Sunshine remedy vitamin D keeps diseases at bay

Stocking up on vitamin D supplements and enjoying the summer sun could cut the risk of a host of diseases.
An Oxford University study has linked the vitamin, which is made when our skin is exposed to sunlight, to the activity of more than 200 genes in the body.
Some of these genes are already known to raise the odds of multiple sclerosis, diabetes, arthritis, dementia and some cancers.
Boosting levels of the vitamin could keep illness at bay, said the researchers.
Expert Sreeram Ramagopalan recommends 50 micrograms a day - the equivalent of ten multi-vitamin pills.
Although some foods such as oily fish and eggs are rich in the vitamin, most of our supply comes from the action of sunlight on the skin and many Britons do not have enough of it.

In England, half of the population is low in the 'sunshine vitamin' when the winter ends, in Scotland, it is two-thirds. Government scientific advisors are looking for ways to boost levels, with options including fortifying milk and other foods.

The Food Standards Agency advises people to limit themselves to 25micrograms of vitamin D a day - however, Dr Ramagopalan says the body is well equipped to cope with higher doses.

FACT FILE
Severe vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets, a softening of the bones that causes curvature of the spine and bow legs
The disease was relatively rare until the industrial revolution when it spread through smog-filled slums
At latitudes above 52 degrees north - above Birmingham - there is no UV light of the appropriate wavelength in winter for the body to make vitamin D
If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum you may have a chronic Vitamin D deficiency
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1305594/Sunshine-remedy-vitamin-D-keeps-diseases-bay.html#ixzz0xz0zcoNM