The Power of Vitamin D: From Osteoporosis to Cancer - Medical Frontiers

join us as we explore medical [Music] Frontiers vitamins are crucial for our health among them vitamin D is unique as it is produced when the body is exposed to [Music] sunlight while it's role in strengthening bones has been known for quite some time there was limited understanding of the way it worked Japanese researchers uncovered the mechanism and captured unprecedented footage of the [Music] process vitamin D is now attracting attention for its ability to raise survival rates among cancer patients in 2023 a study by another Japanese research team gained Global recognition as a GameChanger for vitamin D and cancer this feels so nice I also try to bask in the sunlight whenever I can but how about you are you getting your daily dose of vitamin D report suggest that about 98% of Japanese don't have adequate levels of vitamin D and there are concerns that this may lead to a number of different health issues we're going to delve into the latest Japanese research to uncover the benefits significance and the potential of vitamin D the international osteoporosis Foundation estimates that over 200 million people worldwide have the bone weakening disease osteoporosis occurs when bones become poorest and Fragile with age bone fractures happen globally every 3 seconds in severe cases patients may become bedridden and face [Music] complications vitamin D is critical in maintaining healthy bones to understand the effects of vitamin D on the body we spoke with t suugaan naoko a director at the vitamin Society of [Music] Japan what are the characteristics of vitamin D vitamin [Music] D so how and where is vitamin D specifically made in the body direct exposure to ultraviolet rays causes a change in a substance found in the Skin's outer layer eventually converting it to vitamin D the vitamin then enters the body through tiny blood vessels known as capillaries vitamin D is also contained in fish and other Foods [Music] but regardless of its source vitamin D does not function in its original state it undergos a change in the liver then travels in the bloodstream if needed it goes through another transformation in the kidneys becoming activated before it can work on Bones and other [Music] tissues for a long time little was known about how Vitamin D strengthens [Music] bones a breakthrough occurred through the efforts of a Japanese research team led by isi [Music] Masaru bones undergo constant regeneration osteoclasts break down old bone while osteoblasts repair and restore damaged areas [Music] however this balance is disrupted by the various effects of Aging when bone breakdown becomes dominant bones turn increasingly weak and porous this is osteoporosis using mice isi captured footage of osteoclasts breaking down bone tissue for the first time in the world the blue areas are bone and the red Parts resembling amibas on the bone surface are [Music] osteoclasts the osteoclasts emit a glowing green acid as they break down the bone [Music] tissue osteoclasts originate from macrofagos immune cells that protect our health by consuming pathogens and other foreign [Music] objects this footage shows a maccrage marked in a circle captur uring small foreign substances around it it swallows the substances as well as dead cells and their [Music] fragments osteoclasts are made from a type of maccrage that specializes in consuming bone tissue this maccrage moves from the bloodstream to the Bone surface eventually becom com an [Music] osteoclast the movement of this maccrage is regulated by two types of [Music] receptors when one type is activated the macras travels to Bones becoming an [Music] osteoclast activation of the other type redirects the maccrage back to the bloodstream the tug of war between the these two receptors regulates the movement of the maccrage however any imbalance causing too many of these macrophages to move to Bones results in an increased number of osteoclasts this is where vitamin D comes in using its power to prevent the successive migration captured the process in an experiment the round objects moving around on on the bone are macrofagos before they become osteoclasts when the active form of vitamin D is [Music] added the macras start moving toward the blood vessel there is a clear difference when compared with the absence of active vitamin [Music] D for [Music] in recent times an increasing number of people have not been getting enough vitamin D swa's research shows that about 60% of Japanese adults are deficient which poses a serious health risk what's causing this huge deficiency of vitamin [Music] [Music] D vitamin D deficiency isn't limited to people in Japan while the figure varies depending on region and age it's estimated that up to 70% of Europeans are lacking in the nutrient the workstyle has changed so much in the last three years people are working from home home you know that they're not getting it there in front of their screens the whole day so I think it's almost like a recipe for vitamin D deficiency the way we're living Our [Music] Lives vitamin D also has the potential to prevent cancer recurrence and improve improv survival [Music] rates in August 2023 a research team led by pediatric oncologist urash shiman mitoshi published a groundbreaking discovery that Drew attention worldwide urash shima's interest in vitamin D was sparked by a research paper on macras the large object is the maccrage and the yellow part is the tuberculosis bacteria in this image the maccrage is fighting the tuberculosis bacteria while releasing a substance shown in red the paper reported that this occurred after the the maccrage was stimulated by vitamin [Music] D after learning that vitamin D stimulates the immune system urashima thought it might also be effective against cancer in 2010 he launched a clinical trial called called the Amaterasu [Music] trial the project was named after Amaterasu omami a goddess in Japanese mythology associated with the sun which helps to produce vitamin [Music] D the clinical trial involved 417 patients with digestive tract cancer they were divided into two groups one received vitamin D7 supplements and the other a placebo starting about 2 weeks after surgery each group took two capsules daily recurrence and death rates were monitored for up to 8 years the results showed that the vitamin D group had a higher proportion of patients who remained recurrence free for 5 years however this data wasn't recognized as significant possibly due to the small number of participant [Music] ANS therefore urashima took part in a joint international study on the relationship between Cancer and vitamin D it analyzed data from 100,000 people in countries including the United States and Germany the study found that Vitamin D supplements led to a 12% increase in the survival rate regardless of cancer type to find more conclusive evidence urashima further analyzed the data from the Amaterasu trial he found that vitamin D is especially effective for patients with mutations in a protein called [Music] p53 the p53 protein is present in cells and plays a central role in protecting our bodies from cancer when a cell is damaged p53 pauses its growth to repair it this prevents abnormal cells from multiplying in cases of severe damage p-53 issues a command to initiate apoptosis a process in which cells self-destruct this protein acts as a break that prevents cells from turning cancerous however stressors such as smoking radiation and chemicals can cause mutations in p-53 which can disrupt The Brak mechanism leading to uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells and eventually to [Music] cancer about half of cancer patients have mutations in p-53 Pima focused on people with p-53 mutations and antibodies against the protein in their blood he compared those taking vitamin D and the placebo then check their recurrence and death rates the green line represents the vitamin D group and the Gray Line the placebo group at first there was almost no difference between them but after about a year a large gap began to appear 5 years later 80% of those in the vitamin D group remained cancer-free [Music] urashima speculates that once vitamin D enters cancer cells it stops the erratic behavior of mutated P5 53 or triggers apoptosis in these cells to study the connection between vitamin D and p-53 mutations in more detail urashima is conducting a new clinical trial involving eight types of cancer we asked sagawa how much vitamin D we need she says the recommended day daily amount is 15 to 20 microG in summer 10 to 30 minutes Outdoors without sunscreen provides about 10 microG of vitamin D depending on skin type Exposed Skin area and geographical location in Winter it may take about 1 hour for the same amount if you wear sunscreen exposing covered Palms is one way to get sun [Music] exposure as for food sources salmon dried sardines and white bait and fish liver are rich in Vitamin D A Slice of salmon for instance has about 40 microG of vitamin D suawa says eating one every two to 3 days can help to maintain a stable level of vitamin D in the body vitamin D is also present in mushrooms such as shitake maake and wood ear since it's fat soluble consuming it with fatty foods can improve its absorption so in that case is there any points that we should be really cautious of when taking vitamin D if you are on medication consult your doctor to determine whether it's safe to take [Music] supplements so thank you so much for your time today [Music] today we'll show you some recipes for simple yet delicious dishes using vitamin D Rich shitake mushrooms our instructor is nany Singleton hachisu from California who now lives in Japan since marrying a Japanese farmer 35 years ago Nancy has been exploring the breadth of Japanese Cuisine the first dish is grilled shitake topped with grated Japanese daon radish um kind of a throwback to like the stuffed mushrooms of my mother's generation know they always like yes 7 well in Australia my mom used to do yeah a lot of stuffed mushrooms these you Mound um grated daon that has some shiso and the stems in it and then the stems in there as well so you you so not to waste I've dried them outside for about an hour just to sort of boost the vitamin D when using fresh shiu mushrooms expose them to sunlight for about an hour before cooking them this extra step boosts their vitamin D content it's important to dry them upside down the Cap's Underside contains a significant number of substances that turn into vitamin D when exposed to sunlight okay shall we go yep absolutely sounds great all right preheat an iron pan and Grill the shitake sprinkled with a pinch of salt for about 3 minutes okay we want this to be fragrant so you can stir this every once in a while it's okay chop the stems and roast them stirring until fragrant sh kind of they have such a different flavor profile to to to all the other mushrooms ex this is getting quite fragrant I think it's yeah so we're going to put make the topping now yes finally chop some shiso leaves and combine them with the roasted Shake stems and the grated daon put the mixture on the grilled [Music] shitake drizzle a blend of KOMU Dashi stock light taste soy sauce and Meine such a beautiful appetizer yeah tast you must absolutely [Music] okay mhm with that Dash but with that shiso with the combination of shiso and the grated mhm fabulous wow very healthy and very delicious and very easy are you ready to go Erica I am indeed so what's the next recipe with SH okay cucumber and Shi and sesame vinegar ready this recipe calls for dried shitake soak them in hot water for about 30 minutes to rehydrate them simmer the shitake in a broth made from the soaking liquid soy sauce and Meine then let it cool to allow the shake to soak up the flavors we do a light salt in Japan right so this is like a/4 teaspoon more and I don't massage it I lightly I lightly toss it cuz I think there's always that technique in Japan of massaging toss sliced cucumber with salt and let it sit for about 10 minutes to extract moisture and soften it the key to this recipe is sesame seeds grind roasted white and black sesame with a mortar and pestl to bring out the aroma mix the drained cucumbers and shitake with the sesame seeds and vinegar dressing to finish okay it has a really delicious crunch amazing texture some of these got a little bit I love the vinegar they're attached together that's why m oh yum give it more definitely another helping of this the third dish is a simmered shake and sweet potato this recipe also uses dried shitake to enhance the flavor We'll add chatai a pickled Chinese vegetable with a sour and spicy taste put the ingredients in a pot containing chicken stock rehydrated shitake liquid and salt and simmer over medium heat for about 7 [Music] minutes oh wow this is fabulous like I think it goes really well with a shi but the Shi is really key Shi has been popular for a really long time in the US for sure yeah in but um raw Shi dried Shi is less true I think in Australia too it's really really difficult to get hold of dried Chi you can get fresh now in the supermarket you couldn't probably 15 20 years ago but now you can I have to say all of the shake recipes I have a new love now oh good so Nancy thank you so much thank you thank you for coming thank [Music] you

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Views: 353,019

Keywords: #EricaAngyal

Id: FH6W5ArDBfo

Length: 28min 5sec (1685 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 14 2024