A vitamin D deficiency doubles the risk of suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers from McGill University in Canada and Kings College London (UK) conducted a study with 40,000 Europeans, 15,000 of whom were born with genes that made them naturally deficient in vitamin D.
Scientists found that people with a genetic predisposition for lower levels of the vitamin were twice as likely to develop MS as those with normal levels. This study confirms the conclusions of a Swedish scientific study published in the journal Neurology. She claimed that women with the highest blood levels of vitamin D had a 61% lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis compared to women with lower levels of vitamin D.
Fill up on vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential to fight against multiple sclerosis but it also allows the fixing of calcium on the bone to consolidate it and would prevent heart disease. However, a recent study by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) reveals that more than half of French people (58%) lack vitamin D, with a concentration of less than 20 nanograms per ml of blood 15 % are even deficient (less than 10ng/ml). In order not to be insufficient, it would be necessary to have at least a blood concentration of vitamin D between 30 and 45 ng/ml of blood.
Vitamin D is found in particular in oily fish, egg yolks and offal, but it is mainly produced by our body when our skin is exposed to the sun. “Exposure to the sun, practicing physical activity and maintaining a stable and ‘normal’ weight would make it possible to fill up on this essential nutrient for health”, according to the Inserm researchers. But, be careful, vitamin D supplementation should absolutely not be done without medical advice.
Multiple sclerosis in numbers
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects between 70,000 and 90,000 people in France. Each year, between 3000 and 5000 new cases are diagnosed, with a clear predominance in women. Difficulty walking, fatigue, weakness in the limbs, chronic pain are some of the symptoms of the disease. There is no treatment to cure MS, but several studies have shown that diet has a role to play in reducing the symptoms of the disease or even slowing it down. Coffee and vitamin D would limit the severity of the disease and could prevent its appearance. On the other hand, salt and red wine should be banned from the diet of people affected by this disease.
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