What Does Vitamin D have to do with Macular Thickness?

Vitamin D deficiency can affect our health in several ways including the health of our retina. There are many articles and abstracts reporting that the vast majority of people have unhealthy, low levels of this important nutrient.

Who Is at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency

Those that are at higher risk of low levels of vitamin D, according to the authors of Vitamin D Deficiency: a Worldwide Problem with Health Consequences (Am J Clin Nutr April 2008 vol. 87 no. 4 1080S-1086S ) include:

1. Those with low exposure to sunlight

2. Those with darker skin pigmentation

3. The obese

4. The elderly

The National Institute of Health Fact Sheet on Vitamin D states, "Older adults (are at higher risk of Vitamin D insufficiency) since their skin doesn't make vitamin D when exposed to sunlight as efficiently as when they were young, and their kidneys are less able to convert vitamin D to its active form." The above concerns led several university hospitals to conduct a study to determine "whether low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was associated with macular thickness among older adults with no signs of macular dysfunction."

The study, Vitamin D and Macular Thickness in the Elderly, concluded that "vitamin D insufficiency may be involved in macular thinning, and provides a scientific base for Vitamin D replacement trials in age-related macular degeneration."

Dr. Michael Holick, the author of The Vitamin D Solution, gives his advice on how to achieve healthy levels of this important nutrient and how it can benefit not only your eyes, but your bones, brain and immune system as well:

Vitamin D Health Benefit and How to Increase Your Levels

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Better Health for Better Vision

www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com

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