Suffering With Joy

Asthma and Vitamin D Deficiency

April 6, 2010

The incidence of asthma is growing, especially among children.  One thing that seems to be an underlying cause is a vitamin D deficiency. I am writing about this because I know so many people who suffer from asthma, and if you have a chronic problem such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, lupus or other autoimmune problems, any other health difficulty makes the major problem much harder to deal with.

Only 5% to 37% of American infants meet the American Academy of Pediatrics standard for daily consumption of vitamin D – a mere 400 IU per day. This dose is required to prevent rickets, but it is not nearly enough to protect from other diseases. Who gets sick and who doesn’t may be affected by genetics and environment, but the more researchers study vitamin D deficiencies, the more they find that a key factor in many illnesses is not enough vitamin D.  One key problem parents should know about is that most blood levels of D considered “normal” are actually too low.  To reap the greatest health benefits from vitamin D, the blood test 25 OH D should result in a reading of 60ng/ml.  From Dr. Mercola’s site are recommended daily dosages of vitamin D and a warning:

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed that poor diets and lack of vitamin D among mothers were determining factors in whether their children suffered from asthma, quite apart from the D levels of the child after birth.  Another issue of the journal calls the need to have an effective intake of vitamin D “urgent”.

Dr. Mercola says:

If you get your child’s levels to about 60 ng/ml, there’s a strong likelihood — especially if you combine it with exercise and balancing out her omega 3 and omega 6 fats as described below — that she will not experience asthma anymore.

He also points out:

Advair, for example, contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol. A 2006 analysis found that regular use of LABAs can increase the severity of an asthma attack. Researchers estimate that salmeterol may contribute to as many as 5,000 asthma-related deaths in the United States each year.

Conventional asthma treatments can also increase your risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, just to name a few.

To read the full article on the subject of vitamin D deficiency and asthma in children, go to Mothering Magazine. As far as adults go, look hard at keeping vitamin D levels adequate.  It is very inexpensive and has no side effects. Parents, ask for the 25 OH D blood test for all your children.  It could save their lives.

Tags: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, wellness

1 Comment to Asthma and Vitamin D Deficiency

1. 

   Interesting article, Barb. My daughter doesn’t have asthma, nor do I, but I do know many people who do. It’s extremely common in our days. I love reading articles on alternative health care. You should see how many books I have on it!
Mary333 on April 8th, 2010

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