Make your home fall-proof (remove tripping hazards). Have your vision checked and have your health care provider check your medications to reduce side-effects.

There is another way to help. Supplement with vitamin D. I’ve reported studies in the past that show healthy vitamin D levels can help reduce the risk of falls by the elderly and now another study reinforces the importance of this basic vitamin. Find out more below. Also, read about the French maritime pine bark extract Pycnogenol® and how it helps reduce the symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency.

As always, I wish you the very best of health,

Lee Swanson

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A cohort study from the Netherlands says that increasing vitamin D intake, whether from diet, supplementation or increased exposure to sunlight, could reduce the risk of falls among elderly men and women.

Researchers noted: “falls frequently occur in the elderly and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The objective of the study was to prospectively investigate the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of recurrent falling in older men and women.”

The study followed 1,231 men and women over age 65 for one year. Subjects’ serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured at the outset. The researchers found that levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D lower than 10 ng per ml of serum were linked to a 78% greater risk of falling at least twice.

Twelve percent of subjects whose serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels came in below this level fell three times or more during the year. By contrast, only 4.4% of those with 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of 30-plus ng/ml fell as frequently.

Researchers concluded: “Poor vitamin D status is independently associated with an increased risk of falling in the elderly, particularly in those aged 65-75 years.”

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 91(8):2980-2985, 2006

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A common condition that affects two to five percent of the population, chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is caused when leg veins cannot pump enough blood back into the heart. When people are not active, blood pools in their leg veins and legs, and ankles can become swollen. Some 500,000 Americans develop leg ulcers and leg and ankle swelling due to CVI, which, if left untreated, can lead to dangerous conditions such as deep vein thrombosis. But there’s new hope! Researchers now believe that Pycnogenol, an extract of French maritime pine bark, can help reduce symptoms of CVI.

According to a study published in the journal Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hematosis, Pycnogenol had a tremendous effect on edema (leg swelling), tight calves, skin alterations, pain during walking and swelling limbs.

A group of patients with severe CVI, venous hypertension, ankle swelling and previous history of venous ulcerations took either 150 mg per day or 300 mg per day of Pycnogenol over an eight-week period. At the end of the study, those patients showed a progressive decrease of skin flux at rest; a significant decrease in capillary filtration; an improvement in the symptomatic venous score; a reduction in edema; a significant improvement in pO2 (partial pressure of oxygen); and a decrease in pCO2.

Most patients taking 150 mg of Pycnogenol per day experienced a significant level of improvement after four weeks of treatment. Those taking 300 mg per day experienced the same amount of improvement and fared slightly better in the composite edema score. Researchers concluded: “This study confirms the fast clinical efficacy of Pycnogenol in patients with chronic venous insufficiency and venous microangiopathy.”

Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hematosis 12(2):205-212, 2006

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