Autism is often associated with compromised immune function, and environmental factors are increasingly suspected to play a role in the alarming recent increase in the disorder.

A new hypothesis for a principle cause of autism is an insufficient supply of cholesterol sulfate to the fetus during gestation, and to the infant postnatally. This could be related both to insufficient sun exposure and insufficient dietary sulfur, for both the mother and the child.

According to a paper in Medical Hypotheses, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:

“A novel contribution is the theory that endothelial nitric oxide synthase produces not only nitric oxide but also sulfate, and that sulfate production is stimulated by sunlight. We further hypothesize that the sulfur shortage manifests as an impaired immune response, including an increased susceptibility to eczema and asthma. Proposed corrective measures involve increased dietary sulfur intake for both the mother and the child, and increased sun exposure.”

Drisdol is the form of vitamin D prescribed by many doctors.  But it is vitamin D2, which is not the type produced by your body in response to sun exposure.  Vitamin D2 is made by irradiating fungus and plant matter.

A recent review and meta-analysis looked at mortality rates for people who supplemented their diets with D2 versus those who did so with D3, the form naturally produced by your body.  The analysis of 50 randomized controlled trials with 94,000 participants total showed that there was a 6% relative risk reduction among those who used vitamin D3, but an actual 2% relative risk increase among those who used D2.

In an article posted on Live in the Now, Dr. John J. Cannell writes:

“Amazingly, this study somehow slipped under the radar … You would think a paper that took a look at tens of thousands of subjects and analyzed the efficacy of prescription vitamin D (D2) and over-the-counter vitamin D (D3) would warrant a news story or two. To my knowledge, these papers are the first to paint such a clear picture about the efficacy between D3 and D2.”

UV light from sun and sunbeds is the main vitamin D source for humans, and many health benefits of vitamin D have been identified. But since UV exposure has been suspected of causing skin cancer, may conventional health authorities warn against it.

A recent review of studies sought to review the health effects of solar radiation, sunbeds and vitamin D.  The researchers looked at data from different time periods for populations at different latitudes, with the aim at looking at the relative risk for cutaneous malignant melanoma associated with sunbed use, vitamin D and UV effects.  They found that increased sunbed use was not associated with melanoma.

According to the research:

“The overall health benefit of an improved vitamin D status may be more important than the possibly increased [cutaneous malignant melanoma] risk resulting from carefully increasing UV exposure. “

In fact, Ivan Oransky, the editor of Reuters Health, has previously noted that the real risk of getting skin cancer from a tanning bed is somewhere less than three-tenths of one percent — and even then, this is likely only from those who habitually overexpose themselves

UV light from sun and sunbeds is the main vitamin D source for humans, and many health benefits of vitamin D have been identified. But since UV exposure has been suspected of causing skin cancer, may conventional health authorities warn against it.

A recent review of studies sought to review the health effects of solar radiation, sunbeds and vitamin D.  The researchers looked at data from different time periods for populations at different latitudes, with the aim at looking at the relative risk for cutaneous malignant melanoma associated with sunbed use, vitamin D and UV effects.  They found that increased sunbed use was not associated with melanoma.

According to the research:

“The overall health benefit of an improved vitamin D status may be more important than the possibly increased [cutaneous malignant melanoma] risk resulting from carefully increasing UV exposure. “

In fact, Ivan Oransky, the editor of Reuters Health, has previously noted that the real risk of getting skin cancer from a tanning bed is somewhere less than three-tenths of one percent — and even then, this is likely only from those who habitually overexpose themselves

The most commonly used indicator of vitamin D status is serum 25(OH)D, but there is lack of agreement on the definition of optimal 25(OH)D and the cut-off for low vitamin D status. “Normal ranges” in U.S. laboratories vary between 20 and 100 ng/mL.  However, there is a growing consensus that the optimal range for 25(OH)D is higher than used to be believed.  Optimal levels may reduce risk of skeletal disease, insulin sensitivity, cancer, and many other ailments.  As many as 50% of breast cancer cases could be preventable with blood serum levels of 53 ng/ml.

It is extremely difficult to achieve and maintain optimal levels of serum 25(OH)D by diet alone — few foods are natural sources of vitamin D. and fortified foods contain only limited amounts.  The major source of vitamin D is sunlight exposure.  Sunlight exposure over most of your body, long enough to turn your skin somewhat pinker, may be the best amount.  When this is not possible, supplementation may be a necessary alternative.

According to an article in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine:

“… [S]cientists are generating a strong body of evidence to support a vitamin D paradigm shift … It is clear that sufficient levels of serum 25(OH)D are essential for optimizing human health … [S]ince we are experiencing a global epidemic of vitamin D insufficiency, it is … imperative that all individuals be encouraged to obtain vitamin D from either sunlight or supplementation.”

Vitamin D is known to have effects on insulin sensitivity. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with type 2 diabetes.

A new study sought to assess the effects of high-dose vitamin D3 on insulin sensitivity in subjects with vitamin D deficiency and impaired fasting glucose.

According to the study, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:

“… [T]he results indicate that … high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation improves insulin sensitivity in subjects with impaired fasting glucose and suggests that high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation might provide an inexpensive public health measure in preventing, or at least delaying, the progression from impaired fasting glucose to diabetes.”

A study of more than 81,000 looked at vitamin D intake from foods and supplements and current and later symptoms of depression.  The research found that vitamin D may affect the function of dopamine and norepinephrine — neurotransmitters that are likely involved in depression. Vitamin D may also modulate the relationship between depression and inflammation.

The women with the highest intake of vitamin D and vitamin D from food sources had a significantly lower prevalence of depressive symptoms.

According to the Vitamin D Council:

“The authors conclude, ‘Our results support an inverse association of vitamin D intake from foods and the occurrence of depressive symptoms in older women.’  In other words, this means the higher vitamin D intake from food the less depression.”

Some researchers are suggesting that a key contributor to Alzheimer’s may be insufficient cholesterol in the brain.  Studies have shown that serum levels of cholesterol and the ability to synthesize cholesterol are inversely associated with mental decline in the elderly.

There are now indications that depletion of sulfate supply to the brain is another important contributor to Alzheimer’s.  Sulfate may be supplied to the brain principally by sterol sulfates like cholesterol sulfate, as well as their derivatives like vitamin D3 sulfate.  Both cholesterol sulfate and vitamin D3 sulfate are synthesized in the skin upon exposure to sunlight.

According to MIT senior research scientist Stephanie Seneff:

“This is why I believe that excess sunscreen use and excess sun avoidance are another principal causative factor in Alzheimer’s disease.”

She also pointed to cholesterol-depleting statin drugs and aluminum in flu shots as other contributing causes.

In the state of California, minors will soon no longer be allowed to use tanning beds.  Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a bill prohibiting anyone under the age of 18 from using ultraviolet tanning devices.

According to MSNBC:

“California is the first state in the nation to ban minors from using tanning beds, legislators said. Previously, California had banned minors under the age of 14 from using tanning beds, but allowed those between 14 and 18 years of age to use tanning beds with parental consent.”

The bill is intended to “improve the health and well-being of Californians” by preventing skin cancer. Of course, savvy readers will know that the notion that tanning beds lead to skin cancer is a gross oversimplification.  It is the burning of the skin and chronic excessive exposures — not limited, sensible exposure to ultraviolet light — that increases your risk for skin cancer. Sensible UVB exposure is HEALTHY and stimulates the production of vitamin D, which can actually decrease your risk of skin cancer immensely.

Dr. Carlos Camargo of Harvard University recently wrote an editorial about the growing number of studies that link low vitamin D levels to heart attack, heart failure, stroke, hypertension and diabetes. One recent study found that every 10 ng/ml lower blood vitamin D concentration resulted in a 9% greater risk of death and a 25% greater risk of heart attack.

As noted in Dr. Camargo’s editorial, credit is due to the first man to discover the connection, an epidemiologist in New Zealand by the name of Professor Robert Scragg. Professor Scragg first noticed the association in 1981.

According to the Vitamin D Council:

“… [Y]ou should know of two large, population based, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trials on the health effects of vitamin D supplements that are now underway. The first is at Harvard … looking at cancer and heart disease; results available in 2017. A similar study is going on in New Zealand … looking at heart disease, infection and fractures; results again available in 2017. Six years of waiting, but no need to wait on your vitamin D deficiency.”

Studies have linked geographical variations in dental health and tooth loss to sunlight exposure. Dental caries were shown to be inversely related to mean hours of sunlight per year – people living in the sunny west proved to have half as many carious lesions as those in the much less sunny northeast.

Vitamin D, which is produced in your body in response to sunlight exposure, induces cathelicidin, which attacks oral bacteria.  Cathelicidin also fights other infections such as pneumonia, sepsis, and tuberculosis.

According to the Vitamin D Council:

“Use of vitamin D appears to be a better option for reducing dental caries than fluoridation of community water supplies, as there are many additional health benefits of vitamin D and a number of adverse effects of water fluoridation such as fluorosis (mottling) of teeth and bones.”

Dr. Paul Lee of the University of Queensland in Australia believes that people all over the world are needlessly dying because they have vitamin D deficiency. The notes that the stress of surgery uses up tremendous amounts of vitamin D.

In a paper, he finds that severe immune dysfunction, bone hyper-resorption, blood poisoning, and hyper-inflammation in critically ill patients could all be resolved with sufficient vitamin D.  He cites studies showing that death in the ICU and the CCU is 2 to 3 times higher for the vitamin D deficient.

According to the study, in Best Practice & Research – Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism:

“Collectively these results provide unequivocal evidence that vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are highly prevalent among critically ill patients … These results demonstrate current replacement regimes are grossly inadequate.”

In yet another study that shows how important vitamin D is to your health, scientists have found that girls who were low on vitamin D were twice as likely to start menstruation as those without sufficient vitamin D. According to Science Daily, researchers said this is important for several reasons, including the fact that early menstruation is a risk factor for behavioral and psychosocial problems in teens, and that girls who have an earlier menarche appear to have an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases and cancer – particularly breast cancer – as adults.

Another study on vitamin D’s effects on cancer prevention has come out, with evidence that vitamin D slows the action of a key carcinogenic protein that causes colon cancer. The new study confirmed previous findings that vitamin D can help control cancer tumors.

“Our study has confirmed the pivotal role of the vitamin D receptor in controlling the anomalous signal that sparks off the growth and uncontrolled proliferation of colon cells which, in the final instance, ends up causing a tumor to emerge,” the study’s authors told UPI.com.

Research has suggested a link between vitamin D deficiency and development of asthma and allergic diseases.  A recent study sought to determine both the association between vitamin D and asthma among children, and the differences in vitamin D level between asthmatic and nonasthmatic children.

The study examined close to 500 asthmatic children and an equal number of nonasthmatic kids.  Their health status was assessed through their medical history, their family history, a physical examination, their BMI, and their serum 25(OH) vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus levels.

According to the study, as reported by Green Med Info:

“Serum vitamin D levels were lower in asthmatic than control. Vitamin D deficiency was higher among children with asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, acute urticaria, and food allergy.”

A new study has found that high doses of vitamin D can reduce joint and muscle pain for many breast cancer patients who are taking the estrogen-lowering drugs known as aromatase inhibitors.  The drugs are often prescribed to shrink breast tumors, but they can cause pain and stiffness in the hands, wrists, knees, hips, lower back, shoulders and feet.

Aromatase inhibitors can be prescribed to post-menopausal women for at least five years, and often longer, after a breast cancer diagnosis.

According to Med India:

“Patients in the study reported any pain they experienced through three different questionnaires … The results show that patients receiving high-dose vitamin D every week reported significantly less musculoskeletal pain and also were less likely to experience pain that interfered with daily living.”

A new study has found that high doses of vitamin D can reduce joint and muscle pain for many breast cancer patients who are taking the estrogen-lowering drugs known as aromatase inhibitors.  The drugs are often prescribed to shrink breast tumors, but they can cause pain and stiffness in the hands, wrists, knees, hips, lower back, shoulders and feet.

Aromatase inhibitors can be prescribed to post-menopausal women for at least five years, and often longer, after a breast cancer diagnosis.

According to Med India:

“Patients in the study reported any pain they experienced through three different questionnaires … The results show that patients receiving high-dose vitamin D every week reported significantly less musculoskeletal pain and also were less likely to experience pain that interfered with daily living.”

During Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s short life, he suffered from many of his era’s common illnesses — such as smallpox, typhoid fever, tonsillitis and upper respiratory tract infections.  But what finally killed him at the age of 25 is still a matter of debate.

Two researchers are offering a new theory as to the cause — vitamin D deficiency. In high-latitude Austria, Mozart probably got little of the vitamin from sunlight during the winter months.  This may have put him at risk for many illnesses.

According to Discovery News:

“… [M]ost of Mozart’s infections occurred between mid-October and mid-May. That’s the time of year when people in places as far north as Austria simply can’t make enough vitamin D from sun exposure. Plenty of studies in recent years have linked adequate vitamin D levels with lower risks for influenza, pneumonia, cardiovascular disease, cancers, autoimmune diseases and more.”

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease tend to suffer from brain amyloidosis, a condition related to defective clearance of amyloid-beta in their brains by their innate immune system.

In order to improve the innate immune system of Alzheimer’s patients, researchers looked at the immune stimulation effects of vitamin D3 in combination with curcumin, an active compound found in the spice turmeric.

According to the study, as reported by Green Med Info:

“[Vitamin D3] is a promising hormone for [Alheimer’s] immunoprophylaxis because in Type I macrophages combined treatment with … D3 and curcuminoids has additive effects, and in Type II macrophages … D3 treatment is effective alone.”

When laboratory-grown gingival cells were treated with vitamin D, it boosted their production of an endogenous antibiotic.  As a result, they killed more bacteria than untreated cells.

This suggests that vitamin D can help protect your gums from the bacterial infections that lead to gingivitis and periodontitis. Periodontitis is a major cause of tooth loss and can also contribute to heart disease.

According to Science Daily:

“The new research also showed that vitamin D coordinates expression of a number of genes not previously considered to be part of the vitamin D pathway. Those genes may be involved in additional infection-fighting pathways. A more comprehensive understanding of how vitamin D carries out this regulation at the molecular level … will enable targeted therapies using vitamin D”.

Many recent studies have suggested that vitamin D may be associated with reduced breast cancer risk. However, most studies have evaluated only the impact of dietary vitamin D.

A new study examined the associations among ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, factors related to cutaneous vitamin D production, and breast cancer risk. The study found that time spent outdoors during all four periods of life examined was associated with reduced breast cancer risk — the teen years, 20’s-30’s, 40’s-50’s, and 60’s and above.

According to the study in the American Journal of Epidemiology:

“Sun protection practices and ultraviolet radiation were not associated with breast cancer risk. A combined solar vitamin D score, including all the variables related to vitamin D production, was significantly associated with reduced breast cancer risk.”

The company Now Foods is recalling its Calcium & Magnesium Softgels supplements. The supplements contained excessive amounts of vitamin D3 — up to 40,000 international units per serving, although only 600 IU is indicated on its label.

Now Foods has received reports of nausea and elevated blood vitamin D levels from those who have used the product.

MSNBC reports:

“Symptoms of high vitamin D dietary intake also can include fatigue, headaches and loss of appetite, among other side effects.”

Sunlight causes your skin to produce vitamin D — a fact that, ironically, means that sunscreen campaigns may have made millions of people chronically short of the vitamin, and put them at a greater risk of skin cancer, rather than reducing their risk.

Research shows that a very low level of vitamin D is a major risk factor for melanoma. This flies in the face of the idea that it is too much sun that increases your melanoma risk.

According to Professor Angus Dalgleish, writing in the Daily Mail:

“Research shows that a large percentage of people in the UK are deficient in vitamin D partly because we can’t make any from the sun for about six months of the year … I’d like to see all other cancer units automatically checking their patients’ blood levels. It’s cheap and quick and I guarantee they would be amazed at just how low many were.”

The Environmental Working Group’s 2011 sunscreen guide can help you determine which sunscreens are unsafe. The group recommends juste 20 percent of the 600-plus sport sunscreens it evaluated.

For a product to score high marks, it needed to be free of potentially harmful chemicals. Unsurprisingly, their list of products to avoid list contains some popular brands.

According to Yahoo News, companies with sunscreens that scored poorly include Aveeno, Banana Boat, CVS, and Neutrogena. For more information, and to see which products EWG approved, you can click on the Yahoo link below.

Time Magazine also recounts some of the Environmental Working Group’s advice:

“Avoid oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate. Many effective products contain one or both compounds — oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate — that the EWG specifically suggests avoiding. Oxybenzone is an endocrine disrupter, the EWG says, and retinyl palmitate is a form of topical vitamin A that some animal studies suggest may be linked to an increased risk of skin cancer.”

As understanding of Vitamin D increases, it is becoming apparent that its most active form, Vitamin D3 (calcitriol), may offer protection against a variety of radiation-induced damages. Vitamin D’s protective action is carries by a wide variety of mechanisms, including cell cycle regulation and proliferation, cellular differentiation and communication, and programmed cell death (apoptosis).

A paper on the subject argued that vitamin D should be considered among the prime nonpharmacological agents that offer protection against low radiation damage and radiation-induced cancer — or even the primary agent.

According to the paper in the International Journal of Low Radiation:

“… [O]ur understanding of how vitamin D mediates biological responses has entered a new era … In view of the evidence that has been presented here, it would appear that vitamin D by its preventive/ameliorating actions should be given serious consideration as a protective agent against sublethal radiation injury, and in particular that induced by low radiation”.

A link has been discovered between vitamin D and genes related to autoimmune disease and cancer. This may why vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for a number of serious illnesses.

Vitamin D affects genes through the vitamin D receptor, which influences gene expression — the process by which a gene’s information is converted into physical materials. In a recent study, researchers mapped sites of vitamin D receptor binding.

Health Scout reports:

“The investigators found that vitamin D receptor binding is significantly enhanced in regions of the human genome associated with several common autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and Crohn’s disease, and in regions associated with cancers such as leukemia and colorectal cancer.”

Severe vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a higher death rate among pneumonia patients. A study looked at blood samples from more than 100 pneumonia patients, and found that the death rate was 29 percent among those with very low levels of vitamin D — compared to 4 percent for those with a normal level or a slight deficiency.

For most people, 90 percent of vitamin D is produced by the body in response to exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet light.

The New Zealand Herald reports:

“.. [S]trong associations [have also] been found between vitamin D deficiency and a number of conditions, including auto-immune diseases such as type 1 diabetes … Large European studies have found a link between vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and later development of type 1 diabetes in children.”

New research shows that low levels of sunlight, coupled with glandular fever, could increase your risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). This could be one reason that MS tends to be more common away from the equator.

The study suggested that low levels of sunlight could affect how your body responds to infection. Vitamin D deficiency could be another possible link.

BBC News reports:

“The researchers found that by just analyzing sunlight, they could explain 61 percent of the variation in the number of MS cases across England. However when they combined the effect of sunlight and glandular fever, 72 percent of the variation in MS cases could be explained.”

Remember, when the American Cancer Society, or dermatologists, tell you that you should be avoiding the sun at all costs, they are dead wrong.

Having lower levels of vitamin D in your bloodstream has been linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes. Researchers followed more than 5,000 people for 5 years, and found those with lower than average vitamin D levels had a 57 percent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Your body manufactures vitamin D in response to sunlight, and it also occurs naturally in some foods.

MSNBC reports:

“Past studies have shown that vitamin D may also help keep blood sugar levels under control. In type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, the body can’t use insulin it produces efficiently to control blood sugar levels. Vitamin D may play a role by increasing the release of insulin”.

A recent study by the YMCA shows that 89 percent of parents believe they’re good or excellent at providing their children with a healthy home environment. Yet, a full one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese. According to Time Healthland, parents make five major mistakes when it comes to understanding how they can make their children’s lives healthier. Those are:

1. Letting kids eat junk food every day

2. Not pulling the plugs often enough on electronic devices, including TV, computer, and cell phones

3. Not encouraging kids to play outside more 

4. Not making sure they get enough fresh fruits and vegetables

5. Not placing enough emphasis on outside family activities, such as family walks.