New Study Confirms Vitamin D Benefits For Seasonal Allergy Sufferers

Are there vitamin D benefits for seasonal allergy sufferers? New preliminary studies by Pittsburgh's Allegheny General Hospital say the answer is yes.

The study, which monitored inner city children between six and 12 years of age, indicated that those who experienced allergy and asthma symptoms also had low levels of vitamin D. The key allergy-related benefits of the vitamin are in the way it effects the immune system, the researchers said.

Exposure to allergens and irritants can trigger the immune system to produce chemicals called cytokines, which cause inflammatory allergy symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes. D vitamin, which has substantial anti-inflammatory properties, helps regulate the production of these chemicals.

The study is slated to continue with clinical trials in Pittsburgh and other cities, in which inner city children will be given supplemental vitamin D. The Pittsburgh researchers said that as yet no therapeutic dosage has been established, and noted that age is only one of several factors that could influence the amount of supplementation needed.

The Pittsburgh study is the latest of many to confirm the connection between D vitamin deficiency and allergies, asthma, and related conditions. A 2008 Harvard Medical School study that included more than 600 asthmatic children concluded that low levels of the vitamin were definitely tied to the frequency and severity of asthma attacks. The Harvard study also showed that children who were deficient in vitamin D were many times more likely to have allergies.

Vitamin D deficiency has been recognized as a serious health problem all over the world. In 2004 the US Federal Government's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicated that only 23% of adults and teens in the US had sufficient blood levels of the vitamin, which is crucial to many aspects of health including bone strength, heart health, and immune function. The deficiency was most pronounced in the African American population, only three percent of whom had adequate blood levels of the vitamin.

In 2008 the American Academy of Pediatrics literally doubled the amount recommended for children from 200 IU to 400 IU per day, starting with the first day of life. Studies by The Center for Global Child Health, headquartered at at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, indicate that more than half of all infants are born with a D vitamin deficiency, and more than a third of all mothers are deficient in the vitamin when they give birth.

Vitamin D in known as the sunshine vitamin because even relatively brief exposure to sun triggers the body to manufacture its own supply. It is found naturally in relatively few foods (primarily oily fish and egg yolks) but a number of food products including milk and other dairy products are fortified with the vitamin.