Vitamin D supports the immune system and helps prevent issues with autoimmunity. Studies indicate that vitamin D can help improve the innate and adaptive immune responses and help the body maintain homeostasis (1).
Studies show that Vitamin D has been shown to reduce inflammation and possibly prevent the development of chronic inflammatory disease (2). There is substantial evidence that vitamin D specifically helps reduce inflammatory cytokines and reduce inflammation involved in cancer and tumor development (3).
Clinical studies show an inverse relationship in serum vitamin D levels and the risk of developing allergic conditions like allergic rhinitis (4).
Vitamin D may protect the heart. Deficiency of vitamin D is linked to cardiovascular disease, while studies also suggest that vitamin D helps prevent hypertension and cardiac arrest by down regulating the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and improving glycemic control (7).
Vitamin D also supports the heart and liver by managing blood sugar levels and reversing insulin resistance (8). Studies show an improvement in HbA1c levels after using supplementation to reach adequate vitamin D levels (9).
Gut Health Support
Vitamin D helps support the gut most directly by improving and enhancing the gut microbiome. Vitamin D is thought to improve intestinal barrier function, benefit the microbiome composition, and meditate the gut-immune responses (10). These benefits may help prevent both digestive disorders and autoimmune diseases.
Studies show that vitamin D supplementation reduced BMI in overweight and obese women after six weeks, and may be helpful for reaching weight loss goals (11).
Low levels of vitamin D are correlated with increased fatigue and poor energy. Supplementing with vitamin D has been shown to improve fatigue (12).
Clinical studies show that vitamin D may help reduce depression and balance mood in those diagnosed with depressive disorder (13). Other studies show having adequate levels of vitamin D can improve overall mood and wellbeing (14).
Studies show that those with low levels of vitamin D have significantly increased risk of having a sleep disorder (15). Research suggests that normalizing vitamin D levels through diet and supplementation may improve sleep patterns (16).
- Aranow, Cynthia. “Vitamin D and the immune system.” Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research vol. 59,6 (2011): 881-6. doi:10.2310/JIM.0b013e31821b8755
- Yin, Kai, and Devendra K Agrawal. “Vitamin D and inflammatory diseases.” Journal of inflammation research vol. 7 69-87. 29 May. 2014, doi:10.2147/JIR.S63898
- Liu, Wei et al. “The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Vitamin D in Tumorigenesis.” International journal of molecular sciences vol. 19,9 2736. 13 Sep. 2018, doi:10.3390/ijms19092736
- Tian, Hui-Qin, and Lei Cheng. “The role of vitamin D in allergic rhinitis.” Asia Pacific allergy vol. 7,2 (2017): 65-73. doi:10.5415/apallergy.2017.7.2.65
- Mirzakhani, H et al. “Vitamin D and the development of allergic disease: how important is it?.” Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology vol. 45,1 (2015): 114-25. doi:10.1111/cea.12430
- Charan, Jaykaran et al. “Vitamin D for prevention of respiratory tract infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of pharmacology & pharmacotherapeutics vol. 3,4 (2012): 300-3. doi:10.4103/0976-500X.103685
- Wang, Thomas J et al. “Vitamin D deficiency and risk of cardiovascular disease.” Circulation vol. 117,4 (2008): 503-11. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.706127
- Foroughi, Mehdi et al. “The effect of vitamin D supplementation on blood sugar and different indices of insulin resistance in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).” Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research vol. 21,1 (2016): 100-4. doi:10.4103/1735-9066.174759
- Schwalfenberg, Gerry. “Vitamin D and diabetes: improvement of glycemic control with vitamin D3 repletion.” Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien vol. 54,6 (2008): 864-6.
- Yamamoto, Erin A, and Trine N Jørgensen. “Relationships Between Vitamin D, Gut Microbiome, and Systemic Autoimmunity.” Frontiers in immunology vol. 10 3141. 21 Jan. 2020, doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.03141
- Khosravi, Zahra Sadat et al. “Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Weight Loss, Glycemic Indices, and Lipid Profile in Obese and Overweight Women: A Clinical Trial Study.” International journal of preventive medicine vol. 9 63. 20 Jul. 2018, doi:10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_329_15
- Roy, Satyajeet et al. “Correction of Low Vitamin D Improves Fatigue: Effect of Correction of Low Vitamin D in Fatigue Study (EViDiF Study).” North American journal of medical sciences vol. 6,8 (2014): 396-402. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.139291
- Shaffer JA et al. Vitamin D supplementation for depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Psychosom Med. 2014 Apr;76(3):190-6. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000044. PMID: 24632894; PMCID: PMC4008710.
- Penckofer, Sue et al. “Vitamin D and depression: where is all the sunshine?.” Issues in mental health nursing vol. 31,6 (2010): 385-93. doi:10.3109/01612840903437657
- Gao, Qi et al. “The Association between Vitamin D Deficiency and Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Nutrients vol. 10,10 1395. 1 Oct. 2018, doi:10.3390/nu10101395
- Jung YS et al. The relationship between serum vitamin D levels and sleep quality in fixed day indoor field workers in the electronics manufacturing industry in Korea. Ann Occup Environ Med. 2017 Jun 24;29:25. doi: 10.1186/s40557-017-0187-7. PMID: 28652922; PMCID: PMC5482959.