Vitamin D is vital to good health. Research demonstrates that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of a long list of chronic disorders that span all systems in the body. In addition, patients with low vitamin D had less positive outcomes during the COVID pandemic and had higher risk of developing "long COVID" symptoms. That's because vitamin D impacts all aspects of health. Virtually every tissue type in our bodies has receptors for vitamin D, meaning that they all require vitamin D for proper functioning and optimal health.
Crucial importance of vitamin D:
• known as the “bone vitamin”, it is essential for facilitating the transport of calcium into the bone matrix
• supports the immune system in many different ways and helps its response to illnesses
• regulates genes that control cell growth/development and metabolic health
• is shown to protect against diabetes, cancer, infections and heart, autoimmune, and neurological diseases (eg. Alzheimer’s)
Your optimal blood levels should be 50–80 ng/ml year-round.
The winter immune benefits
For the body to produce its vitamin D, we need direct skin exposure to sunlight. During winter, we get less sun, leading to lower vitamin D production. That puts us at increased risk for viral diseases.
Oral intake of vitamin D can therefore have a protective effect against respiratory tract infections and can boost overall immune response to all types of viral and bacterial infections.
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