Don’t let the change in season shortchange you on vitamin D benefits for mood, cold and flu resistance, and general health. In winter when skies are gray and sunny days are few and far between, getting plenty of the sunshine vitamin is more important than ever.
Manage Your Mood
vitamin Ddeficiency is strongly associated with depression, mood swings, and a whole variety of cognitive, psychological, and mood-related problems. Keeping levels of the vitamin high during the winter months is particularly important for people over 60, since the body’s ability to manufacture the vitamin delines with age.
A 2008 study by Dutch researchers showed that in a group of over 1,000 participants aged 65 and over, patients who were suffering from depression and other mood disorders had significantly lower blood levels of the vitamin than those who were not depressed. This finding echoes those of many previous studies, which suggest that there is an undeniable connection between low levels of vitamin D and moderate to serious mood problems.
But older people aren’t the only ones who need to keep vitamin d levels high. It has also been demonstrated that supplemental vitamin D can help control the mood-related symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome.
Fight The Flu, Keep Colds Away
International research, including a 2009 study by the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, indicate that getting plenty of vitamin D could be the most efficient means of fighting off the onset of the flu. The Tokyo study involved several hundred children between the ages of six and 15, half of whom were given placebos and half of whom took daily 1200 IU vitamin D supplements.
After eight weeks it was found that the children who were taking placebos were twice as likely to become infected with flu as the children who were taking the vitamin D supplements. The research noted that no specific flu vaccines or anti-virals commonly prescribed for flu were as successful as vitamin D at preventing the onset of flu infection.
vitamin Dis known to be an important factor in immune system support, which is absolutely essential to the body’s ability to resist the colds and other respiratory system infections that are common during the winter months.
Strength, Alertness, and General Good Health
Maintaining optimal levels of vitamin D has repeatedly been proven to be vital to just about every aspect of good health, from disease resistance to strong bones and mental alertness. Medical research has proven that the a sufficiency of the vitamin is essential to heart health, muscular development, and bone strength at all ages. It has also been shown to be indispensable for satisfactory brain and cognitive function, particularly among people over 50.