cellulite occur?

It is formed when the connective tissue that attaches the skin to the muscles is stretched unevenly. To understand, imagine a sausage wrapped in a rope (or as it is also called a sausage in a net). The rope is connective tissue (they are also fibrous) strands, and the sausage, which is slightly pushed out between the strands, is adipose tissue. The adipose tissue protruding from under the fibrous bands in the form of small tubercles on the skin is cellulite.

Why is cellulite more common in women than in men?

There are two explanations for this. Firstly, the anatomical structure of the cords – in women they are attached from the skin to the muscles in parallel, while in men they cross over. More adipose tissue is placed between parallel strands, which is why women have more expressive buttocks and hips. Secondly, the high level of female sex hormones – estrogen. Therefore, cellulite often occurs when women produce a lot of estrogen, usually during adolescence or pregnancy.

What other factors contribute to the development of cellulite?

  • Excess weight makes cellulite more visible. However, it can be even in trained or thin people.
  • With age, the skin loses its elasticity, so in older people cellulite is more noticeable.
  • There is also a family pattern of inheritance: if parents had bright cellulite, then children are likely to encounter it too, so most likely the main cause of cellulite is genetics.

Is it possible to get rid of a cellulite?

It’s worth warning right away: no matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to completely get rid of cellulite. But there are ways to reduce its manifestations.

First, exercise. They will strengthen the tone of the muscles, which will smooth and improve the appearance of the skin. But in order to achieve the effect, you need to do it regularly, and the result will be visible not earlier than in 2-3 months. Secondly, the normalization of body weight, if there is excess weight. Thirdly, a cream containing 0.3% retinol, which must be applied 1 or 2 times a day.

If a cellulite is pronounced or causes severe inconvenience, then you can seek medical help. Of the more or less proven methods, the following are used:

  • Ablative laser and radiofrequency therapy. Influencing with heat from a laser or radio frequency radiation, the fibrous cords that stretched the adipose tissue are destroyed, as a result, the appearance of cellulite on the skin is reduced.
  • Cryolipolysis. The procedure reduces subcutaneous fat using a device that uses vacuum suction to lift tissue and bring it into contact with cooling plates.
  • Acoustic wave therapy. The doctor applies the gel to the affected skin and operates a small handheld device that sends out sound waves to break up the cellulite.
  • Operation. Your doctor may suggest one of a variety of surgical procedures to physically separate the fibrous bands under the skin (subcision) to smooth the skin.

All these techniques are expensive, they do not help immediately (certainly not after the 1st procedure) and cellulite will not be completely removed.

Therefore, it is better to learn to love your body and play sports.

Type 2 diabetes screening in community pharmacies could increase early diagnosis

Community pharmacies are well placed to screen patients for type 2 diabetes, which could increase early diagnosis and significantly reduce NHS costs—according to new research from the University of East Anglia and Boots UK.

More than three million people in the UK were diagnosed with diabetes in 2014 and there was an estimated 590,000 people with undiagnosed diabetes.

The estimated cost of type 2 diabetes to the NHS in 2011 was £8.8bn. The cost of diabetes to the NHS is expected to rise from 10 per cent to 17 per cent between then and 2035—with one third of this being due to complications of the disease.

Early identification and treatment of diabetes is known to reduce the incidence of complications. Screening services increase the number of diabetes diagnoses and results in cases being identified 3.3 years earlier on average.

The research team investigated the cost-effectiveness of community pharmacy based type 2 diabetes screening in two pilot areas—Leicester and Surrey. A total of 328 people took part in the study, and data was collected over a six month period on 2014.

They found that the cost per test and identification rates in patients were similar to those reported through medical practices for type 2 diabetes.

Efficiency of the screening service was also improved through the use of a risk screening tool questionnaire, which reduced the number of tests needed.

Researchers believe that locating a community pharmacy type 2 diabetes screening service in areas of suspected greater prevalence, and increasing the proportion of patients who follow pharmacist advice to attend their medical practice, would significantly improve the cost-effectiveness of the service.

Prof David Wright, from UEA’s School of Pharmacy, said: “This study shows that screening though community pharmacies is no more costly or less effective than undertaken through other routes. For such services to be cost-effective however, we also need to intervene in those identified as ‘high risk’ to prevent progression to diabetes.

“This is a natural addition to the diabetes screening process and, with appropriate funding, is something which community pharmacists can effectively do to contribute to the public health agenda.”

Marc Donovan, Chief Pharmacist at Boots UK, said: “This research highlights that there is a real opportunity for pharmacies in the UK to offer community based type 2 diabetes screenings and continue to support the services offered in GP practices.

“Not only does screening support patients by increasing early identification and treatment of type 2 diabetes, it is also known to reduce the incidence of complications, have a positive impact on costs to the NHS and, ultimately, supports the government’s public health agenda.”

‘Diabetes screening through community pharmacies in the UK: is it cost-effective’ is published in the journal Pharmacy.

 

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Recommended Videos:

ADA New Diabetes Screening Guidelines
Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes

Hormone therapy helps strengthen brain connections in transgender women

In transgender women who have had their testes removed as part of the gender-affirming process, a form of estrogen called estradiol strengthens connections between areas of the brain involved in fine motor skills, learning, emotions and sensory perception, according a study to be presented Monday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, La. These findings reflect changes on the brain that might have implications, for instance, for treating hot flashes and other symptoms in transgender women, the researchers say.

“Once transgender women have their testes removed, their bodies have no sex hormones unless they take exogenous sex hormones (e.g., estradiol) as replacement therapy,” said researcher Tayane Muniz Fighera, Ph.D., of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Without any sex hormones, transgender women have the same symptoms, such as hot flashes, that postmenopausal women have, she said.

“The disconnection between parts of the brain involved in sensory motor processing and the thalamus may be one of the causes of these symptoms,” she said. Fighera noted this is the first study to show the effect of estrogens in the connectivity of this area of the brain in transgender women who have had their testes removed, called a gonadectomy.

“Some trans women take estradiol before surgery, but stop taking it afterwards,” she said. “Our study suggests they should continue taking estradiol not only to feminize their bodies or to avoid the symptoms related to the absence of sex hormones, but also to prevent the weakening of brain connectivity between brain regions of clinical relevance.”

“This finding is a great advance for the neuroendocrinology sciences,” said lead researcher Maiko Abel Schneider, Ph.D., of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The study included 18 transgender women who had their testes removed when they completed surgical transition. They were invited to discontinue sex hormone therapy and then go back to taking estradiol. They underwent MRI testing 30 days after they stopped taking hormones, and again 60 days after they started taking estradiol again to compare the on/off effects of estradiol.

“We found taking estradiol strengthened the thalamus’ role as a ‘relay station’ for sensory and motor information in the brain,” they explained. Almost all sensory information that goes to the brain’s cortex first stops in the thalamus before being sent on to its destination. The thalamus is subdivided into areas that have functional specializations for dealing with particular types of information.

“Although this is a small pilot study, it suggests that sex hormones are important to keep the brain connectivity in transgender women,” Fighera said.

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How does estrogen protect bones? Unraveling a pathway to menopausal bone loss

Estrogen induces osteocyte expression of Sema3A, which acts on its receptor on osteocytes to promote survival, resulting in reduced osteoclastic bone resorption and enhanced osteoblastic bone formation. Sema3A-activated sGC-cGMP signaling through Nrp1 protected osteocytes from apoptosis. Credit: Department of Cell Signaling,TMDU

Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak and prone to fractures. Fractures typically occur in the wrist, spine or hip, and can often lead to permanently impaired mobility. Women over 50 are at a high risk of developing osteoporosis, which may be due to the loss of estrogen that occurs after menopause. While studies have linked estrogen levels to bone health, the exact details of this connection are not entirely clear. Researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) have described a new molecular link between estrogen and bone aging, which may eventually lead to new strategies to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Bone is a complex tissue, consisting of a matrix of proteins and minerals that give it the flexibility and strength to support body movement. Bone also contains several types of specialized cells, including osteocytes, that help to maintain this matrix. Over a person’s lifetime, many factors can affect how healthy bone structure is maintained. One of these factors is the female sex hormone, estrogen.

“Over the last few decades, we’ve learned that estrogen plays an important role in maintaining a functional bone matrix,” corresponding authors Tomoki Nakashima and Hiroshi Takayanagi explain. “Exactly how estrogen does this, though, is not fully understood. Our laboratory recently discovered that bone matrix is maintained by a protein called Sema3A, which is secreted by osteocytes. This led us to suspect that there might be a mechanistic relationship between estrogen and Sema3A.”

Sema3A does, indeed, appear to be linked to estrogen. The researchers found that blood serum levels of the protein decrease in premenopausal women as they get older, and drop even further once women reach menopause. But how, at the biological level, are estrogen and Sema3A related? And what is Sema3A doing in bone tissue?

To answer these questions, the researchers turned to mice. Scientists know that after removing the ovaries of mice, subsequent estrogen loss causes their bone mass to decrease. This can be prevented, however, by giving the mice an extra supply of the hormone. The team took advantage of this to explore the function of Sema3A.

“When we genetically removed Sema3A from the osteoblast lineage cells (including osteocytes) of mice, we found that intravenous estrogen no longer prevented bones from deteriorating after an ovariectomy,” lead author Mikihito Hayashi says. “In addition, we found that Sema3A sets off a chain of signaling events that promote the survival of osteocytes in these mice. This suggests that Sema3A serves as a key mechanistic link between estrogen and bone maintenance. We believe that as women lose estrogen with age and Sema3A levels drop off, osteocytes begin to die and bone loses the ability to maintain its supportive structure.”

The researchers hope that the discovery of Sema3A as a major player in bone health and the signaling molecules it controls in bone may offer new therapeutic approaches to treating osteoporosis.

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