Vitamin Deficiency
Vitamin B12 Deficiency Can Cause Cognitive Probl…
As people grow older, they may begin to have difficulty with memory or complex cognitive tasks. The family might chalk the problem up to encroaching dementia due to aging. In some cases, though, cogni…
Why Don’t Vitamin D Supplements Work as Ex…
If you are taking big doses of vitamin D in the hopes that it will ward off all sorts of health problems, you may be disappointed. Most research has not demonstrated that taking high doses of vitamin …
What Immunity-Boosting Nutrients Are You Missing…
Are you getting the nutrients you need to stay healthy and keep your immune system functioning optimally? Frequently health care professionals dismiss the need for supplemental vitamins or minerals. T…
Will Vitamin D Help You Avoid Infection?
Does vitamin D improve resistance against viruses such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19? British researchers suggest that adequate vitamin D levels might help people avoid infection. They …
Should Men with Prostate Cancer Take Vitamin D?
Several studies over the years indicate that doctors should test men with prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis to determine vitamin D levels. That's because low levels of this vitamin may herald a…
Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Risk of Alzheimer…
Most vitamins must come from our food (or supplements) because we don't make them ourselves. Vitamin D is an exception, because our skin makes the precursor to this hormone when we expose ourselves to…
Challenge–Find Safe Vitamin Formulation for Ex…
For years, some doctors have insisted that taking vitamins is a waste of effort, not to mention money. They believe that simply eating a well-balanced diet should provide all the nutrients any of us n…
Were We Wrong About Sunscreens and Vitamin D For…
For years we have warned readers that liberal use of sunscreen could prevent the body from making adequate amounts of vitamin D. We didn’t make that up. Dr. Michael Holick is an expert on vitamin D.…
Study of Vitamin D Supplements Results in Disapp…
Millions of Americans are low in vitamin D, but taking vitamin D supplements may not do any good. A study of vitamin D supplements published in The New England Journal of Medicine (online, Nov. 10, 20…
Do Your Medicines Suppress Your Vitamin D?
People who are interested in keeping their immune system functioning well–and who isn't, these days–know that vitamin D is critical. But how can you make sure that your level of the sunshine vitam…
Is Vitamin Deficiency at the Bottom of Burning S…
What could cause a burning sensation on the bottoms of the feet? This symptom seems to indicate nerve damage, technically termed peripheral neuropathy. There are a number of potential causes, ranging …
Too Little Vitamin D Could Be Deadly
Vitamin D (also known as calciferol) is one of those nutrients that is surrounded by controversy. That’s because when people get too little vitamin D, they are at risk for many serious health proble…
Can You Overdose on Vitamin D?
Doctors generally assume that North Americans are so well nourished that they never need to worry about supplements. In fact, they sometimes fuss that people who take vitamin pills could overdose on …
Will a Big Dose of Vitamin D Give You Leg Cramps…
What have you heard about vitamin D? Maybe you recognize this compound by its popular nickname, the "sunshine vitamin." It is called that because human skin makes this hormone when it is exposed to su…
Are You Suffering Senility or Vitamin B12 Defici…
Whether they admit it or not, a lot of middle-aged and older people worry about senility. By this, they mean cognitive difficulties or even dementia, perhaps coupled with physical frailty. However, ge…
How Does Metformin Affect Vitamin D Status?
Millions of people take metformin, a versatile drug. Since it reduces insulin resistance, doctors often prescribe to people with type 2 diabetes to help with blood sugar control. However, oncologists …
How Much Vitamin C Do You Need?
Vitamin C, isolated and named more than 100 years ago, is crucial for good health. Even before it was discovered, vitamin C entered history. A lack of fresh fruits and vegetables on long sea voyages m…
Do You Know Your Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) Levels?
Most people do not think much about Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin. It does not get the same attention as vitamin D, vitamin K or vitamin C. And yet this water-soluble nutrient is crucial for ev…
Show 1240: The Link Between Vitamin D and COVID-…
Scientists have long suspected that vitamin D is crucial for the immune system to function properly. Presumably, that is why cod liver oil was utilized as a tonic to ward off colds and flu in northern…
Can Prilosec Interfere With Vitamin B12 Injectio…
Have you ever heard of pernicious anemia? This rare condition is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks parietal cells in the stomach. These cells secrete a substance, mysteriously …
Can Vitamin B12 Prevent Recurrent Canker Sores?
What do you for canker sores? Most of us get these painful lesions inside the cheek or on the tongue occasionally. They cause misery for a few days and then they disappear. But some individuals suffer…
Do Vitamin D3 Pills Cause Digestive Distress?
Vitamin D is a crucial compound. When levels of this vitamin (which is also a hormone) are low, people are more prone to strokes or heart attacks, diabetes, COPD, macular degeneration and a number of …
Vitamin B12 Lack Led to Balance and Memory Probl…
If you have experienced trouble with your balance, you might have told yourself you're getting older. (Always true, but not always an explanation.) Or perhaps you have attributed a parent's forgetfuln…
What Are the Pros and Cons of Biotin for Strong …
Biotin is a naturally occurring vitamin found in foods such as beef liver, eggs, salmon or pork. Some plants are also good sources of biotin, although levels are lower in sunflower seeds, sweet potato…
Is Depression Linked to Metformin for Diabetes?
Doctors and patients both may have a hard time determining when a new health concern is actually a side effect. That's especially difficult when you don't find the problem on any official list of drug…
Forget Vitamin D Supplements for Heart Disease
Vitamin D supplements disappoint again. That’s the conclusion of a meta-analysis published in JAMA Cardiology this week. The researchers noted that many epidemiological studies have linked low vitam…
Is Sunshine the Best Source for Vitamin D?
Vitamin D has long been known as the sunshine vitamin because skin creates this hormone when exposed to ultraviolet light. However, winter in northern latitudes does not allow much vitamin D to be cre…
Rat Poison Is Not Relevant to People
We recently answered a question from a reader about vitamin D3 used in high concentrations as a mouse or rat poison. At the toxic levels found in the bait, vitamin D3 can lead to kidney damage, heart …
Is Vitamin D3 Really a Mouse and Rat Poison?
Vitamin D3 is one of the most popular vitamins in the pharmacy these days. That’s because a lot of people are low in vitamin D. Vitamin D3 is often considered to be the best supplement to replenish …
Should You Take Magnesium to Boost Vitamin D?
We don't usually think of nutritional supplements acting in concert, but that is due to a failure of imagination. Food hardly ever supplies a single nutrient. A reader recently alerted us to an intere…
How Will You Get Adequate Vitamin D?
You may have heard that vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin. That is because skin exposed to sunlight makes this crucial hormone. However, when nights are long and days are short and cold, we c…
Vitamin D Strikes Out Against Heart Attacks and …
Millions of Americans are low in vitamin D. They are at higher risk for a range of health problems, from asthma to osteoporosis, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. These individuals may b…
Show 1139: Will Supplements Keep Your Bones Stro…
For years, people were urged to take calcium supplements to avoid losing bone density. This advice was aimed particularly at menopausal and postmenopausal women because they are especially susceptible…
How Are Vitamin D and Rheumatoid Arthritis Linke…
Vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin) is essential for good health. Human beings can make this hormone when skin is exposed to sunlight. In addition, vitamin D is found in a few foods: oily fish (and espec…
Do Vitamin D Pills Lower Your Chance of Cancer?
Epidemiological studies have shown that people with low levels of vitamin D are more susceptible to various cancers. What can you do to reverse your risk? The answer is not clear. We do not know if …
Will Vitamin D Pills Help You Avoid Cancer?
New research strongly suggests that people with too little vitamin D in their systems are more likely to get colorectal cancer (McCullough et al, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, June 14, 201…
Could Vitamin B12 Deficiency Make You Fall?
Falls are a great fear as people get older and less steady on their feet. And no wonder: a fall can result in broken bones and greatly reduced mobility. More than a fourth of older adults who break a …
Extra Summer Sunshine Makes for Milder Flu Seaso…
Extra end-of-summer sunshine might mitigate the flu season that follows, according to a new study (National Bureau of Economic Research, Feb., 2018). Scientists found that when a state gets 10 percent…
Which Drugs Mess with Vitamin B12?
Keeping track of the nutritional consequences of medications can be tricky. Doctors don't always ask about possible problems; nor do pharmacists necessarily take these into account. But there are some…
How to Raise Vitamin D with Sunshine and Cod Liv…
Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because we make it when ultraviolet light from the sun strikes the skin. This compound behaves like a hormone. Numerous physiological functions depend heavil…