photo by giagia

You know it as the “sunshine vitamin,” and lately you’ve probably noticed a lot of news on additional health benefits of vitamin D. “Vitamin D fights common colds!” “Vitamin D fights cancer!” “Vitamin D fights Multiple Sclerosis!” How can it be that vitamin D boasts all those curative properties? Is it true?

Well, the primary function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, which is why you’ll usually see milk foritified with vitamin D. But that’s not news, and you probably don’t care much about that anyways. You want to know if all the claims about vitamin D are true!

Maybe. Maybe not. Upping your intake of one vitamin isn’t going to prevent you from a full blown winter cold. Nor is it going to prevent cancer if you’re a chain smoker. But the reason all the new research points to vitamin D as such a health fortifier is because vitamin D receptors are present in most cells of the body. In tissues of the colon, breast, prostate and lung, the local production vitamin D is considered very important in keeping cell growth in check and possibly preventing it from developing into a unregulated cancer cell. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004). So, vitamin D helps regulate the cell and keep it healthy, thus keeping YOU healthy. And of course, that’s the goal here.

Get your D from dietary sources like fish, fortified milk, and eggs, or from non-edible sources like the sun. Spending just 10 minutes a day outside in the sunlight gets you to your daily dose of the “sunshine vitamin.” It may be cold out, but don’t hibernate. Your body will thank you.

Now you get where “Sunny-D” comes from.