''Sunshine'' vitamin holds key for improved lung function

''Sunshine'' vitamin holds key for improved lung function
Researchers at the University of Auckland have found that having low levels of Vitamin D adversely affects the health of the lungs. Reporting in the current issue of the journal Chest, the researches found that substantial levels of the "sunshine" vitamin were associated with improved lung function.

"Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer," said Dr Peter Black of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. "Our research shows that vitamin D may also have a strong influence on lung health, with greater levels of vitamin D associated with greater and more positive effects on lung function."

However, researchers added that more work was needed to assess exactly what role the vitamin played in keeping the lungs healthy. The researchers arrived at these conclusions after conducting lung function tests on 14,091 people. They found that people with higher vitamin D in their blood delivered improved test results than those with low levels of the vitamin.

In fact, Dr Black said that the difference as akin to that found in smokers and non-smokers. Two tests namely, the FEV1 test and the FVC test were preformed on the participants. The former measures the volume of the air that can forcefully breathed in one second of deep breathing, while the latter measures the total volume of the air breathed out after a deep breath.

The study also found that men had higher levels of the vitamin than women with the levels decreasing in obese persons as well as smokers. "The effects of vitamin D are not limited to bone and there is evidence that it can affect the growth of a wide variety of cell types," Br Black concluded.

His colleague and co-author f the paper, Dr Robert Scragg has been working on vitamin D since the 1980s. He said that previous studies have also highlighted the beneficial effects of vitamin D in breast cancer, bowel cancer and prostate cancer. He said that a 10-minute exposure to sunlight was good enough to build reserves of the vitamin in the body.

"It doesn't cost anything to get out into the sun," he pointed out. Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D since the UV rays in the sun trigger the synthesis of this vitamin on the skin. Experts say that 15 minutes of going out into the sun is very beneficial from a health perspective.