Vitamin D is called the sunlight vitamin because the body produces it when the suns ultraviolet B (UVB) rays strike the skin. It is the only vitamin the body manufactures naturally and is technically considered a hormone. Essential for building strong bones and teeth, vitamin D also helps to strengthen the immune system. A recent paper presented persuasive evidence that seasonal infections such as influenza may actually be the result of decreased vitamin D levels, not of increased wintertime viral activity, which has been the longstanding conventional wisdom. This makes sense, because vitamin D receptors are present on many of the immune system cells responsible for killing viruses and deadly bacteria, and the vitamin—which is less environ-mentally available in the winter—appears to be a requirement for proper activation of these cells.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 19:44:10 +0000