More Shining Research About Vitamin D

by Katie Murtha MS, RD, CSSD, LDN (www.RDKate.com)

A team of international researchers has published new research about a micronutrient that has fast become somewhat of a superstar player in the past few years. What started out as simply a vitamin that helps the body absorb calcium, vitamin D has now proven to be effective in preventing anything from a seasonal cold to cancer. This most recent research sheds light on vitamin D’s role in immunity. The researchers found that vitamin D plays a critical role in the body ability to fight off infections such as tuberculosis (TB). The results were broadcast in the U.S. News and World Report this past Wednesday, but the study was published in the online edition of the Science Translational Medicine journal.

This critical role is based on the fact that T-cells – which defend the body against microbial pathogens by the release of interferon-y (IFN-y) – were found by researchers to work against Mycobacterium tuberculosis via  a vitamin-D-dependent pathway. The researchers used in vintro supplementation of vitamin D–deficient serum with 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and discovered that this restored IFN-y activity in those who previously had little activity as well as low levels of vitamin D. Researchers specifically looked at African Americans, as individuals with darker skin tend to be more susceptible to TB. This group also tends to have higher incidence of vitamin D deficiency because they cannot absorb sunlight as effectively; the body uses sunlight to make vitamin D.

“Over the centuries, vitamin D has intrinsically been used to treat tuberculosis. Sanatoriums dedicated to tuberculosis patients were traditionally placed in sunny locations that seemed to help patients — but no one knew why this worked,” said study first author Dr. Mario Fabri, who conducted the research at University of California, Los Angeles and is currently at the department of dermatology at the University of Cologne, Germany. “Our findings suggest that increasing vitamin D levels through supplementation may improve the immune response to infections such as tuberculosis.” [Quote taken from the U.S. News and World Report]

The researchers pointed out that most people with TB do not have symptoms, which is likely because the body is able to suppress the infection enough so it does not progress into an active disease. While  more research is needed to establish the beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation in the prevention of TB, these results are certainly promising. As more strains of TB become drug-resistant, prevention will prove to be more important into the future.