A large longitudinal study has found that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who had low levels of vitamin D and then received vitamin D supplementation, reduce the likelihood of having high disease activity.
Specifically in this article they looked at Lupus patients with vitamin D levels below 40 ng/mL. They they gave them an appropriate dose of vitamin D to boost their levels by 20 ng/mL.
Excitingly this increase in vitamin D was associated with a decline in the physicians’ assessment of disease activity in the patients to a significant extent.
The lupus patients whose vitamin D was increased in the study also had an improvement in their kidney function specifically the reduction in the protein in their urine.The article rightfully points out that this not only improves the patient’s prognosis, but also reduces the direct costs of healthcare and lost productivity that can be associated with patients with lupus with kidney involvement.
For the last 10 years I’ve been optimizing my lupus patients (all my patients) vitamin D levels. It is so exciting to see more and more studies coming out now, especially prospective ones as were promised years ago, proving the benefit of vitamin D. Vitamin D is truly mother nature’s most powerful anti-inflammatory. I wish everybody was aware of this!
Low Vitamin D linked with Worse Lupus
Original Article -Take This to Your Rheumatologist !
About Dr. Soram Khalsa
As an MD, Dr Soram specializes in Integrative Medicine combining diet, nutrition, acupuncture, herbs and nutrition. Visit Dr Soram’s Healthy Living Store where you’ll find high-quality nutritional supplements:
