The beneficial effects of Vitamin D for skeletal health have long been recognised but research is now suggesting that the benefits may extend beyond bone health to include several chronic diseases.

Vitamin D Study Suggests Daily Dose could help with IBS Symptoms

More new research within the realms of Vitamin D and IBS, has suggested that a daily dose could help IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) sufferers with the pain associated with the ailment, and it could even help to return bowel habits to normal.

What is IBS?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a disorder that affects the large intestine. Symptoms can vary widely but can include cramping, abdominal pain, gas, bloating, alternating diarrhoea and constipation.  The disorder affects 10 to 15% of people in the UK and sadly has no defined cause. Although medical professionals have suggested things like stress and a bad diet may contribute to the symptoms. 

Research

The most recent research from the USA has suggested that vitamin D could help to return sufferers’ bowl habits back to normal, thus reducing the symptoms associated with the disorder.

At present, researchers are unsure as to why it can help, what they do say is that the nutrient itself can be anti-inflammatory, which could be why it has the potential to ease symptoms.

One trial found that a woman’s bowel habits returned to nearly normal after a high dose of vitamin D. This in turn also reduced depression and anxiety symptoms she had been experiencing.

Another investigation analysed 1000 IBS patients and found that a staggering 75% of them had insufficient Vitamin D levels, which certainly puts in to question the relevance of vitamin D to sufferers.

All these findings from different studies were published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

If the link between Vitamin D and IBS improvements is valid, then taking a daily supplement could be a great way to improve symptoms over time, which for those who suffer with IBS is no doubt a very welcoming prospect.

Check out more research from the University of Sheffield:

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/vitamin-d-supplements-ibs-1.759023

Do you suffer with IBS? 

Contact us and let us know how you manage your symptoms and whether you have taken part in any Vitamin D trials.

Latest Vitamin D study suggests that higher levels of Vitamin D may help protect against Cancer risk

High levels of vitamin D may be linked to a lower risk of developing cancer, in particular Liver cancer. A long term study was carried out on 33,736 male & female participants between 40-69 years. This has been recently published in the British Medical Journal.

Research

The team at the Tokyo Cancer Centre took blood samples in 1990 from over 30,000 individuals and analysed them for the biologically active form of Vitamin D. These patients we monitored over a 16 year period.

After taking into account various environmental & genetic factors such as age, gender, family medical history, obesity etc as well as the seasonal difference in Vitamin D they found that those people with the highest levels of circulating Vitamin D had 22% lower risk of cancer.

Looking at specific cancers, the researchers found that Vitamin D appears to have the greatest effect in reducing the risk of Liver Cancer (50%) whilst a weaker effect was found for Lung, Breast & Prostate cancer.

As with all studies, there are limitations however it does suggest a possible link between the higher levels of circulating Vitamin D in the blood & cancer risk.

Sanjeev Budhathoki, Akihisa Hidaka, Taiki Yamaji, Norie Sawada, Sachiko Tanaka-Mizuno, Hadrien Charvat, Atsushi Goto, Satoshi Kojima, Natsuki Sudo, Taichi Shimazu, Shizuka Sasazuki, Manami Inoue, Shoichiro Tsugane, Motoki Iwasaki,. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and subsequent risk of total and site specific cancers in Japanese population: large case-cohort study within Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study cohort. British Medical Journal, 2018 BMJ 2018;360:k671