There are a lot of health benefits to good old vitamin D. Normally found in sunshine and fish like the salmon you see on your left, this crucial vitamin has been summarily added to basically every food, from breakfast cereal to milk and vitamins, due to the many positive benefits it has on the human body. It’s crucial in developing good bone strength, but as it turns out, medical researchers have revealed that Vitamin D is the power for the body’s natural defense system. Carsten Geisler, leader of a research team at Copenhagen University, found that T cells (the body’s main infection fighter) rely on vitamin D to stay active and healthy, and without enough vitamin D, you’re at risk of sickness.
“When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D,” said Dr. Geisler. “This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.”
Tags: health news, vitamin D, health benefits of vitamin D, health research, why sunshine helps save lives, vitamin D and T cells, healthy immune system, Carsten Geisler, Copenhagen University
