Boning up on the sunshine vitamin Last Updated: Tuesday,
November 30, 2010 | 8:38 AM ET Imagine incorporating an
inexpensive, single supplement into your life that forces you to
get a little sunshine and promises to strengthen your bones,
thwart different forms of cancer, stave off multiple sclerosis
and autoimmune disorders and fight infections. Recent research
into the preventive benefits of vitamin D has raised hopes that
the sunshine vitamin, which is produced naturally in the body
through exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays, could extend and
improve people's lives. In September 2007, an analysis of 18
randomized controlled trials involving people over the age of 50
found that people who took at least 500 international units (IU)
of vitamin D daily had a seven per cent lower risk of death
compared with those given a placebo. Lead researcher Dr.
Philippe Autier said it was not clear how the supplements
lowered risks of mortality, but he suggested that vitamin D may
block cancer cell proliferation or imp