When infection fighting T cells fail to find vitamin D in the bloodstream they do nothing. Scientists now understand just how important vitamin D is for immunity. T-cells that are part of the body’s defense system against autoimmune diseases, infection, viruses and perhaps other chronic illnesses need vitamin D to become activated. Without vitamin D the immune system remains dormant.
A group of scientists from Copenhagen found the crucial link between vitamin D and immunity. "Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and the vitamin has also been implicated in diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, but what we didn't realize is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system – which we know now.”
T-cells look for foreign invaders – it’s their job. When the infection fighters find bacteria or other foreign substances in the body they send out a signal from vitamin D receptors that the researchers say act like an “antenna”. Professor Carsten Geisler from the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology explains, “If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won't even begin to mobilize.”
Exposure to sunlight naturally activates vitamin D in the body, but fears of skin cancer, time spent indoors working, and inadequate dietary intake of vitamin D is implicated for deficiency of the vitamin in a large portion of the population.
Fatty fish contain vitamin D. Many consumers shun eating too much fish out of fears of contamination. Salmon is a good source of vitamin D but most is farm raised. According to the Environmental Working Group,” farmed salmon have 16 times the dioxin-like PCBs found in wild salmon, 4 times the levels in beef, and 3.4 times the dioxin-like PCBs found in other seafood.” Eggs are high in cholesterol and millions of Americans with heart disease are told to avoid high cholesterol foods.
The only natural way to get vitamin D is from sunshine. Keeping our immune systems healthy becomes no easy task. The only other solution is consuming food products fortified with vitamin D or by taking vitamin D supplements, but no one has established a minimum daily requirement for optimal health.
Vitamin D deficiency has become a global problem and implicated in a variety of diseases. Based on the new findings, researchers are interested in a vaccine to modulate the immune system that could have several applications. We now understand why vitamin D is essential for immunity. Low levels keep infection fighting T cells from becoming activated.
Comments
Urban pollution prevents UVB from reaching ground level, therefore people living in towns may not be getting adequate amounts of vitamin D from sun exposure.
You need to check with a 25(OH)D test.
Grassrootshealth do postal tests, no need for a doctor.
Your body only starts to build a store of D3 above 40ng/ml.
The reserve only becomes significant over 50ng/ml, it isn't surprising that only above 55ng/ml do we find least incidence of chronic illness.
The Primitive level at which Humans living near naked outdoors achieve natural homeostasis is 60~80ng/ml. 1560~200nmol/l
1000iu/daily/D3 per 25lbs weight is required to reach optimum status. Up to 10,000iu/daily is safe. Diet can only possibly provide 10% of our daily need.
At latitude 32N 6400iu/daily is required to allow human breast milk to flow vitamin d replete, further north more will be required. The graph in the banner at Grassrootshealth shows typical 25(OH)D levels found at different daily vitamin D3 intakes.
Sorry for the typo above 60~80ng/ml = 150~200nmol/l
Oil based gel caps are the best form of D3.
I prefer those in MCT (medium chain triglyceride oil) MCT is not only more stable, so it doesn't go off easily, it is also quickly and easily absorbed and metabolized.
At around $10 for 200 capsules it's not expensive.
Most adults require between 6000~8000iu/daily so
divide your weight in lbs by 25.
Multiply by 1000 to work out iu required daily.
Multiply by 7 to find weeks total iu requirement.
Divide by 5000 to see how many 5000iu capsules required
Example 175lbs weight divided by 25= 7 x 1000= 7000iu/daily required x7= 49,000iu/week divided by 5000=9.8
So someone 175lbs will need to use about 10 x 5000iu capsules each week.
Alternating 1 daily with 2daily should be fine.
Best absorbed with food so ideally the largest meal of the day.
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