Vitamin D crucial to activating immune defenses

University of Copenhagen ^ | Mar 7, 2010 | Unknown

[decimon]

Model of the Findings: Naïve T Cells Do not Express Vitamin D Receptor nor Plc-Gamma1

Caption: When the naïve T cell recognizes foreign molecules with its T cell receptor (TCR) it sends activation signals (1) to the VDR gene. The VDR gene now starts the production of VDR (2). VDR binds vitamin D in the T cell (3) and becomes activated. Vitamin D bound to activated VDR goes back into the cell nucleus and activates the gene for PLC-gamma1 (5). PLC-gamma1 is produced (6) and the T cells can get started.

Credit: Professor of Immunology, Carsten Geisler

Usage Restrictions: This image and all other graphic or textual content related to the press release is embargoed until March 7, 1800 London Time, 1300 US Eastern Standard Time

Related news release: Vitamin D crucial to activating immune defenses

[decimon]

D Dane defense ping.

[TypeZoNegative]

Libs have made it “uncool” for children to play outside, so look out for an upward trend in colds, flus and other infectious diseases.

[James C. Bennett]

Question is, is food-additive Vit D as effective as skin-produced Vit D?

[MozarkDawg]

Most Vitamin D is produced as a natural byproduct of the skin's exposure to sunlight.

All the scare stuff over skin cancer, people have been slathering on the sunscreen to the detriment of Vitamin D absorption -- an endocrinologist told me several years ago, ten minutes a day out in the fresh air and sunshine is sufficient to proper D absorption and will not be enough to endanger one or damage skin.

Get outside, people.

[MozarkDawg]

Question is, is food-additive Vit D as effective as skin-produced Vit D?

Apparently, as the nationwide deficiency causing rickets was what led to Vitamin D fortifying butter and milk decades ago, my understanding is that the cases dropped exponentially afterward.

[decimon]

Question is, is food-additive Vit D as effective as skin-produced Vit D?

Good question that I don't think I've seen answered directly. But I've seen nothing to say that supplemental vitamin D doesn't work.

There is one thing - adding vitamin D to foods did apparently do away with the formerly common rickets.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

an endocrinologist told me several years ago, ten minutes a day out in the fresh air and sunshine is sufficient to proper D absorption

He was wrong unless you live south of 42 degrees latitude. You also need to be wearing shorts and a tank top for that to be enough time.

If you live north of 42 degrees latitude then you will get almost no vitamin D from the sun from November through February. Depending on where you are you might not even see the sun for days and wearing shorts and a tank top during those times the sun does decide to peak out is usually impractical.

[waus]

Mercola has an entire section devoted to vitamin D information:

http://vitamind.mercola.com/

[waus]

Exactly...sunscreen actually increases your cancer risk:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/07/02/sunblock-cancer-part-one.aspx

[bgill]

I’ve increased my Vit D supplements because of all the flu scare. There is a nasty bug going on here. Kid brought it home from school but it wasn’t too bad which may be because he’s outside often. Hubby, who doesn’t go outside, caught it and was in bad shape for a week. Then, I caught it but was over it in three days. Usually, I’m the one who is laid up with a chest infection at the least hint of a bug.

[denydenydeny]

It should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

For the longest time knew two salient facts seemingly at odds with each other:

A) Colds and flu are not caused by outside temperature but by microbes.

B) And yet there is a “cold and flu season” which occurs exclusively in the colder months of the year.

It was a logical paradox that the medical community seemed to shrug their shoulders over. Scientists are not supposed to be Walter Cronkite: “That’s the way it is” is not a sufficient explanation for anything. There had to be a reason.

Why I think it took so long for them to come to the conclusion was the medical and scientific community’s reluctance to look for nutritional solutions for any disease. But the conclusion is inescapable: We are out in the sun far less during the colder months, and the sun is less intense in those months, and the reduced amounts of Vitamin D make all the difference in whether we get sick or not. It’s so simple it should have been obvious all along.

[DvdMom]

Smokin’ Joe I pinged your list and some other freepers to a new different Vitamin D Article ...

thanks freepers decimon & freeper Smokin’ Joe :)

[denydenydeny]

To amend what I said: the sun’s light is always the same, the sunlight reaching the northern latitudes is less intense in the winter months.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Battle Axe]

When did they put Vit D into milk and butter? Folks on the farm would still be drinking their own cow's milk and making their own butter and thus not get the benefits.

[A CA Guy]

D3 in particular.

[GrannyAnn]

***We are out in the sun far less during the colder months, and the sun is less intense in those months, and the reduced amounts of Vitamin D make all the difference in whether we get sick or not. It’s so simple it should have been obvious all along.***

You make a good point here. This is just an anecdotal observation but my husband golfs year round here in AZ and is rarely sick. He never seems to catch what I get either.

[GrannyAnn]

They now put huge shade coverings over the school jungle gyms here in AZ. For years we played outside in the sun, now the kids have to play in shade. Stupid libs.

[luckystarmom]

We’ve been supplementing with vitamin D this year, and my daughter has had the worst colds this year. She’s had 2 that have gone in to secondary infections and needed anti-biotics.

She was low on vitamin D last year, and she’ll get retested soon.