Vitamin keeps on D-elivering

 Vitamin D is finally enjoying its big moment in the sun.

Once practically ignored, you can't open a mainstream newspaper or magazine today without reading yet another story on the importance of the sunshine vitamin.

It's about time, because vitamin D is also our single biggest nutritional deficiency... and as a series of new studies show, increasing your own levels of it can help fight disease and boost your immunity.

One new study presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting found that patients with low levels of vitamin D who simply raise it to normal levels can reduce their risk of cardiovascular problems.

Researchers looked at data on 9,400 patients with low D levels--an average of 19.3 nanograms per milliliter. Most people need at least 30 nanograms per milliliter, and ideally you should have closer to 50.

In the study, half the patients reached that minimum threshold of 30 nanograms per milliliter, and they proved to be 33 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack, 20 percent less likely to experience heart failure, and 30 percent less likely to die over the yearlong follow-up period than the patients who didn't raise their D levels.

Another study presented at the same meeting found that patients with low levels of vitamin D who increased it to at least 43 nanograms per milliliter had lower rates of death, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, kidney failure and even depression.

That may sound like a long list of benefits, but guess what? I'm not even close to finished.

Another recent study found vitamin D can help fight off the flu and asthma attacks. Japanese researchers randomly assigned a group of schoolchildren between 6 and 15 years old to either 1,200 IU of vitamin D per day or a placebo.

The kids who got the D got a whole lot of protection: They were 58 percent less likely to get the flu than kids who took the placebo. They were also less likely to suffer from asthma attacks, according to the study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

And yet another new study finds that this vitamin might even make you stronger. The latest research on young women found that those with the lowest levels of D had the highest amounts of fat in their muscles, which could lead to weakness.

Popeye was eating the wrong stuff!

Of course, none of this is especially new--other studies have found that vitamin D can help boost the immune system, protect your bones, and lower your risk for diabetes, cancer and any number of other disease.

Previous studies have found that it may even help you live longer.

Your doctor can easily check your vitamin D levels... but since they can fluctuate throughout the year, the best way to make sure you're getting enough is through a simple vitamin D3 supplement.

And now that spring is in the air, try to get outside a little more, too. It won't take much--15-20 minutes of direct sunscreen-free exposure three times a week can jump- start a fantastic process inside your own body that all the drugs in the world can't copy.

On a mission for your health