I recently came upon a question in a health forum online that asked about the age at which people with family members that have been diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis) should be tested for the disease. The person who asked the question claimed to be the son of a mother who has MS.

MS does have a hereditary predisposition (an increased likelihood of developing the disease), so the person asking the question is at greater risk than the majority of the population.

For anyone who hasn’t yet been diagnosed with the disease, it is more important than ever to get as much sun exposure on your skin as possible and supplement with vitamin D when for whatever reason you’re not able to be out in the sun for long enough, often enough.

Earlier this month, an Australian study was released showing a probable relationship between high levels of vitamin D in the blood and a reduction in the likelihood of developing MS. While it’s still too early to say, it is looking extremely likely that the announcement that science has confirmed that vitamin D helps prevent multiple sclerosis will come sooner rather than later.

Science has already confirmed a causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and an increased probability of being stricken by more than twenty different diseases, illnesses and other adverse health conditions. It is quite possible that within the coming years, any doubt that multiple sclerosis belongs on that list will have been removed, hopefully resulting in better public awareness.

The Vitamin D3 Question and Answer hub is a forum for the discussion of topics related to Vitamin D, and in particular, Vitamin D3.

Vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol, is obtained from sun exposure, food and supplements. It is technically inactive in this form and must first undergo two different reactions before reaching its active form. The active form of Vitamin D in the body is called Calcitriol (also known as 1,25-Dihydroxycholecalciferol).

If you have any questions about Vitamin D, this is the place to ask them and get them answered thoroughly and relatively promptly.

Example questions:

- Does Vitamin D3 help prevent multiple sclerosis?

- How many different diseases have been linked to Vitamin D deficiency?

- Is it true that eggs in 2011 have more Vitamin D than in 2002?

Research conducted by Dr. John Cannell, MD, of the Vitamin D Council showed that Vitamin D3 helps prevent seasonal flu (influenza).

Additional studies conducted by Dr. Norris Glick, MD and Dr. Ellie Campbell, DO, concluded that Vitamin D3 helps prevent H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu). Further, Dr. John Cannell showed that Vitamin D deficiency renders the person suffering from the nutritional shortcoming extra-susceptible to the influenza virus.

You see, Vitamin D regulates the genetic expression of various antimicrobial peptides (AMP), which then exhibit wide-ranging antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and/or viruses.

It is believed by some nutrition experts that seasonal variations in the Vitamin D levels in humans can explain the seasonality of flu epidemics, at least in part. Basically, because people spend less time out in the sun during the winter than in other seasons throughout the year, the flu virus thrives throughout the coldest months of the year when everyone’s immune responses are dampened by the reduction in Vitamin D levels resulting from the diminished sun exposure.

Folic acid deficiency is often caused in part by a genetic defect that effectively prevents the body from properly metabolizing folate (folic acid).  This can lead to a state of deficiency that is difficult to correct with traditional folic acid supplements. A particular form of folic acid exists called L-Methylfolate, which can help correct the deficiency in affected individuals who cannot efficiently metabolize traditional forms of the nutrient.

Anyone whose homocysteine levels are well above normal should consider a test called MTHFR, which seeks to identify whether the two genetic mutations related to folic acid deficiency are present.

Folic acid deficiency has been linked to a variety of different diseases including but not limited to heart disease, stroke, depression, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Walking with my mother and father at the New Orleans Riverwalk (the shopping center along the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans), crying because I wanted to go into a shop with a colorful display and they wouldn’t take me over there.

By adhering to a healthy diet, taking high-quality nutritional supplements, taking probiotic supplements and digestive enzymes, and by correcting food allergies, one can go about reversing leaky gut syndrome by addressing the underlying causes.

While not universally recognized by practitioners of traditional medicine, the term is gaining traction within the natural and alternative medicine communities, as well as with nurse practitioners.

Leaky Gut Syndrome, also known as Malabsorption Syndrome, is an illness defined by increased permeability of the intestinal wall resulting in food particles and bacteria being able to enter the bloodstream, only to be attacked by the immune system increasing toxicity within the body.