Can Vitamin D Cure Multiple Sclerosis?

Vitamin D, which helps keep our bones and immune systems healthy, can reduce symptoms of multiple sclerosis, researchers have concluded after years of intense debate and study.

The theory initially linking MS to the so-called “sunshine vitamin” emerged in the late 1970s based on observations that cases of the incurable nerve disease increased in geographic regions further from the sunny equator.

Study after study followed, some with contradictory results, before scientists confirmed that adequate levels of vitamin D in the blood reduce the risk of developing MS. And this year, another study concluded that ideal blood levels of vitamin D can decrease the number of relapses in MS patients, although there is still no cure.

Vitamin D Mysteries

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin whose mysteries are still being revealed.

Most vitamins are obtained through diet, and some foods (like egg yolk, fatty fish and cod liver oil) are high in vitamin D. But sunlight is the body’s most efficient source of vitamin D, which is produced in the skin when exposed to ultraviolet B radiation.

Vitamin D has long been associated with bone health. In 1922, it was linked to the bone-weakening disease rickets, which was largely eradicated by sunlight exposure and vitamin D supplements in food. Some 50 years later, medical researchers discovered vitamin D receptors not just in bones but throughout the body. That led to discoveries of its myriad physiological effects, including its role in supporting the immune system, a complex network of tissues, organs, cells and molecules that protect us from infections and harmful substances.

Vitamin D enhances the performance of immune cells and prevents the immune system from attacking healthy tissue (the definition of an autoimmune disease). It also reduces inflammation and protects against infections by strengthening the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense.

These discoveries triggered continuing research into many aspects of the vitamin, including how it could be used to prevent or treat autoimmune diseases, including MS.

What Is Multiple Sclerosis?

MS is a chronic autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the coating that protects nerve cells, interfering with transmission of signals between the brain and the rest of the body.

Common symptoms that lead to an MS diagnosis include:

• Numbness or tingling
• Vision problems
• Muscle weakness

The disease typically begins with a single episode that then fades before returning – a stage called relapsing-remitting MS. Because each relapse contributes to the accumulation of disability, a key goal of treatment is reducing relapses.

MS cases are on the rise worldwide, where it now afflicts 36 per 100,000 people – 2.8 million in 2020 and 1 million in the U.S. alone. That’s a 30 percent increase since 2013. Researchers believe many factors are contributing to this increase, including:

• Better diagnosis
• Increased awareness
• Environmental factors, including smoking and certain viral infections, particularly Epstein-Barr virus
• Genetic predisposition
• Lifestyle/socioeconomic factors including diet, stress and obesity

With MS cases on the rise and knowledge that adequate vitamin D can reduce the likelihood of getting it and ideal levels could reduce symptoms, many people are asking, ‘Why not take a supplement or provide one to my child?’ It’s a valid question and one worth discussing with your primary care provider, who may order blood work to determine if you even need a supplement.

How Much Vitamin D?

There is no consensus on “sufficient” vitamin D levels. Based on early 1900s research to cure rickets, nutritionists recommended a daily dose of 600-800 international units a day for optimal bone health. That level is now generally considered adequate for most people.

But for MS patients hoping to reduce relapses, doctors consider an appropriate dose could require up to 2,000 international units a day.

Because vitamin D is fat soluble (an excess is not cleared out in your urine), an overdose is possible, causing symptoms like nausea, vomiting, constipation, weakness, confusion, pain, loss of appetite, dehydration and kidney stones. For this reason, your healthcare provider should monitor your vitamin D levels regularly.

With those precautions and an understanding that vitamin D can’t prevent MS but can reduce the likelihood of getting it and can’t minimize symptoms, why not spend a little more time in the sunshine or take a vitamin D supplement? You should talk to your doctor about what is right for you.

This content is not AI generated.