Millions of people are trying to lose weight on any given day. If you’re one of them, no matter what your inspiration for weight loss may be or what diet you have chosen to follow — there’s one small thing you can add to your day that could greatly increase one of the biggest health benefits you’ll gain from lost pounds.
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that when you take supplemental vitamin D along with losing weight, you can drastically drop the level of inflammation in your body. That change in your immune system could spell the difference between dying of an illness like cancer and surviving to a ripe old age.
“We know from our previous studies that by losing weight, people can reduce their overall levels of inflammation, and there is some evidence suggesting that taking vitamin D supplements can have a similar effect if one has insufficient levels of the nutrient,” says researcher Catherine Duggan.
The catch, say the scientists: For a really significant reduction in inflammation, you have to lose at least 5 percent of your body weight. That means, for instance, a 180-pound woman would have to lose just 9 pounds for the vitamin D to have the best anti-inflammatory effect.
Not a big deal, really, when you consider the health payoff: The people in the Hutchinson study took 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily for a year while they ate less food and exercised for 45 minutes at a time, five days a week. When the people in the study who lost 5 percent or more of their body weight, took vitamin D, they more than doubled their reduction in inflammation compared to the effect of only losing weight.
“Weight loss reduces inflammation, and thus represents another mechanism for reducing cancer risk,” Duggan says. “If ensuring that vitamin D levels are replete, or at an optimum level, can decrease inflammation over and above that of weight loss alone, that can be an important addition to the tools people can use to reduce their cancer risk.”
Of course, even if you’re not trying to lose weight, taking vitamin D offers a whole raft of other potential benefits including better protection against lung problems, as well as possibly lowering your risk of heart disease and keeping your brain healthy. So really, there’s just no excuse good enough not to ensure you’re getting enough vitamin D.
And here’s a little secret to making your vitamin D work better – Eat some blueberries with your vitamin D. Research shows that natural chemicals in blueberries pump up the immune benefits of vitamin D. That’s why I munch on a handful of berries when I take my supplements.
