How Vitamin D Can Help Save You from the Swine Flu

Surely you’ve heard the importance of vitamin D when it comes to your health. And now, a new study suggests that vitamin D is SO essential to your immune system, that it’s been preserved in the human genome for over sixty million years! With a history like that, you can’t go wrong in getting more vitamin D. Keep reading to find out more about this discovery.

The importance of vitamin D is beginning to be more widely known. In fact, vitamin D has been called the “miracle nutrient.” This is because it is the catalyst that kicks the immune system into gear. It is so important that a recently published study by Oregon State University points out that vitamin D is so important to immune system functioning that it has been preserved in the genome for some sixty million years.

According to the Oregon State University press release this vitamin-D mediated immune response is yet found in squirrels, monkeys, baboons, and humans. Because this has been retained throughout all of the millions of years of evolution the logical conclusion would be that it is crucial to survival.

Adrian Gombart, an associate professor of biochemistry and a principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University said, "The existence and importance of this part of our immune response makes it clear that humans and other primates need to maintain sufficient levels of vitamin D."

Vitamin D is a type of hormone that circulates in the blood and signals to cells via a receptor. Vitamin D is produced in large amounts as a result of sun exposure. It is also available in smaller amounts from dietary sources.

What does vitamin D Do?

• Prevents the immune response from over-reacting and reduces inflammation, and appears to suppress the immune response.
• Vitamin D boosts the innate immune response by turning on an antimicrobial protein.
• The overall effect may assist in preventing the immune system from overreacting.

When vitamin D is lacking in your system, you become a prime candidate for flu, swine flu, or other viruses. This is the reason that people that are low in vitamin D often get winter colds and other sicknesses.

Those who have sufficient levels of vitamin D or higher are able to fight off attacking pathogens. Fortunately, vitamin D also balances the immune response therefore preventing inflammation. Inflammation was the leading cause of deaths in the 1918 influenza pandemic. This inflammation generally shows up as bacterial pneumonia or lung infection.

Vitamin D Causes Immune System Boost

While many people are flocking to the flu vaccination stations to wage war against the swine flu, others are taking a more subtle approach by simply working toward increasing their level of vitamin D and improving their overall health. This allows people to not only combat the swine flu, but also colds, other forms of the flu, and various viruses that threaten their well-being. By waging war in this manner, people are escaping any possible complications from receiving the flu vaccine and are contributing to the overall health of the human body. With the recently found positive attributes that vitamin D carries with it, there is no reason not to boost your vitamin D levels to the optimum levels and enjoy the fruits of the improved immune system.