Women who are vitamin D deficient have a higher risk of developing the disease, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.
Vitamin D is essential for the proper functioning of the body. A deficiency leads to rickets in children, but not only. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer or the digestive tract. And cancers are more aggressive.
Adequate intake in pregnant women protects against gestational diabetes, and infantile bronchiolitis.
For several years, researchers have also suspected that vitamin D could have an impact on the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. “A few small studies suggest that vitamin D levels in the blood can predict risk,” explains Kassandra Munger, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health (United States).
With his colleagues at the prestigious university, they conducted a more advanced study, which tends to show that, in women, a vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of developing multiple sclerosis by 43%.
50 nmol / L minimum
They analyzed the results of blood tests carried out on more than 800,000 Finnish women during their pregnancy. Among them, they identified 1,092 who subsequently developed multiple sclerosis.
The results showed that for every 50 nmol / L increase in vitamin D in the blood at the time of collection, the risk of developing multiple sclerosis was reduced by 39%.
The acceptable standard is 50 nmol / L. Women whose blood levels do not exceed 30 nmol / L have a 43% higher risk than those with a normal level.
Nearly half of the French in deficit
The information is not trivial. According to the national Health Nutrition study, more than 45% of French people are deficient in vitamin D. People residing in the departments of northern France are more exposed. Vitamin D levels depend on sunlight. The more natural light the body receives, the more it produces.
For those who lack the sun, supplements exist. But be careful not to overdo it. Vitamin D taken in high doses (blood level above 200 nm / L) can be toxic.
“It then causes hypercalcemia which can be characterized in particular by anorexia, nausea, polyuria, constipation, fatigue, weight loss, headache, depression, renal and vascular calcifications, hypertension and anemia. During severe poisoning, hypercalcemia can lead to irreversible renal failure and heart failure which can lead to coma and death ”, specifies the High Authority for Health (HAS).
“More research is needed to determine the optimal dose of vitamin D to reduce the risk of multiple sclerosis,” says Kassandra Munger. But getting enough vitamin D over the course of life is going to have multiple health benefits anyway. “
Winter is coming. It will soon be time to grab a spoonful of cod liver oil.
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