Vitamin D in Multiple Sclerosis

Vitamin D could - according to a new study - an extremely valuable tool in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). This may not even have to launch out, because a regular dose of sunlight, the body's vitamin D production to stimulate such a way that can alleviate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis with it.

Multiple sclerosis exposes the parties themselves unable to provide for themselves and ultimately bring some into the wheelchair.
Multiple sclerosis - symptoms and disease progression

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a devastating disease with so far little hope of true healing. In Germany, around 150 people per 100,000 suffer from multiple sclerosis. In most cases, it affects young people between 20 and 40 who are in the prime of their lives. The illness makes them unable to care for themselves and ultimately bring some in a wheelchair.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord, and occasionally the optic nerves). Throughout the disease slowly hardens the outer layer of the spinal cord. This allows the electrical impulses of nerve cells (the brain from the rest of the body and vice versa on the way) are no longer happened; they are interrupted.

This leads to various symptoms such as numbness, paralysis, pain, swallowing problems and visual disturbances (Blurred vision, double vision, etc.). In time, the force can be significantly slower after and movements, until finally no longer possible. However, MS patients do not necessarily end in a wheelchair. The majority even years after an onset in a position to go to myself.
use of vitamin d in multiple sclerosis
MS also runs in most cases in batches; that is, the symptoms may regress completely after a boost (until the next relapse). It can as well be permanent neurological damage and increase thrust-to push on.

Multiple sclerosis - School Medical therapies of dubious efficacy

The conventional medical treatment of multiple sclerosis does not lead to healing, but - with luck - to a relief of symptoms. During a push given to high-dose steroids and any drugs that inhibit cell growth and cell division, the (cytotoxic drugs, under the designation of chemotherapy administered to cancer patients as well).

Furthermore, be prescribed medication for the individual symptoms (antidepressants, anti-pain, etc.). In the long-term to try this immune system with certain drugs alter one hand, on the other hand, to suppress, however. It is known that cannot be performed for all drugs used in multiple sclerosis is a convincing proof of efficacy.

Some of these medications may take a person in his life no longer than two to five years, because otherwise life-threatening conditions must be expected. Other typical MS drugs (beta-interferon) to increase the risk of cancer and some can cause inflammation in the brain.

Beta-interferon is also incidentally led to depression, whereas antidepressants will soon be prescribed. These usually have again a long list of side effects, but of course, it against the drugs is also ...

New study shows vitamin D prevents MS attacks

The therapy situation for Multiple Sclerosis sufferers is anything but satisfactory. A new study by the University of Toronto on the influence of vitamin D on the progress and development of multiple sclerosis is every reason to hope.

Multiple sclerosis patients who took during this study very high doses of vitamin D (an average of 14 000 IU per day, 1 IU - International Unit - corresponds to 0.025 micrograms of vitamin D3), could successfully prevent new episodes. Your body functions also deteriorated since any further, and they noticed no negative side effects.

Researchers warn of active vitamin D doses.

Despite these very positive results, warns one MS patients against taking more than 4,000 IU of vitamin D, because the therapy is not as safe at higher doses is true. At the same time, however, was detected in this same study had shown that taking a dose of only 4,000 IU per day in multiple sclerosis absolutely no effect.

It, Furthermore, has been demonstrated in several studies that high doses of vitamin D are quite safe. Yes, even the University of Toronto, it was himself, who had announced in a vitamin D study, that there is "no evidence of negative effects in the daily intake of 10,000 IU vitamin D" would be. Generally, a chronic overdose can occur only if one were to take over many months, 40,000 IU in the form of preparations.

Sunlight instead of pills

Warnings are still taking a naturally skeptical. Vitamin D but not now necessarily be taken in pill form. Since vitamin D by the human organism under the influence of sunlight itself can be produced, it is sufficient to skin daily exposure to the sun. This way, you can provide, for free with enough vitamin D - and is also a not the slightest risk of a vitamin D overdose.

Sunbathing to secure the vitamin D supply

Put on swimsuit or bikini so to go and get into the sun. If it is too cold for bathing suits, after that make sure the simple fact that you present as much skin as possible to direct sunlight. If you have fair skin and remain in the sun on your skin is a little pink, then this corresponds to about 200,000 IU of vitamin D. Our own body produces that is, within a very short time an incredibly large amount of vitamin D - and never was from an overdose of vitamin D reported due to as well much sunlight.

Equally interesting is the fact that multiple sclerosis occurs not as much frequently so the closer a person living at the equator. Some scientists conclude that multiple sclerosis may be among other things, the result of a chronic vitamin D deficiency, simply because people from northern climes expose their skin to sunlight much less often and make their body, therefore, hardly vitamin D can.

Simultaneously, the nutrition in the northern industrial countries today is extremely vitamin D-poor. The Inuit (Eskimos) in Greenland, for example, enjoy the sunlight despite a chronic lack of an optimal vitamin D level because they eat freshly caught or in spite of dried fish and offal. Conversely, those who in the south and closer to the equator, lives enjoys the year in shorts and sandals and needs - even without fish and offal - through its vitamin D supply to break any second head.

For people in the Central European industrial countries, all this means: raising and bathe regularly as much skin as possible in natural sunlight.

The protective effect of vitamin D

Vitamin D effects over 1000 genes in the human organism. Always prove again studies have shown that a lack of vitamin D is instrumental in the development of many diseases. These include rickets, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, bone fractures, different types of cancer - and multiple sclerosis. This means that optimal care is essential with vitamin D in the prevention of these diseases.

The higher vitamin D levels in the blood, the lower the risk of MS

As early as 2006, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 2006 296: 2832-2838) a published study, the relationship between vitamin D levels in the blood and made ​​clear the MS.

Dr. Kassandra Munger of the Harvard School of Public Health and her team had a database that contained seven million people; multiple sclerosis patients selected 257, of which at least two blood samples were available; the five years before the outbreak of the disease lost about had been.

The vitamin D level of these blood samples was compared with the vitamin D levels had remained a healthy control group. It turned out that the risk of developing MS, (in people with white skin color) with increasing vitamin D levels decreased.

Vitamin D reduces the number of patches of demyelination

Another study showed that it could be reduced in MS patients, the number of so-called demyelinating (hardening of positions) in the spinal cord by taking 7,000 IU of vitamin D per day. And so pushing many researchers - mainly in Scotland, where multiple sclerosis is particularly widespread - for years to secure the vitamin D supply of people to ward off MS already possible in advance.

While the pharmaceutical industry so feverishly for new drugs to treat multiple sclerosis studied, while Britain urges his prime minister to devote millions of pounds of stem cell research to fight with the help of one day. Multiple sclerosis may, during the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada more and more training centers set up for the multiple-sclerosis researchers; you could as easily put clothes in the sun, there absolutely free to increase your vitamin D levels and thus immune to multiple sclerosis.



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