While most known for its role in bone and immune health, vitamin D touches pretty much every system in your body. And studies consistently show that poor vitamin D status is linked to type 2 diabetes1, heart disease2, and inflammation. (It's estimated that 41% of U.S. adults3 are vitamin D insufficient). 

New randomised control trial illustrates the effects of vitamin D supplementation on Major Depressive Disorder, and finds possible neural explanation.

Now that shorter days are here (at least in the UK), many of us will be taking additional vitamin D until sunny days return. Vitamin D, which our bodies create upon exposure to sunlight, is important for both our bones and maintaining a healthy immune system.

Recently, though, research has extended our understanding of this vitamin's potential benefits. Work has linked a deficiency in this vitamin with an increased risk of developing Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and some studies have suggested that supplements may help reduce symptoms.

There has been a lack of gold-standard randomised controlled trials to investigate the effects of supplements on patients over time, however. But in a new paper in Psychological Medicine, Wenming Zhao Anhui Medical University, China, and colleagues report just such a study.

It is with hearts full of admiration, appreciation, love and sadness that we write today to inform our followers and supporters of the passing of Carole Baggerly, the founder of GrassrootsHealth, this past Saturday, October 26th.

As many of you know, it was after Carole’s diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in 2005 that she first learned of vitamin D and began the journey that would lead her to meet the scientists involved in formulating the Scientists’ Call to D*action, followed by the launch of GrassrootsHealth and the Vitamin D*action project, an endeavor of hers that would continue through the next two decades. Carole and her husband Leo traveled across the United States and Canada to meet with top vitamin D researchers, to really dig into what vitamin D is, how it works, and how many people could benefit from knowing about it, and most importantly, knowing what to DO about it (hence, Vitamin D*Action). She asked for a sense of urgency to get the word out to Move Vitamin D Research into Practice and found a group of scientists to step up and join her.

Key Takeaways

Vitamin D supplements appear to lower blood pressure in seniors who are obese

Seniors taking supplements experienced lower blood pressure

• TUESDAY, Nov. 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin D supplements might lower blood pressure in seniors who are obese, reducing their heart health risk, a new study says.

  But taking more than the recommended daily dose will not provide additional health benefits, researchers report in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

  “Our study found vitamin D supplementation may decrease blood pressure in specific subgroups such older people, people with obesity and possibly those with low vitamin D levels,” said researcher Dr. Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon.

World Vitamin D Day - November 2nd

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Distribution

TORONTO, ON (October 28, 2024) - November is the month that Vitamin D winter begins in northern latitudes – including all of Canada. A time when the sun can no longer trigger vitamin D production in your skin as fall and winter UVB rays are too weak. The Vitamin D Society is reminding everyone that now is the time to TAKE ACTION to ensure you are not vitamin D deficient through winter.

During the last 16 years the Vitamin D Society has educated the public about the benefits of vitamin D and sun exposure through November Vitamin D Awareness Month and World Vitamin D Day on November 2^nd to help prevent vitamin D deficiency.

The importance of regular, non-burning sun exposure for health was highlighted this year by a new study published by researchers from the University of Edinburgh. This study looked at the health records of 395,000 people from the UK Biobank database and found that the people who use solariums and who live at locations with higher annual average sun exposure in the UK have a lower risk of both cardiovascular and cancer mortality.

McGill discovery explains link, highlights the importance of adequate vitamin D intake, especially in children

As Canadians brace for “vitamin D winter” – months when the sun’s angle is too low to produce the vitamin in the skin – a McGill University study explains why vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with a higher risk of autoimmune diseases.

During childhood, the thymus helps train immune cells to distinguish between the body’s own tissues and harmful invaders. A vitamin D deficiency at that stage of life causes the thymus to age more quickly, the researchers discovered.

“An aging thymus leads to a ‘leaky’ immune system,” said lead author John White, a Professor in and Chair of McGill’s Department of Physiology. “This means the thymus becomes less effective at filtering out immune cells that could mistakenly attack healthy tissues, increasing the risk of autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes.”