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‘Sunshine' vitamin helps prevent MS
By OLIVER MOORE
Globe and Mail Update
A Harvard study shows that women can reduce their risk of multiple sclerosis by 40 per cent simply by consuming the recommended daily dose of Vitamin D.
“These results need to be confirmed with additional research, but it's exciting to think that something as simple as taking a multivitamin could reduce your risk of developing MS,” said study author Kassandra Munger, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
Women are twice as likely as men to develop multiple sclerosis. A debilitating disease whose cause is unknown, MS causes balance problems, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis. It is the most common neurological disease affecting young Canadians and is diagnosed in three people every day in Canada.
Dr. Munger said that MS is more prevalent the farther one gets from the equator, leading to the hypothesis sunlight exposure, and the resulting levels of vitamin D, may be a factor in reducing the risk of MS.
“This is the first prospective study to look at this question,” she said, referring to research that will be published Tuesday in the journal Neurology.
Researchers examined the results of two large-scale studies of women, the 20-year Nurses' Health Study and the 10-year Nurses' Health Study II. Women showing symptoms of MS before the study began were not included, leaving a total of 187,563 women. Of these, 173 women went on to develop MS.
The entire group of women was divided into groups based on their diet and use of vitamin supplements. Over the long run, the data showed that the women with the highest intake of vitamin D -– the recommended daily dose -– were 40 per cent less likely to develop MS than those who used no supplements.
(The recommended daily dose of vitamin D, 400 ‘International Units,' is the amount found in roughly a litre of milk. It is the equivalent to 10 micrograms.)
Researchers found that the risk of developing MS was lower both for those whose vitamin D intake came from supplements only and for those whose intake from both supplements and food. Those whose intake of vitamin D was from food only did not show any lesser risk of developing MS.
Other research has shown that giving vitamin D to mice with an autoimmune disease used as a model of MS can prevent or slow the course of the disease. Studies have also shown that people with MS tend to have insufficient levels of vitamin D, and that periods of low vitamin D occur before times of high disease activity, and periods of high vitamin D precede times of low disease activity.
Dr. Munger said that future prospective studies should measure the levels of vitamin D in the blood prior to the onset of MS.
Original Article found here
