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How Is Vitamin D Made From Cholesterol

Does Vitamin D Lower Cholesterol

Dr. Hotze Answers: Vitamin D Deficiency and Cholesterol

Theres conflicting information when it comes to the link between cholesterol and vitamin D.

Population studies show that people with lower vitamin D levels are more likely to have high cholesterol, although this doesnt prove a cause and effect relationship.

One found that vitamin D supplements have no cholesterol-lowering effects, at least in the short term. In fact, the researchers found that the supplements were actually associated with an increase in LDL.

However, found that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements together improved cholesterol levels in postmenopausal, overweight, or obese women.

The verdict, according to the National Institutes of Health , is that theres insufficient evidence to determine any relationship between your vitamin D intake and your cholesterol levels.

But with the host of benefits that vitamin D provides to those that use it, theres still no deterrent in using vitamin D as part of your healthy lifestyle.

According to the Mayo Clinic, daily vitamin D use is safe in doses up to 4,000 IU .

Anthropometry And Body Composition Evaluation

Weight and height were measured by a standard and regularly standardized methodology using respectively a digital electronic scale , with 150 kg capacity and 100 g accuracy, and a 2 m portable vertical stadiometer scaled in millimetres. These values were used to calculate the childrens BMI .

The body composition of the children was evaluated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to obtain body fat. These examinations were carried out in the morning after an overnight fast at the sector of Image Diagnosis of the Federal University of Viçosas Health Division by a specially trained technician. During the exam, the children were in a supine position until data were collected, wearing light clothes without any metal accessories.

How Do I Get Vitamin D

Our skin makes vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun. It can also be obtained from foods containing vitamin D, and D2/D3 supplements.

  • Mushrooms
  • Vitamin D2 supplements
  • Fortified foods containing D2
  • Exposing our skin to sunlight
  • Butter
  • Oily fish and fish oil
  • Vitamin D3 supplements made using lanolin from sheeps wool
  • Vitamin D3 supplements made using lichen
  • Fortified foods containing D3

Since D2 is cheaper to produce, its the most common form in fortified foods.

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Vitamin D Content Of Human Milk And Factors Affecting Content

Human milk had long been thought to be an adequate source of antirachitic activity for the neonate and growing infant. Even before the discovery of vitamin D, McCollum et al.35 and Park36 stated that rickets was due to the deprivation of sunlight and a dietary factor X. They observed that factor X was found in good breastmilk and cod liver oil and that although rickets did develop in breastfed children it was rarely as severe as in artificially fed infants. Early attempts to quantify the antirachitic potential of human milk were crude and yielded little information.145147 For a time, it was believed that vitamin D sulfate was responsible for the antirachitic activity in human milk148,149 however, this was shown not to be the case.150

In the 1980s, antirachitic activity of human milk from mothers receiving 400 IU of vitamin D/day was defined with sensitive assay technology to be 2070 IU/L.101,151,152 Further, almost all of the activity was attributable to vitamin D and 25D. These studies also demonstrated that dietary maternal vitamin D supplementation and UV light exposure increased the vitamin D content of human milk.101,153,154 Specker et al.155 determined that the antirachitic content of human milk was lower in African American than in Caucasian mothers. This difference was attributed to variation in dietary intake of vitamin D and UV exposure.

Antirachitic Activity Of Human Milk

Cholesterol and Vitamin D  Dr. Sandra Murphy, ND

From the prior discussion in this report, it is clear that the antirachitic content of human milk is quite variable and is affected by season, maternal vitamin D intake, form of vitamin D taken , and race. Cancela et al.170 have reported that circulating 25D levels in breastfed infants are directly related to the vitamin D content of mother’s milk. This was also shown by Hollis and colleagues.23,73,171

The relationship between circulating vitamin D2, D3, 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 , and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and corresponding milk levels in 51 lactating mothers was described in 1986 by Hollis et al.171 There was a significant correlation seen in regression analyses between vitamin D2 in maternal serum and human milk. Similar significant relationships were found between plasma and milk concentrations of vitamin D3, 25D2, and 25D3. In contrast, the plasma DBP levels were not related in these fluids. The parent vitamins gain access into the milk much more readily than do their 25-hydroxylated metabolites: vitamin D in milk was 20% of the plasma concentration, whereas 25D in milk was approximately 0.51.0% of that in plasma. Prior studies suggest that 25D is the most stable antirachitic compound, whereas vitamin D is the compound that provides the greatest potential for adjustment of antirachitic activity in milk.101,154,156,171

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What Is Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency is when levels of vitamin D in your body fall below those recommended as necessary to ensure all the processes in your body that rely on vitamin D can function properly.

Currently, there is controversy regarding what is the cut-off level for vitamin D deficiency with recommendations ranging from less than 20 ng/ml of 25D to less than 12 ng/ml of 25D.

Natural Analogs Of Vitamin D

  • Vitamin D1 is a molecular compound of ergocalciferol with lumisterol in a 1:1 ratio.

  • Vitamin D2 is produced by invertebrates, some plants, and fungi. Biological production of D2 is stimulated by ultraviolet light.

  • Vitamin D3 is synthesized in the skin by the reaction of 7-dehydrocholesterol with UVB radiation, present in sunlight with an UV index of three or more.

  • Vitamin D4 is an analog scientifically known as 22-dihydroergocalciferol.

  • Vitamin D5 is an analog created from 7-dehydrositosterol.

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Not Getting Enough Vitamin D

We dont need vitamin D from food or sunlight every day. But if you dont get enough over a longer period of time, you wont have enough vitamin D for good health known as vitamin D deficiency. This is very common in the UK around one in five adults and one in six children dont have enough vitamin D.

Some people are more likely to have a vitamin D deficiency than others. Supplements and eating foods which contain vitamin D can help.

Breaking The Old Rules

The link between vitamin D and cholesterol

Vitamin D is one of the 13 vitamins discovered in the early 20th century by doctors studying nutritional deficiency diseases. Ever since, scientists have defined vitamins as organic chemicals that must be obtained from dietary sources because they are not produced by the body’s tissues. Vitamins play a crucial role in our body’s metabolism, but only tiny amounts are needed to fill that role.

Although vitamin D is firmly enshrined as one of the four fat-soluble vitamins, it is not technically a vitamin. True, it’s essential for health, and only minuscule amounts are required. But it breaks the other rules for vitamins because it’s produced in the human body, it’s absent from all natural foods except fish and egg yolks, and even when it’s obtained from foods, it must be transformed by the body before it can do any good.

As our habits change, most of us cannot rely on our bodies to produce vitamin D the old-fashioned way. Instead, we increasingly depend on artificially fortified foods and pills to provide this vital nutrient. Coming full circle in the modern world, this substance may actually come to fit the technical definition of a vitamin.

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Getting Vitamin D From Food

Most foods dont contain much vitamin D so its hard to get enough vitamin D from food alone.

Foods which contain vitamin D include:

  • oily fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout
  • red meat
  • liver and fish liver oil
  • egg
  • foods with vitamin D added such as most fat spreads, some breakfast cereals and some plant-based alternatives to milk. Check the labels.
  • infant formula which has vitamin D added to make sure babies get enough.

As most of these foods are animal products, its harder to get vitamin D from food if you are vegan or vegetarian. Plant-based sources of vitamin D include sun-exposed mushrooms and fortified foods such as vegetable spreads, breakfast cereals and plant based dairy alternatives.

In the UK, cows’ milk is generally not a good source of vitamin D because it isn’t fortified, as it is in some other countries. There are some yoghurts which have been fortified, but check the label as they can also be high in saturated fat and so should be avoided.

Sunshine Or Supplements Cholesterol Concerns Must Be Considered With Vitamin D Says Expert

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Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, Dr. Anuradha Khadilkar, deputy director of the Hirabai Cowasji Jehangir Medical Research Institute in Pune, India, said high doses of vitamin D supplementation could, in some cases, raise the overall lipid profile of an individual.

This, he said, should be considered by clinicians recommending high doses for deficiencies as well as the nutrition industry making vitamin D supplements and fortified foods.

Increases in cholesterol due to vitamin D supplements may be a health concern, he said.

Measuring cholesterol

Discussing his recently published research in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Khadilkar said a randomized control trial among middle-aged, vitamin D-deficient Indian men showed the negative side of supplementation.

A total of 203 men, aged 40-60, participated in the study and were split into three groups control, increased sunlight exposure and cholecalciferol supplementation.

The study ran for six months with daily interventions and an overall compliance of 95% and measured 25-Hydroxy vitamin D levels – the major circulating form of vitamin D and the precursor of the active form as well as total cholesterol , low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

Among the sunlight exposure group there was a significant decrease in TC of 9.4% and LDL-C also dropped 7.2%. A small decrease of 3.3% was also noted in the HDL-C levels for this group.

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Initial Activation Steps In Cholesterol Synthesis

The reactions shown in this slide are catalyzed by thiolase , HMG-CoA synthase , HMG-CoA reductase , mevalonate kinase, phosphomevalonate kinase , and diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase, and diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase again .68 In the subsequent steps of the pathway, six molecules of isopentenyl-pyrophosphate are used for the synthesis of one cholesterol molecule.

11.2.3

What Is The Best Drink To Lower Cholesterol

Vitamin D Synthesis From Cholesterol  VitaminWalls

Best drinks to improve cholesterol Green tea. Green tea contains catechins and other antioxidant compounds that seem to help lower bad LDL and total cholesterol levels. Soy milk. Soy is low in saturated fat. Oat drinks. Tomato juice. Berry smoothies. Drinks containing sterols and stanols. Cocoa drinks. Plant milk smoothies.

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Health Implications Of Vitamin D

Increased circulating 25D has been linked with improved glucose handling and beta-cell function22 and a growing list of long-latency diseases that include cardiovascular disease,28,29,121,122 multiple sclerosis,123125 rheumatoid arthritis,126 type 1 and 2 diabetes,126 and at least 15 types of cancers.26,127134 While these studies describe strong correlation with vitamin D deficiency, they do not provide proof of causality or a mechanism of action. Two studies have begun to decipher the riddle of vitamin D’s role in maintaining the innate immune system with profound implications.32,135 Some of these data, as well as additional studies, have been summarized in a recent review regarding the optimization of circulating 25D levels to reduce the risk of long-latency disease states.136

Ideally, the total circulating 25D should mirror what is attained by those who live and work in a sun-rich environment who have levels of 5490 ng/mL65,137,138 and not by those who are sunlight-deprived or covered from sunlight.139 The debate about what constitutes frank deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency continues. Depending on what biomarker one chooses, there could be a different cutoff point for each category. Most, however, would agree that levels below 50 nmol/L represent deficiency whether that label extends to 70 or even 80 nmol/L is less clear.

How Much Vitamin D Is Enough

Adults and children over the age of one need 10mcg of vitamin D per day. This is the same for everyone, including people at risk of vitamin D deficiency and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Babies up to one year old need 8.5-10mcg of vitamin D per day. Find out more about how you can reach this from the NHS.

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The Synthesis Of Androgens And Estrogens From Pregnenolone

Androgens and estrogens also are synthesized from pregnenolone through the intermediate progesterone. Androgens contain 19 carbon atoms. The synthesis of androgens starts with the hydroxylation of progesterone at -17. The side chain consisting of C-20 and C-21 is then cleaved to yield androstenedione, an androgen. Testosterone, another androgen, is formed by the reduction of the 17-keto group of androstenedione. Testosterone, through its actions in the brain, is paramount in the development of male sexual behavior. It is also important for maintenance of the testes and development of muscle mass. Owing to the latter activity, testosterone is referred to as an anabolic steroid. Testosterone is reduced by 5a-reductase to yield dihydrotestosterone , a powerful embryonic androgen that instigates the development and differentiation of the male phenotype. Estrogens are synthesized from androgens by the loss of the C-19 angular methyl group and the formation of an aromatic ring. Estrone, an estrogen, is derived from androstenedione, whereas estradiol, another estrogen, is formed from testosterone.

Pathways for the Formation for Androgens and Estrogens.

Vitamin D: Vital For Health

Vitamin D Pathway – Cholesterol, Sunlight and Calcitriol

Its long been known that Vitamin D functions with calcium to keep bones healthy and avoid deformities such as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. But it is becoming increasingly clear that it also plays a vital role for our immune system, helping to fight off bacterial, viral and fungal invaders.

Vitamin D appears to boost immunity through several ways, such as helping immune cells to function properly and dampening the inflammatory response.1,2,3 There is even some evidence that it protects against coronavirus, since low Vitamin D levels have been associated with both a higher number of coronavirus deaths and cases for European countries and more severe outcomes for individuals affected by the disease.4,5It may be no coincidence that the pandemic broke out in winter, when peoples Vitamin D levels are typically at their lowest.6

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Vitamin D And Statins

There has been some debate around whether statins could stop us making enough vitamin D because statins lower cholesterol. In reality, we have more than enough cholesterol to make vitamin D, even if you take statins. Its more important to make sure youre getting enough time in sunlight or getting enough vitamin D from foods or supplements.

How Can I Lower My Cholesterol

You can lower your cholesterol through heart-healthy lifestyle changes. They include a heart-healthy eating plan, weight management, and regular physical activity.

If the lifestyle changes alone do not lower your cholesterol enough, you may also need to take medicines. There are several types of cholesterol-lowering drugs available, including statins. If you take medicines to lower your cholesterol, you still should continue with the lifestyle changes.

Some people with familial hypercholesterolemia may receive a treatment called lipoprotein apheresis. This treatment uses a filtering machine to remove LDL cholesterol from the blood. Then the machine returns the rest of the blood back to the person.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

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The Effect Of Vitamin D Supplementation On Blood Lipids In Minorities With Type 2 Diabetes

Joel C. Exebio1,2, Sahar Ajabshir1,3, Adriana Campa1, Tan Li4, Gustavo G. Zarini1 and Fatma G. Huffman1*

1Dietetics and Nutrition Department, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, USA

2Dietetics and Nutrition Department, School of Allied Health, Keiser University, USA

3Cellular Biology and Pharmacology Department, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, USA

4Biostatistics Department, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, USA

Spaghetti With Mackerel And Nuts

IJMS

Heres a healthy twist to one of your favorite spaghetti recipes. This dish substitutes meat with mackerel, pine nuts, and golden raisins. These nutritious additions help lower bad cholesterol levels in your body, while providing you with healthy cholesterol too!

To make this recipe, you have to pan-fry the mackerel, incorporate water into the raisins and stir them in with the rest of the ingredients. And the best part about this recipe is that it whips up in a snap too!

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Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With High Levels Of Ldl Cholesterol In Nafl Children

Antonellla Mosca

University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

Department of pediatrics, “Magna Grecia” University, Catanzaro, Italy

University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

Tommaso Alterio

Department of Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit, IRCCS “Bambino Gesù” Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy

Salvatore Zaffina

Occupational Medicine Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00146 Rome, Italy

Andrea Vania

Centre for Pediatric Dietetics and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Rome “Sapienza” University, Rome, Italy

Valerio Nobili

Department of Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit, IRCCS “Bambino Gesù” Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy

Department of Pediatric – University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

DOI: 10.15761/GIMCI.1000175

Figures & Data

Breastfeeding’s Effect On Infant Vitamin D Status And Its Relationship To Nutritional Rickets

Thirty-five years ago the incidence of nutritional rickets was thought to be disappearing.159 Many reports since then, however, indicate that this is not the case.162168 The majority of the cases reported in the last decade involved darkly pigmented infants who were exclusively breastfed. The marginal vitamin D status of mothers and breastfeeding infants even in sunny climates such as Charleston, SC is underscored by our own recent data.169 Hypovitaminosis D in the breastfed infant also is a severe problem in sun-rich environments such as the Middle East.20 This hypovitaminosis D results because sun exposure to both mother and infant is extremely limited. Further, dietary supplementation in this population is not a common practice.

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