New studies show remarkable healing from sunburn, warts with Vitamin D applications
Safe amounts of sunshine vary among individuals based on a number of factors including their skin type and proximity to the equator, but everyone needs some to produce vitamin D.
In addition to providing healthy bones and teeth, vitamin D promotes protection against cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, depression, hair loss and supporting cardiovascular health.
The balance between sun protection and vitamin D deficiency is a matter of much debate. What constitutes a normal range for vitamin D levels? Scientists cannot agree on the minimum daily recommendation. Most experts agree we should keep a level of 25ng/ml. Having a lower level, below 20ng/ml or circulating levels of 20-29 ng/ml, is defined as insufficient.
If a person is never in the sun or always covering up (you need UVB to synthesize this vitamin) along with not ingesting vitamin D fortified foods (like fatty fish and some dairy products and cereals), they may likely be deficient. Take care to maintain adequate vitamin levels through diet and supplementation.
In 2010, the Institute of Medicine recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D to be 600IU per day. For those over age 70, they recommended 800IU per day.
Some new studies have other practical applications for us. Let's take a look at two new studies.
If you get a sunburn, take high-dose vitamin D3 within an hour. This study looked at what happens if 200,000IU vitamin D3 is taken orally within one hour of getting a sunburn. Incredibly, they noticed a sustained reduction in redness. Structural damage declined dramatically, genes that promoted skin barrier repair were "turned on," and inflammatory markers (cells that promote inflammation) were reduced. These findings were significantly different in the control group.1
Injection of vitamin D3 into resistant-to-treatment warts has shown to be effective. Every three weeks .2-.5-mL vitamin D3 injected intralesionally (in the skin) for recalcitrant warts proved effective. Most (90%) patients had complete resolution of the warts. Almost 7% of the remaining patients showed partial response and 3% showed no response.2
Vitamin D3 is a subset of Vitamin D and may not be as readily available, so talk to us if you believe applying vitamin D as we've described in this article would help you.
References:
- Karon, A. (2017). High-dose vitamin D3 significantly attenuated sunburn. Dermatology News, 48(7):6. edermatologynews.com
- Raghukumar, S., Ravikumar, B., Vinay, K., Suresh, M., Aggarwal, A., & Yashovardhana, D. (2017). Intralesional vitamin D3 injection in the treatment of recalcitrant warts: a novel proposition. Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, 21(4): 320-324. Retrieved July 9, 2017 from journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1203475417704180
