Vitamin D A Cure for the Mid-Winter “Blahs”

Part I: Why Vitamin D? Vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol or “the sunshine vitamin,” is an emerging nutrient with an array of potential therapeutic roles. In addition to its wellknown role in bone health, vitamin D is being studied as an important agent in modulating immune function, mood, and cognitive function, as well as its impact on cardiovascular risk factors and protective effects against cancer development.[1] In this series, we will review the most recent science in some of these areas; we begin with a discussion of how vitamin D works and consideration of “therapeutic blood levels.”