Vita-man D versus the Sugar Goblin(arriving in next post)

So the last time you heard about how Vitamin D was good for you probs wasn't too long ago but it's time again for another refreshing dip back into the benefits...

Observe the below diagram carefully...


 If you noticed a large amount of white blobs and black text your on the right track...

To the right are your white blood cells, they act as your first line of defense against things that make you sick (your innate immunity).. to the left are some more white blood cells BUT these little buddies are special... they are part of your adaptive immune system. Specifically, these "T-helper" cells release lots of chemical messengers that tells your T "killer" cells and B cells(release antibody that mark a bad guy for destruction) to get on their job!

In the diagram above, the study says that the in response to Vitamin D, the white blood cells on the left (WBDs) are down-regulated (suppressed), and the ones on the right are up-regulated (more grow). So GREAT! Vitamin D means your line of defense gets more foot soldiers!

BUT WAIT! I said the ones on the left are suppressed? Isn't that bad if they help kill foreign invaders?

 The catch is: ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY!!!! remember that the cells on the right are part of that INNATE IMMUNITY but not the ones on the left... Adaptive immunity is uber effective in killing invaders because it will specifically recognize a foreign pathogen (vaccines prime this adaptive immunity!) but it can also be destructive.... IF an adaptive immune system cell mistakenly recognizes a cell in your own body as non-self, you have an autoimmune disease!! This = BAD...

Thus there are two take-home messages...
1) Everything in balance (referring to adaptive immunity)
2)Vitamin D not only means enhanced innate immunity BUT less likely to get an autoimmune disease