Vitamin D is a group of water soluble secosteroids produced naturally in the human body by exposure to sunlight, earning it the moniker “the sunshine vitamin”. Vitamin D’s most basic role in helping the body absorb calcium has long been well-documented. Recent studies have also shown, however, that Vitamin D’s importance may be far greater. Scientific research has linked Vitamin D deficiency to such chronic and debilitating diseases such as depression, heart disease, and even cancer.
Vitamin D and Mental Illness
An Australian and Danish study released this September found from a sample of 848 individuals (424 subjects with schizophrenia with 424 controls matched for sex and date of birth) that those with lower than normal concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OH D3), a form of vitamin D, in their neonatal blood sample had a significant twofold risk for developing schizophrenia in their later life. Surprisingly, the study also found that those with highly above normal levels of 25-OH D3 were at an increased risk for developing mental complications down the road as well.
Vitamin D and Heart Disease
The human body has a large number of vitamin D receptors with a broad tissue distribution, including receptors in the vascular smooth muscle, the endothelium, and cardiomyocytes. Due to this, vitamin D has a large impact on general heart health.
A 2007 study conducted as an offshoot of the Framingham Heart Study discovered that participants with less than 15 ng/mL of 25-OH D vitamin D were 62% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD). In particular, subjects were 53% more likely to get CVD if their vitamin D levels were only between 10-15 ng/mL, while the risk was increased by 80% if the vitamin D levels were lower than 10 ng/mL.
Vitamin D and Cancer
A groundbreaking 2007 study found that improving vitamin D and calcium status significantly lowered the risk of cancer development by 60 to 77 percent in the study group, while the results from the placebo group and the group that only received calcium showed no large reduction in cancer risk. Following this study, the Canadian Cancer Society had upped its recommended vitamin D intake amount to 1000 IU per day, in light of the possible anti-cancer properties of vitamin D.
However, a 2008 study with 749 prostate cancer patients and another 781 matched control subjects found that increasing the season-standardized serum levels of 25-OH D vitamin D did not reduce the overall risk for prostate cancer.
Conclusion
While studies have yet to proclaim vitamin D as an all-curing panacea, vitamin D deficiency is definitely detrimental to human health, from increasing risk for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, to raising likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D supplementation may also aid in preventing cancer risk, but studies have yet to show a concrete conclusion for this. Even so, vitamin D deficiencies should be avoided to prevent serious health problems, so if you aren’t getting enough vitamin D from sunlight and foods alone, be sure to take vitamin D supplements to boost your health!

This article was written by Tracy Gu, of Nutralab Canada. Nutralab Canada offers a complete one-stop-shop for all your contract manufacturing and private label needs, including contract manufacturing for dietary supplements. Contact us today at 1-866-446-6766 toll-free or 905-752-1823 local, or email [email protected] for more information. To learn more, please visit us at www.nutralab.ca!