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Multiple Sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren's Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroiditis and Crohn's disease have all been linked with low vitamin D levels.

An abundance of scientific evidence indicates that vitamin D deficiency is associated with the onset and progression of MS and other autoimmune diseases. Recent findings have shown that MS rates are significantly lower in areas that receive a lot of sunlight and where people eat a lot of fish, which is rich in vitamin D.

"We need adequate amounts of Vitamin D to keep cell growth and activity in check," says Michael Holick, MD, PhD, director of the Vitamin D Research Lab at Boston University Medical Center and considered by many to be the nation's leading authority on this vitamin. When the body is deficient in this crucial nutrient - best known for coming from sunlight - cells go haywire, become overly active or multiplying too quickly.

That's why the new finding doesn't surprise Holick, who wasn't involved in it. "It's been well-known that if you live at a higher altitude, where there's less sun exposure, you're at a higher risk of developing MS", Conversely, if you live in a sunny climate where vitamin D Vitamins can be easily absorbed year-round from sunlight for your first 10 years, "it imprints on you a decreased MS risk that can last a lifetime," Holick explains.

"We've known for some time that vitamin D can affect function of the immune system, which could explain why it seems beneficial to many autoimmune conditions," says Kassandra Munger, MSc, of Harvard School of Public Health, a researcher for this study. "In animal studies, vitamin D has been shown to suppress the autoimmune response in rats with a disorder EAE, the animal equivalent of MS."

Animal experiments reveal that vitamin D hormone can suppress a variety of animal autoimmune diseases including EAE, the animal equivalent of MS. Furthermore, associated immunological studies have shown that vitamin D hormone has a number of immunomodulating functions, all of which contribute to the suppression of inflammatory autoimmune reactions. Small clinical trials have suggested that vitamin D has some efficacy in slowing autoimmune disease progression.

Munger's results are encouraging because 20% to 80% of Americans may already be vitamin D deficient - at least during winter months. While as little as 10 minutes of sun exposure on bare, unprotected skin can prevent deficiencies in warm and sunny months, it's virtually impossible for most Americans to get that kind of exposure this time of year.

However, Munger says that no matter where they lived (which could help determine their Vitamin D Vitamins exposure from sunlight), her study's participants who got the highest intake of vitamin D from supplements had the lowest risk of developing MS. Interestingly, those whose Vitamin D Vitamins came only from food, but not pills, had no such decreased risk - no matter their intake.

Her study is part of the ongoing Nurses' Health Study that has been tracking, for nearly 20 years, how various nutritional and lifestyle habits impact health in some 190,000 women. It's the latest evidence to show that something as simple as taking a vitamin D supplement can offer significant protection against a disease that afflicts some 400,000 Americans. Although the cause of MS is unknown, experts believe it is partly an autoimmune disease that causes lesions within the brain and spinal cord, slowing or blocking nerve signals that control muscle coordination, visual sensation, and other vital functions.

Margherita Cantorna, PhD, a longtime researcher on how vitamin D Vitamins impacts multiple sclerosis, was not involved in Mungers study, but like Holick, says she isn't surprised by the findings."We found that taking vitamin supplements of 1,000 IUs caused changes in blood chemistry that indicated positive effects for multiple sclerosis patients - basically, it reduced their symptoms,"

"It's pretty clear that when level of vitamin D Vitamins are too low, there's a greater tendency for cells that cause autoimmune problems to come out in those genetically susceptible people," says Cantorna "And it's pretty clear that taking supplemental vitamin D Vitamins is a good idea. You're hard-pressed to get enough vitamn D solely from food or from sunlight in the winter."

Other recent studies link a Vitamin D deficiency to a greater risk of other autoimmune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, unexplained muscle and joint pain, heart disease and various forms of cancer. As with MS and other autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue and organs in the body, the secret may be in how this nutrient affects cell activity.

Throughout most of the two million years of human development, humans had a relatively high intake of vitamin D (~5000-10,000 IU/day) from the sun. Major environmental changes brought on by the agricultural, industrial and technological revolutions have resulted in large populations in northern climates experiencing a subclinical and chronic vitamin D deficiency and this deficiency is more pronounced in persons with MS. Vitamin D deficiency is just one of a number of nutrient-related factors which play a role in MS. Notably the dietary regimens which contain the most pro-inflammatory food types (e.g. gluten, dairy, saturated fat) and the least anti-inflammatory nutrients ( vitamin D, omega 3 fats) occur in areas in which MS and other autoimmune diseases are most common. To combat MS, a person must change their lifestyle with diet revision being perhaps the most useful modification. As part of this change, it is important to ensure that sufficient vitamin D (4000 IU/day) is acquired through sun exposure and supplements.

Single, infrequent, intense, skin exposure to UV-B light suppresses the immune system and causes harm. However chronic low-level exposure normalizes immune function and enhances immune cell production. This reduces abnormal inflammatory responses such as found in autoimmune disorders, and reducing occurrences of infectious disease.