Consider the winter cold for a moment.  During the winter, most people cover up and stay indoors.  They also tend to get many more colds. This new research seems to finally provide the scientific explanation for the winter cold phenomenon.  Vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin”, has been linked to helping your body fight everything from osteoporosis to cancer. Vitamin D is naturally produced in the skin through exposure to direct sunlight. Accumulating research is now showing that maintaining sufficient levels of Vitamin D is critical for even the most basic immune response which ensures your good health. Vitamin D seems to be the key to activating your immune system.  A recent study showed that Vitamin D in the blood actually triggered the immune system’s ‘on switch’. Professor Carsten Geisler, of the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, explained that when T cells are exposed to foreign pathogens, they expose a Vitamin D receptor. If the Vitamin D is not there, the cells, your immune defense, will not begin to work to protect you. T cells, your natural protectors, are dormant until Vitamin D activates them. Only then, do they seek out and kill bacteria and viruses.

Your body needs Vitamin D to combat all infections from common colds to extremes such as Swine Flu. Pf. Geisler explained that his findings "will be of particular use when developing new vaccines, which work precisely on the basis of both training our immune systems to react and suppressing the body's natural defenses in situations where this is important -- as is the case with organ transplants and autoimmune disease." In a world where new diseases are constantly being created, the link between Vitamin D and the immune system is a critical finding.  

Another crucial effect of Vitamin D is that sufficient levels of Vitamin D in the blood help balance immune response and prevent inflammation. Over-reaction of the immune system can be as harmful as lack of response.  Sufficient levels of Vitamin D could prevent an over-reaction which might manifest as bacterial pneumonia or rejection of a transplanted organ.  Adrian Gombart, a principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, stated, "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." Scientists around the world concur that Vitamin D is essential for your good health. It can be naturally created through regular exposure to sunshine or ingested through supplements or Vitamin D rich foods. However it is received, Vitamin D is vital for good health.