Multiple sclerosis - another classic autoimmune disease .

Rheumatoid arthritis - people with this disease commonly have low levels of vitamin D in their blood. The more severe the disease the lower their vitamin D. Taking vitamin D has been found to reduce disease activity and relieve pain, as recently confirmed by results from the Iowa Women's Health Study.

Crohn's and other inflammatory bowel diseases - people with these diseases generally have low vitamin D. These diseases are more common in northern states of USA. Patients with these diseases often also have osteoporosis. Poor absorption of fat may make it difficult for people with these diseases to absorb vitamin D. Sunlight could be the best answer.

Heart and circulatory diseases

High blood pressure (hypertension) - a disturbance of calcium metabolism is often associated with high blood pressure. Vitamin D supplements and exposure to ultraviolet light have been found to reduce raised blood pressure.

Heart disease - low vitamin D levels in blood are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Vitamin D may soon join the classic risk factors such as smoking and high fat diet. Risk of heart attacks and other symptoms is greatest in winter in the UK when vitamin D is lowest. Heart disease is low in alpine regions where high altitude provides greater exposure to ultra-violet light. Eskimos (Inuit) have less heart disease despite poor sunlight in the Arctic but they eat oily fish high in vitamin D every day.

Diabetes type 2 - low levels of vitamin D increase the risk of diabetes which is four or five times more frequent in Asian immigrants in the UK than in others. People who are overweight are at much increased risk of diabetes partly because they have low vitamin D.

Cancer
A number of cancers are more common in northern countries of Europe and/or in northern states of the USA. These include cancer of the breast, ovary, womb, prostate, bowel, bladder, stomach, kidney, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Additional studies strongly support D-deficiency being a cause of breast, bowel and ovary cancer. In the UK some 20,000 people a year are estimated to die of cancer caused by vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D seems to prevent cancer by preventing proliferation of cells and causing malignant cells to self-destruct.

Interesting fact: A study of 8596 women in the US found that those who had frequent exposure to the sun, either during work or recreation, had two thirds the risk of breast cancer compared with women who never exposed themselves to the sun. In Hawaii, the sunniest US state, only 9% of white women who get breast cancer die in the subsequent five years as compared with 16% dying within five years in other states.
More.benefits of sunshine....Page THREE