Does Sunshine Help Your Body Fight Disease?

[Coast]

It is well known that vitamin D is vital for calcium absorption and bone health and some studies have suggested it has an anti-cancer effect. But scientists had not realised what a crucial role it played in the immune system.

A series of laboratory tests showed that the vitamin triggers dormant white blood cells into turning into 'killers' that seek out and destroy infections. Other white blood cells turn into 'helpers' that enable the immune system to build a 'memory' of the infection, allowing it to mobilise more quickly on the next encounter.

Researcher Carsten Geisler, of the University of Copenhagen, said: 'If the T-cells (white blood cells) cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won't even begin to mobilise.'

www.dailymail.co.uk/health

Also: www.metro.co.uk

Stripping off in the spring sunshine might be even better for men, as a second vitamin D study suggests it decreases their risk of developing kidney cancer.

[Guest]

www.dailymail.co.uk/health

Also: www.metro.co.uk

An interesting topic this one Coast :lol:

I'm surprised they needed lab tests to come up with these results, it has been known for a long time that sunshine has many benefits to the immune system. You could also add in the positive effect that sunshine has on many types of depression. I think as long as you make sure you don't get burnt by the sun then the benefits far outweight the risk of skin cancer. Certainly at this time of year I always feel a huge difference in how my head is compared to the dark depths of December.

[Bluebreezer54]

An interesting topic this one Coast

I'm surprised they needed lab tests to come up with these results, it has been known for a long time that sunshine has many benefits to the immune system. You could also add in the positive effect that sunshine has on many types of depression.............. Certainly at this time of year I always feel a huge difference in how my head is compared to the dark depths of December.

I couldnt agree more, speaking from first hand experience. Ive only just returned to work this week after a longish bout of ' The Black Dog'. Its no coincidence that my improvement began with the longer days and the first real glimpses of prolonged spells of sunshine after the seemingly endless chilly gloom of this winter.