Now that cold & flu season is upon us, it’s especially important that you know as much as possible about how the sunshine vitamin can keep you healthy this winter, and beyond.  The top causes of premature death in the US are cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.  These and other major diseases are directly linked to nutrition and to vitamin D levels in particular.
      The immune system cannot function without it. We now know that one reason flu season peaks in late winter is because by then, our levels of D are depleted. People all over the world who have the most consistent sun exposure or dietary intake of D have the lowest rates of respiratory and viral infections like colds, flu, and pneumonia.  There is undeniable evidence that adequate vitamin D is often better at protecting you from the flu than a flu shot.
Strengthening your immune system’s natural killer cells is simply the best possible defense against any type of virus or bacteria.
      Without adequate D, your body cannot absorb calcium. Vitamin D regulates the movement of calcium to and from blood (where it affects muscle and nerve function, heart function, etc), artery walls, bones, and teeth. Increases in osteoporosis, hip fractures, and even childhood fractures are linked to vitamin D deficiencies. Rickets, a bone softening disorder once all but eliminated, is now rising at alarming rates in the US.
       70 years of research reveals that some cancer rates could be slashed by as much as 77% just by supplementing with vitamin D! Vitamin D is necessary for normal, controlled cell development. D deficiency doubles the risk of prostate cancer and increases the risk of breast cancer five fold. Numerous studies show that regular sun exposure reduces the risks of at least 18 types of cancer, including melanoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, ovarian, and colon cancer. While the Canadian Cancer Society has established a vitamin D supplement program, the American Cancer Society has not yet acknowledged this effective and affordable preventative.  (I can’t help but wonder what would happen if the drug companies could patent it.)
           
Vitamin D is instrumental in regulating insulin, so that deficiency helps create diabetes.  Low vitamin D is also associated with migraines, seasonal and major depression disorders, Alzheimer’s, learning disorders, MS, Parkinson’s, PMS, allergies, high blood pressure, IBS, and more.  Women who are deficient during pregnancy and lactation have children with higher risks for all these diseases and disorders. 
       Numerous studies confirm that 40-65% of the US population is vitamin D deficient.  The number is as high as 80% in nursing home residents.
Vitamin D actually becomes a hormone in the body and requires cholesterol and sunshine on bare skin for its manufacture.  Don’t shun the sun.  You must avoid sunburns, which sharply increase the risk of skin cancer, but regular moderate sun exposure is healthy and protective. Traditional wisdom and common sense tells me that the human race would never have made it this far if sunshine was as harmful as we have been led to believe in recent years.
We lose the ability to make D as we age, and cholesterol lowering drugs affect our ability to make it, even in the presence of sunshine. We often spend the entire work/school week indoors, and also use low SPF sunscreens that can reduce the skin’s D production by 95%.   Dark skinned populations and people who always cover up have the highest rates of deficiency diseases.  
It is nearly impossible in our area to get enough sun exposure during the winter to make sufficient D, so I do recommend informed use of natural vitamin D3 supplements.  It is also available to us in cod liver oil and egg yolks. Dairy foods like milk are not good sources because they are fortified with D2, a synthetic form which appears to be essentially worthless for preventing deficiencies.

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