The role of Vitamin D in common ailments

I can't begin to imagine how worried, anxious & may be inadequate I would feel if I had a premature baby.  I would imagine there is a really strong instinct & desire to the hold the baby which is more difficult if it needs to be in an incubator. A recent study has looked at the impact on the mother’s health of massaging premature babies.  Fifty-two mothers with babies born at 30 - 38 weeks were randomly assigned ot an intervention or control group.  Mothers in the experimental group were asked to massage their babies daily alongside standard medical care, while those in the control group only had standard medical care. Mothers in the experimental group were given an information pamphlet, training video and researches conducted a massage training session.  They were then asked to perform a massage on their babies for 15 minutes each day for 5 days. Mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire rating changes in 65 "mood factors" including anxiety, depression and fatigue, on a five-point scale.  Mood scores were consistent across both groups at the beginning of the study but there were significant differences by the end. Mothers who massaged their babies had a better mood than those who didn't.  They also experienced less anxiety, depression & fatigue. Reading this did make me wonder the impact of massaging babies would have on the mood of mums whose babies weren't premature. Reference https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1556370717300937    

Many clients come to our clinics a few days after vigorous work outs or competing in sporting competition because their legs feel tried or heavy.  These clients often book a sports massage, but is their any scientific evidence to explain what is happening in the body during the treatment? Massage dilates superficial blood vessels and increases the rate of blood flow.  In addition if a deeper pressure is used like in sports or deep tissue massage on a healthy adult it improves the venous return.  Both of these changes to the blood flow represent a potent means to accelerate healing.  For example, it suggests that massage should improve the performance of fatigued muscles.  In addition, Goats asserts that massaged muscle fibres display less spasm, an increased force of contraction and enhanced endurance compared with muscles simply rested.  Which suggests that massage will assist in the improvement of sporting performance where it has been compromised. References Scull CD (1945) Massage - Physiologic Basis.  Archive of Physical Medicine 26: 159-67 Wilkins RW, Halperin MH, Litter J. (1950)  The effects of various physical procedures on circulation in human limbs.  Ann Intern Med 33: 1232-45 Goats GC (1994) Massage - the scientific basis of an ancient art: part 2.  Physiological and therapeutic effects Br J Sp Med 28(3)

In the 1980's researchers made the first connection between vitamin D deficiency and some cancers in when they noted populations at higher latitudes (with less available sunlight) were more likely to be deficient in vitamin D, which is produced by the body through exposure to sunshine, and experience higher rates of colon cancer. Subsequent studies by tfound vitamin D links to other cancers, such as breast, lung and bladder. In a recent study, scientists reported that when women upped their vitamin D dosage, they were nearly one-third more likely to survive breast cancer, particularly for premenopausal women. The mechanism is vitamin D's ability to stop the reproduction of cancer cells.  Researchers examined 1,666 women with breast cancer and found that the more 25-hydroxyvitamin D (250HD, a blood biomarker for vitamin D) they had, the better their chances of survival.   It should be noted that this research does not mean that low levels of vitamin D cause breast cancer nor should women with breast cancer flock to the nearest beach to sunbath.  Having said that researchers did comment that extra vitamin D can't hurt. Another important review which came out in 2016 linking low levels of vitamin D and aggressive prostate cancer. Researchers from Northwestern Medicine disclosing that: "Deficient vitamin D blood levels in men can predict aggressive prostate cancer identified at the time of surgery. The finding is important because it can offer guidance to men and their doctors who may be considering active surveillance, in which they monitor the cancer rather than remove the prostate." One of the crucial things to note is that low vitamin D levels were found via blood tests before any sign of prostate cancer showed up, so checking vitamin D levels beforehand could be life-saving, and a much better alternative to begin taking it a problem is discovered. Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that higher levels of vitamin D -- specifically serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D -- are associated with a correspondingly reduced risk of cancer. The findings published in PLOS ONE  in 2016 found that raising your vitamin D levels (if they are low) can slash your risk of invasive cancers excluding skin cancer by 67%! References

1. Yao S, Kwan ML, Ergas IJ. Association of Serum Level of Vitamin D at Diagnosis With Breast Cancer Survival A Case-Cohort Analysis in the Pathways Study. JAMA Oncology. 2016
2. YA, N, et al. (2016). Associations Between Serum Vitamin D and Adverse Pathology in Men Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 34: 1345-1349
3. Sharon L. McDonnell, Carole Baggerly, Christine B. French, Leo L. Baggerly, Cedric F. Garland, Edward D. Gorham, Joan M. Lappe, Robert P. Heaney .Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations ≥40 ng/ml Are Associated with >65% Lower Cancer Risk: Pooled Analysis of Randomized Trial and Prospective Cohort Study. PLOS ONE, 2016; 11 (4)