Benefits of Vitamin D in allergies
What is an allergy?
An allergy occurs when a person reacts to substances in the environment that are harmless to most people. These substances are known as allergens and are found in dust mites, pets, pollen, insects, ticks, moulds, foods and some medications.
Atopy is the genetic tendency to develop allergic diseases. When atopic people are exposed to allergens they can develop an immune reaction that leads to allergic inflammation. This can cause symptoms in:
- nose and/or eyes, resulting in allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and/or conjunctivitis
- skin, resulting in eczema, or hives (urticaria)
- lungs resulting in asthma.
How can Vitamin D help in allergic conditions?
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. It is one of the most crucial vitamins for human survival as it impacts the functioning of almost every organ in the body. Vitamin D plays a significant role in reducing any kind of inflammation. It is one of the most powerful natural anti-inflammatory agents.
Over the past 30 years, there has been an alarming increase in rates of allergies in the western countries. Lower levels of Vitamin D due to lack of sufficient sun exposure has been one of the key reasons for allergies.
Research shows that Vitamin D can activate certain regulatory(T-regulatory) immune system cells which prevent the release of chemicals responsible for allergic diseases. A deficiency in vitamin D inhibits this regulatory mechanism, which may worsen or trigger allergic disease. Moreover, it also reported that increased risk of food allergy is associated with vitamin D deficiency, likely due to its role in shaping the developing immune system. Therefore, maintaining adequate levels of Vitamin D can potentially reduce allergies.
Best way to get Vitamin D
The best way to get vitamin D is from the sun, make sure to get at least 15 mins of sun exposure in a day. However, this might not be possible for everyone due to various factors like geographical location, amount of UV radiation, lifestyle, etc. In such scenarios you can either take supplements or get vitamin D from food sources.
Seafoods like cod liver oil, sardines, and salmon are good sources of Vitamin D. You can also easily enrich mushrooms with Vitamin D by exposing them to the sun. Below is a video demonstrating how to make Vitamin D enriched mushrooms.
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