Tissues throughout your body need vitamin D to function, so you need an adequate amount of this vitamin to be healthy. The skin is able to produce vitamin D but only when it absorbs ultraviolet light from the sun. If you do not get enough of this vitamin from the sun, taking vitamin supplements or eating vitamin D-rich foods will boost its levels in the blood. A deficiency in vitamin D may be associated with several diseases, including multiple sclerosis.
Vitamin D Supplementation & Multiple Sclerosis
Dr. Kassandra Munger of Harvard University led a study in 2004 investigating a possible link between vitamin D supplementation multiple sclerosis. Munger and her colleagues analyzed the incidence of multiple sclerosis in two large cohorts of almost 200,000 women. These researchers found that women who took at least 400 IU per day of vitamin D supplements had the lowest risk of developing multiple sclerosis.
Vitamin D Deficiency & Multiple Sclerosis
A deficiency in vitamin D is associated with numerous diseases, including rickets, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, cancer, as well as autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. In addition to showing that supplementation with vitamin D decreased the incidence of multiple sclerosis, Munger also led a study in 2006 investigating a possible link between vitamin D deficiency and multiple sclerosis. Munger's research tested blood levels of vitamin D in samples from Caucasian subjects who had multiple sclerosis that were taken before the subjects demonstrated symptoms. Although some black and Hispanic subjects also had a deficiency in vitamin D, there was not a link between the levels of this vitamin and multiple sclerosis. The data are based a group of subjects and do not mean that a vitamin D deficiency will necessarily led to multiple sclerosis in individuals.
Sources of Vitamin D
Adequate exposure to sunlight is sufficient for most people to get most of the vitamin D they need, according to Oregon State University. The ability for skin to synthesize vitamin D in response to ultraviolet light from the sun is the most efficient in kids and young adults. The elderly and people with dark skin have a reduced ability to make vitamin D. People who live far from the equator do not receive enough sunshine between the months of November and March to make enough of this vitamin. Other sources of vitamin D include eggs and fatty fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon. Many foods are fortified with vitamin D, such as milk and breakfast cereals.
Recommendations
The University of Maryland Medical Center says the recommended amounts of vitamin D, which vary based on age, are: Adults between the ages of 19 and 50 years-of-age should get 200 IU per day; those between the ages of 51 and 70 years should get 400 IU per day; and those older than 70 years should get 600 IU per day.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin D
- Oregon State University: Vitamin D
- "Neurology"; Vitamin D Intake and Incidence of Multiple Sclerosis; Kassandra Munger et al; September 2004
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Levels and Risk of Multiple Sclerosis; Kassandra Munger et al; December 2006
