Renforcer ses défenses immunitaires

For this, vitamin D is the optimal ally! Known for its action on the bone system, its properties go far beyond.

Numerous receptors of vitamin D were discovered on a number of organs of our body: breasts, colon, muscles, brain, prostate, immune cells and others.

In the right amount, vitamin D has a prevalent role on our immune system, it stimulates our defences when facing microbial invasion. It contributes to maintaining our calcium levels and plays a role in absorbing magnesium and phosphate. Vitamin D also contributes to the development and maintenance of a robust skeleton.

It can delay the occurrence of auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type 1 diabetes.

Positive effects were noticed in cases of periodontitis: gum infections, respiratory and vaginal infections.

Vitamin D fights hypertension and decreases risks of heart diseases.

Beneficial role against inflammatory diseases, including those impacting the bowel such as the Crohn disease for example.

It lowers the frequency and severity of depression, may it be seasonal or not.

It has positive effects on the mood and our cognitive ability by maintaining our neurones healthy, especially by preventing or delaying diseases such as schizophrenia.

Protects against certain cancers: ovary, breasts (1), tongue, prostate (2), colon, lungs on which it has a beneficial anti-inflammatory effect. It could have a cytotoxic effect in cancer cells and this while protecting healthy cells (3).

It is likely to increase lifespan and to allow being healthier and living in greater autonomy.

It contributes to the production and maintenance of muscle mass while aging. It improves physical balance and reaction time.

Synthesis of vitamin D depends on many factors: clothing, the latitude you are living in, the season, the time of sun exposure, the air pollution, the skin colour, darker skins synthetise less vitamin D. The age is an other factor the amount of provitamin D3 in the skin decreases over lifetime, where a 70 years old person produces 4 times less vitamin D than a 20 years old.

Vitamin D deficiency can also be important even in hot climate areas since people use large amounts of sunscreen. Vitamin D being stored in the adipose tissue or fat, being overweight can also create deficiency.

Vitamin D is naturally present in numbers of food such as fish oil: cod liver oil, fat species of fish: herring, cooked salmon, mackerel, sardines, eggs, beef liver.

However, be aware that this does not allow you to reach the new current health targets.

For this, it will be necessary to use supplements, talk to your general practitioner or health partner.

For institutionalized or bedridden persons who lack sun exposure, supplements should be used in winter but also in summer.

References :

Kulie T, Groff A, Redmer J, Hounshell J, Schrager S.Vitamin D: an evidence-based review. J
Li H, Stampfer MJ, Hollis JB, Mucci LA, Gaziano JM, Hunter D, Giovannucci EL, Ma J. A

prospective study of plasma vitamin D metabolites, vitamin D receptor polymorphisms, and

prostate cancer. PLoS Med. 2007 Mar;4(3):e103. PubMed PMID: 17388667; PubMed

Central PMCID: PMC1831738. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1831738/7