Vitamin D and Autoimmunity

New research backs up the theory that Vitamin D levels affect genes that predispose us to autoimmune disease and certain types of cancers.  While this interaction isn’t yet well understood, it confirms that maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D (officially between 30-40 ng/ml, and in my opinion, up to 75 ng/ml) does impact prevention of disorders such as colo-rectal cancer,  multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis; this implies that many other disorders would similarly be affected. In my office, one of the main ways i have seen this effect in patients is with autoimmune thyroid disease, especially Hashimoto’s. Boosting vitamin D levels in patients with Hashimoto’s (every single one that I’ve tested Vit D levels on has been very low) has been one of the most critically important aspects of treatment to reduce autoimmune flares.