A few years back, I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis.  After consulting another specialist, I was placed on Fosamax®, to improve my bone density.   At that time I was also instructed to make sure I took calcium supplements (calcium carbonate) along with 2000 IU of vitamin D.  I did not understand the importance of vitamin D at that time, only thinking that it helped with the absorbtion of the calcium for my bone strength.   

   Now, researchers are finding that vitamin D is a prominent factor in maintaining our health.  It has been implicated in diabetes (by having a role in controlling sugar), in the immune system (defense against infection),  in cancers (women with breast cancer have been found to have low vitamin D levels),  in heart function and  gut integrity (Crohn’s).   

   “Our data suggests, for the first time, that Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to Crohn’s disease,” says Dr. White, a professor in McGill’s Department of Physiology, noting that people from northern countries, which receive less sunlight that is necessary for the fabrication of Vitamin D by the human body, are particularly vulnerable to Crohn’s disease.

What Vitamin D does

   Dr. White and his team found that Vitamin D acts directly on the beta defensin 2 gene, which encodes an antimicrobial peptide, and the NOD2 gene that alerts cells to the presence of invading microbes. Both Beta-defensin and NOD2 have been linked to Crohn’s disease. If NOD2 is deficient or defective, it cannot combat invaders in the intestinal tract.

   What’s most promising about this genetic discovery, says Dr. White, is how it can be quickly put to the test. “Siblings of patients with Crohn’s disease that haven’t yet developed the disease might be well advised to make sure they’re vitamin D sufficient. It’s something that’s easy to do, because they can simply go to a pharmacy and buy Vitamin D supplements. The vast majority of people would be candidates for Vitamin D treatment.”

   “This discovery is exciting, since it shows how an over-the-counter supplement such as Vitamin D could help people defend themselves against Crohn’s disease,” says Marc J. Servant, a professor at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Pharmacy and study collaborator. “We have identified a new treatment avenue for people with Crohn’s disease or other inflammatory bowel diseases.”

   Since I have been taking the vitamin D, I have actually felt better.  I contribute the anti-inflammatory factors working in my gut from the D and Fish Oil supplements.  Now my question to my gastroenterologist will be, “Do I need to increase the vitamin D IU?”   

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