Start Taking This Vitamin Before Winter Arrives

Vitamin D has gained more and more popularity in recent years and is known as a wonder vitamin. It has long been known to help us absorb calcium, but Vitamin D has also been shown over the past decade or so to lower death rates from breast, colon and prostate cancer as well as to help ward off depression.

Here are some of the main benefits of getting some extra Vitamin D into your diet:

Protection for the immune system

A lot of recent research points to vitamin D as an effective way to protect the immune system. A study in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology from May 2012 found that insufficient levels of Vitamin D are related to a deficiency in the body’s immune responses. It’s also possible that an increased intake of Vitamin D could strengthen the body’s immune response against viral infections. The study’s authors say this may explain why cold and flu rates are higher in fall and winter, since D levels decrease at that time of year.

Reduce the risk of respiratory infection

A study published in the September 2012 issue of Pediatrics supports the possibility a daily Vitamin D supplement (along with these supplements) may reduce the risk of respiratory infections in winter. For the study, 247 Mongolian schoolchildren (who are known to be at high risk for Vitamin D deficiency, especially in winter) were given supplements of 300 IU daily. Risk of acute respiratory infections was halved.

Faster recovery from illness

Research published in the September 2012 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that Vitamin D supplementation could improve recovery rates for patients with an infectious disease such as tuberculosis. Patients who had Vitamin D on top of antibiotics cleared the TB bacteria from their lungs 13 days more quickly than those who just had standard treatment alone. The results suggest Vitamin D helps dampen the body’s inflammatory response to infection and could even enhance recovery from pneumonia.