Vitamin D

For decades, researchers have puzzled over why rich northern countries have cancer rates many times higher than those in developing countries — and many have laid the blame on dangerous pollutants spewed out by industry.
But research into vitamin D is suggesting both a plausible answer to this medical puzzle and a heretical notion: that cancers and other disorders in rich countries aren’t caused mainly by pollutants but by a vitamin deficiency known to be less acute or even non- existent in poor nations.
Those trying to brand contaminants as the key factor behind cancer in the West are “looking for a bogeyman that doesn’t exist,” argues Reinhold Vieth, professor at the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and one of the world’s top vitamin D experts. Instead, he says, the critical factor “is more likely a lack of vitamin D.”

What’s more, researchers are linking low vitamin D status to a host of other serious ailments, including multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, influenza, osteoporosis and bone fractures among the elderly.
The main way humans achieve healthy levels of vitamin D is not through diet but through sun exposure. Vitamin D3 is good for those who suffer from hormonal changes. It works great for hot flashes, cramping, mood swings and loss of energy.

Vit D is also known to help protect against infections.

We have all been told to take Vitamin C and Echinacea when fighting a cold, but an important, often overlooked supplement is Vitamin D. Mainly produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight, it is also known as the “sunshine vitamin” and has a vital role in bone health and calcium balance in the body. However, recent research shows Vitamin D also has an enormous role in the proper functioning of the immune system. 

Vitamin D has been shown to support mechanisms of our innate immune system. This branch of immunity is the first to respond to a wide range of pathogens, including those involved in colds and flus. Many immune cells in the body have a Vitamin D receptor, which allows it to bind to and assist these cells in various functions.

Vitamin D has also been shown to help control inflammation in the body and increase production of antimicrobial peptides that our immune cells produce naturally. Its ability to help fight infections by supporting the body’s own bacteria-killing mechanisms has earned this nutrient another name: the “antibiotic vitamin”. However, unlike antibiotics, it is also effective against viruses—the peptides activated by Vitamin D are able to damage viral structure and interfere with viral function.

A deficiency in Vitamin D is linked to increased rates of infection and autoimmune disease. It is no surprise that cold and flu infections peak during winter months when Vitamin D levels tend to be the lowest. Supplementation helps reduce the incidence of colds and flus, and decreases the severity of associated symptoms.

Vitamine D3 is the recommended one. It is very inexpensive but be sure to buy the highest dose – 2000 IU’s and also be sure it is D3. Can be found at most pharmacies.
All women (and probably most if not all men) should take at least 2,000 IU’s/day of Vit D, especially in winter or if dark skinned. We simply do not get enough sunlight on our skin. The more your skin is exposed, the more Vit D we get. Since the tendency is to be indoors during Winter, we then lack Vit D and it is a good practice to take supplements including this vitamin.