title: The role of vitamin D in reducing gastrointestinal disease risk and assessment of individual dietary intake needs: Focus on genetic and genomic technologies.
abstract: With the endogenous formation of vitamin D being significantly curtailed because of public awareness of skin cancer dangers, attention is turning to dietary sources. Cumulative evidence has implicated vitamin D deficiency in increasing susceptibility to various gastrointestinal disorders, including colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases, diverticulitis, and irritable bowel syndrome. There is also reason to suggest adjunct vitamin D therapy for such diseases. Although there is justification for increasing vitamin D intake overall, optimal intakes will vary among individuals. Genomic technologies have revealed several hundreds of genes associated with vitamin D actions. The nature of these genes emphasizes the potentially negative implications of modulating vitamin D intakes in the absence of complementary human genetic and genomic data, including information on the gut microbiome. However, we are not yet in a position to apply this information. Genomic data (transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics, and metagenomics) could provide evidence that vitamin D sufficiency has been achieved. We suggest that there is an increasingly strong case for considering the more widespread use of vitamin D fortified foods and/or dietary supplements to benefit gastrointestinal health. However, intake levels might beneficially be informed by personalized genetic and genomic information, for optimal disease prevention and maintenance of remission.
authors.affiliation: Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, FMHS, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.|Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, FMHS, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Lynnette R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, FMHS, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Bobbi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Laing
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, FMHS, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marlow
authors.affiliation: Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, FMHS, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bishop
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005527:Food, Fortified; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000187:drug effects; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D