Is Vitamin D the New Vitamin C?

Hello, Everyone!
     First of all, I wanted to give you a little more information concerning last week's post on the connection between diet and the prevention of colon and breast cancer; for example, where the info came from!. So, here it is if you care to check it out for yourselves:

Global report: One-third of U.S. cancers are preventable. (2009, September). Environmental Nutrition, Volume 32, Number 9, pg 1-1. Retrieved August 9, 2010 from Academic Search Premier Database.

     OK, now onto this week's topic.  Some of you may have heard some of the current hype surrounding Vitamin D, thus the title of this week's post.  Like Vitamin C that seems to come around every few years as a cure-all for everything from cancer to the common cold, Vitamin D has now made it to the forefront of the media's vitamin frenzy as "the next best thing."  While to some it may seem like they're just going through the alphabet (and who knows, maybe in a few years it will be Vitamin E!), there is clinical merit to some of Vitamin D's health claims, especially if it is taken along with calcium; Vitamin D allows better absorption of calcium into the bones.  This is of particular importance in postmenopausal women who are at greater risk of osteoporosis and losing what's called Bone Mass Density or BMD.  In fact, in my research I came across the March 2006 Proceedings of  the renowned Mayo Clinic on Vitamin D insufficiency and its implication for public health, in which it was reported that during randomized trials "At the end of 1 year, the Vitamin D [and calcium] group had significantly reduced wintertime bone loss and improved BMD of the spine" (Holick, 2006, p. 359).  I should mention that the wintertime aspect comes into play due to the fact that Vitamin D can be produced in the body by the action of UV rays from the sun converting cholesterol in the skin into Vitamin D, thus it is sometimes referred to as "the sunshine vitamin."  For those of you interested in findng out more, you can at:

Holick, M. (2006). High prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and implications for health. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 81(3)I, pgs 353-373. Retrieved August 21, 2010 from Academic Search Premier Database.

I hope you enjoyed this week's post and until next time...!
Vicky