The Role of Vitamin D in Immunity: A Guide to Boosting Your Health
Vit-D affects the development and proliferation of immune cells and performs immunomodulatory activities on the immune system (Adorini and Penna, 2008). Interestingly, data shows that Vit-D insufficiency can be a possible environmental factor initiating autoimmune diseases
Vitamin D is one of several vitamins your body needs to be healthy.It is very important for keeping the right amount of calcium in your blood and bones and for building and maintaining bones. To be more specific, your body needs vitamin D to use calcium and phosphorus to build bones and keep cells healthy.
How Vitamin D Works
Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” has been made on Earth for more than 500 million years. When skin is exposed to sunlight, 7-dehydrocholesterol is changed into previtamin D3, which is then isomerized into vitamin D3.
| Food | Micrograms
(mcg) per serving |
International
Units (IU) per serving |
Percent DV* |
| Cod liver oil, 1 tablespoon | 34.0 | 1,360 | 170 |
| Trout (rainbow), farmed, cooked, 3 ounces | 16.2 | 645 | 81 |
| Salmon (sockeye), cooked, 3 ounces | 14.2 | 570 | 71 |
| Mushrooms, white, raw, sliced, exposed to UV light, ½ cup | 9.2 | 366 | 46 |
| Milk, 2% milkfat, vitamin D fortified, 1 cup | 2.9 | 120 | 15 |
| Soy, almond, and oat milks, vitamin D fortified, various brands, 1 cup | 2.5–3.6 | 100–144 | 13–18 |
| Ready-to-eat cereal, fortified with 10% of the DV for vitamin D, 1 serving | 2.0 | 80 | 10 |
| Sardines (Atlantic), canned in oil, drained, 2 sardines | 1.2 | 46 | 6 |
| Egg, 1 large, scrambled** | 1.1 | 44 | 6 |
| Liver, beef, braised, 3 ounces | 1.0 | 42 | 5 |
| Tuna fish (light), canned in water, drained, 3 ounces | 1.0 | 40 | 5 |
| Cheese, cheddar, 1.5 ounce | 0.4 | 17 | 2 |
| Mushrooms, portabella, raw, diced, ½ cup | 0.1 | 4 | 1 |
| Chicken breast, roasted, 3 ounces | 0.1 | 4 | 1 |
| Beef, ground, 90% lean, broiled, 3 ounces | 0 | 1.7 | 0 |
Why vitamin D is good for the immune system. It is well known that vitamin D controls a number of important genes that play a role in immune system regulation. It mainly affects how immune cells differentiate, mature, use energy, and react to cytokines and chemokines.
The Link Between Vitamin D and Immunity
Why vitamin D is good for the nervous system. It is well known that vitamin D controls a number of important genes that play a role in immune system regulation. It basically affects how immune cells differentiate, mature, use energy, and react to cytokines and chemokines.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the most well-known example of a link between not getting enough vitamin D and being more likely to get an infectious disease. In the last 20 years, studies have strongly linked lower levels of 25D in the blood to a higher risk of getting and/or being severely infected with tuberculosis.
A recent review found that acute respiratory distress syndrome is linked to low levels of vitamin D. Supporting immune health: People who don’t get enough vitamin D may be more likely to get infections and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Boosting Your Vitamin D Levels
Some experts say that you should only put about a third of your skin out in the sun ( 5). This advice says that most people with lighter skin should only need to wear a tank top and shorts for 10 to 30 minutes three times a week during the summer.
Vitamin D3 is not usually found in many foods. Fish meat and fish liver oils are the best places to get them. Even less can be found in beef liver, egg yolks, and cheese. Some mushrooms have some vitamin D2, and some mushrooms that are sold in stores have even more vitamin D2 because they are deliberately exposed to a lot of UV light. Vitamin D is added to a lot of foods and supplements, like grains and dairy goods. Vitamin D can be found at nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/vitamin-d/
Food Sources that contain Vitamin D
- Cod liver oil.
- Salmon.
- Swordfish.
- Tuna fish.
- Orange juice fortified with vitamin D.
- Dairy and plant milks fortified with vitamin D.
- Sardines.
The Endocrine Society recommends routine vitamin D supplementation for children and teens age 1 to 18 years, people who are pregnant, adults with pre-diabetes, and adults age 75 years and older, but not for healthy adults age 19 to 74
Things in your life that can affect how much vitamin D you absorb
There are nine things that can change a person’s vitamin D level:
- How far north or south you live
- How dirty the air is where you live
- In theory, the way you use sunscreen
- The color of your skin
- How hot or cold your skin is
- How much you weigh?
- How old you are.
- How healthy your gut is
Inflammation is a key part of how our immune systems work, and vitamin D can help lower it. Taking care of chronic inflammation is important for staying healthy because it can cause many health issues, such as autoimmune disorders.
To deal with vitamin D deficiency, you should spend 10 to 30 minutes in the sun between 10 am and 3 pm. Other things that can help are making changes to your diet, taking vitamin D supplements, working out regularly, keeping a healthy weight, and getting enough sleep.
