Nutrition: Vaginal Infection Tied to Low Vitamin D

[tiptoe]

Source: The New York Times

Nutrition: Vaginal Infection Tied to Low Vitamin D
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

Bacterial vaginosis is the most common vaginal infection in women of childbearing age, and a new study has found that it is associated with vitamin D deficiency. The disorder is treatable with antibiotics, but it can lead to premature birth and is a major cause of infant mortality.

The analysis, published in the June issue of The Journal of Nutrition, examined 209 white and 260 black pregnant women at a Pittsburgh clinic and found that more than half had vitamin D levels below 37 nanomoles per liter. A reading of 80 is generally considered adequate.

After adjusting for other factors, a vitamin D level of 50 or less was associated with a 26 percent increase in the likelihood of bacterial vaginosis, and a reading under 20 was associated with a 65 percent increased risk. About 52 percent of black women had bacterial vaginosis, compared with 27 percent of white women, and black women were almost three times as likely to be vitamin D deficient, probably because darker skin prevents adequate synthesis of the vitamin.

The lead author, Lisa M. Bodnar, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh, said the study did not mean that women should be “running out and taking megadoses of vitamin D.”


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/research/26nutr.html?ref=science

[Ian David]

1. I didn't know women could eat with their vaginas.

Explains why the cucumbers in the fridge taste funny sometimes.

[tocqueville]

2. the solution is cod liver oil

external use isn't recommended in that case

[Skittles]

3. is it me or has Vitamin D suddenly become a cure-all?

:o

[KT2000]

5. I think this is going to turn out

to be one of the most important discoveries. Two brothers, both epidemiologists, had set up their cancer maps for a conference they were attending. The color coded cancer rates jumped out at them - the higher cancer rates were in the northern latitudes. They went to work and what has evolved is the importance of vit D which one needs to get from the sun.

It makes sense - when humans started wearing clothes and living in houses, they were deprived of their source of vit D - except for the people who eat whale blubber, another source.

Our great-great-great-great(etc) grandparents came from near the equator.

[tiptoe]

6. Just seems that way: "...No one is proposing that vitamin D is a panacea, however...

...it seems to provide part of the sturdy framework for our physical and mental well being. "

Vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin," is getting new respect within the professional medical and nutrition communities due to research that has come to fruition over the last decade. Although the function of vitamin D as a hormone rather than a simple vitamin had already been widely recognized, new research defines vitamin D metabolites as actors on over 1000 different gene products. These influence a diverse range of physical and mental health problems from autism to cancer.

The public health implications of vitamin D deficiency are as stunning as they are vast. No one is proposing that vitamin D is a panacea, however it seems to provide part of the sturdy framework for our physical and mental well being.
...

Myths, FAQ, "...Vitamin D: A Real Missing Link..." Prescription=D2 vs D3, Testing, Optimal Ranges

 

[rurallib]

7. Someone posts about six "vitamin D cures all" every hour here at DU

[valerief]

8. Yep, I've noticed it's going the cure-all route in the media, too. nt

[Xithras]

9. It's important enough to make white people white over

Most biologists believe that white people evolved white skin to increase vitamin D production in the sun-starved climes of northern Eurasia. Evolutionary forces generally don't cause significant change without good reason.

[trotsky]

10. It's a balancing act.

Dark skin helps protect from the negative effects of sunlight too, like sunburn and skin cancer. And that's not to mention the increased UV light reaching the ground today due to ozone reduction.

[Xithras]

11. Which merely reinforces my point.

There are many evolutionary advantages to having darker skin, which is why the vast majority of the worlds population is some shade of brown. The selective pressures that caused northern Eurasians to evolve lighter skin were obviously great enough to outweigh the benefits of dark skin. The biological impact of a vitamin D deficiency was more damaging than potential skin cancer and sunburns, so my prehistoric ancestors grew paler every generation until they became white.

Vitamin D is very important to the body. Important enough to risk cancer for. It shouldn't be a suprise to anyone that vitamin D deficiency is linked to various problems.

In fact, this very discovery could be a key reason why white people are white. Vitamin D deficiencies correlate to vaginal infections. Untreated vaginal infections decrease fertility. That's a selective pressure. Women with paler skin had more vitamin D in their systems, had a lower probability of vaginal infections, and had more babies as a result. Over a few hundred generations this would lead to the breeding population becoming very pale as a whole. Evolution in action.

That's a funny thought. White people may only exist because of vaginal infections. LOL!

[sipping radicchio]

12. Thanks...I'll look into it...n/t

Er...I didn't mean IT.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Nutrition and adequate levels of specific enzymes, cofactors, minerals

vitamins, phytonutrients and plant sterols/stanols cannot cure anything, but they might help your body cure itself.

[kevinthomas]

13. good article

it is a good article.
It will sure help many females.