It has long been suspected that vitamin D could help reduce the risk of developing an autoimmune disease, and now we have evidence this is the case – at least for people over 50
supplements really do prevent people developing an autoimmune disease, at least for those over 50, in a study providing the first evidence of a causal link between the two.
“The great thing about randomised trials is they really answer the question of causation,” says Costenbader. This revealed that a dose of 2000 international units of vitamin D per day reduced the development of autoimmune disease by 22 per cent, compared with the placebo. This is a larger dose than the standard 400 IU recommended by health organisations such as the UK’sIt is unclear how vitamin D prevents autoimmune disease, but we know it is processed in the body to produce an active form that can alter the behaviour of immune cells.