Sunshine stepping into spotlight as disease fighter; Vitamin D gets an A

"Men lacking in vitamin D have more than double the normal risk of a heart attack, a study says, one of many suggesting the vitamin is crucial to good health."

A growing body of evidence suggests that people who are deficient in vitamin D have higher risks of cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and, according to the most recent study, heart attacks. Yes sunshine might in fact be nature's wonder drug for dealing with these and other ailments.

A Los Angeles Times cover story summarized recent developments in isolating the benefits of vitamin D and the role of getting proper amounts of exposure to the sun. Just in the last two weeks, two studies where published one linking vitamin D deficiencies to an increased risk of dying from breast cancer and another one associating low vitamin D levels with increased risk of diabetes.

Vitamin D has always been considered important but until recently the focus was on its role in fighting bone related diseases such as osteoporosis and consequently the recommendations for intake are rather small--perhaps too small to get the vitamin's full disease fighting benefit. Many researchers feel that that proper level is 50 to 60 nanograms per milliliter--a level at which the majority of the U.S. population is deficient.

Experts attribute the vitamin D deficiency, in part, to modern lifestyles, which have taken people off the farm and into offices and factories. Video games and computers have brought children indoors from the playing field, minimizing their exposure to sunlight. Fear of cancer and increasing use of sunblock may also have contributed.

Sunshine is not immune to controversy and there is much discussion about what is a proper amount of sun exposure. Adding to the debate is that sun block interferes with vitamin D production. One thing for certain, too little sun could lead to vitamin D deficiency and too much sun can lead to skin damage and other related health risks. As with all medical advice, talk to your own health professional about what is right for you but it's nice to know that one of our most important producers of one of our most important drugs might be something as natural as the sun that is around us every day and as cost effective as a daily walk in the sunshine.