One of the most fascinating things I learned after breaking my leg last year was that vitamin D is quickly emerging as a “wonder drug.”  Of course, vitamin D is not a drug, it’s a nutrient—but if it were prescribed as widely as pharmaceutical drugs are these days, we’d have a much healthier planet.

I reached that conclusion after being introduced to D*Action, an international public health project of the San Diego-based nonprofit GrassrootsHealth.  The D*Action project is a consortium of scientists, institutions and individuals committed to solving the worldwide vitamin D deficiency epidemic. The group is led by a panel of 40 scientists from the University of California (five different campuses) and other research institutions around the world, including the Harvard School of Public Health.

The GrassrootsHealth website contains videos, presentations, and concise reports on the latest vitamin D research from around the world. Here’s a smattering of what I learned:

• A woman’s risk of contracting breast cancer can be “virtually eradicated” by sufficiently elevating her vitamin D status.

• The incidence of bladder cancer could be reduced by 40 percent if individuals maintained adequate levels of vitamin D in the blood.

• Taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy can prevent preterm labor/births and infections.

Did you know that vitamin D insufficiency has been linked to a host of diseases and conditions, including multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, increased heart failure, high blood pressure, psoriasis, and dementia?

D*Action’s mission is to educate the public and health care professionals around the world about vitamin D’s critical role in good health. Their two-pronged approach consists of 1) organizing seminars, tours, and exhibits, and 2) inviting individuals to participate in a 5-year study, the results of which will be used to create a long-term public health plan.

Now It Gets Personal

Knowing that Vitamin D was working hard for me (i.e., helping to mend my broken leg), I wanted to return the favor by enrolling in D*Action’s study. So I went to their website to register. Unlike medical studies funded by drug companies, D*Action asks participants to pay an administrative fee to enroll—an unfortunate necessity due to their nonprofit status. I paid my fee, filled out an online questionnaire about my general health, and ordered my “blood spot test kit.”

When the kit arrived in the mail, it was time for the rubber to meet the road—or rather, for the lancet to meet the fingertip. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that diabetics have to do this every day. Following instructions, I pricked my finger and squeezed two drops of blood onto the enclosed collection card. After the blood spots dried, I mailed the card off to the prescribed laboratory for analysis.

A few weeks later, I received an email from D*Action: your results are in! I logged in to the website and there were my numbers. My vitamin D blood serum level was 45 nanograms per milliliter. According to D*Action, the level for best overall health is between 40 and 60 ng/ml. Whew. I was within the range.

Knowledge is Power

Now, you don’t have to enroll in this study—or prick your own finger—to find out your vitamin D level; your doctor can order the test next time you have blood drawn. But participating in the D*Action study will keep the issue in the forefront of your mind, and prompt you to take action if your levels are deficient. Participants are asked to do a vitamin D test every six months for a period of five years, so that researchers can evaluate the results of the program in disease prevention.

Making sure your body gets enough vitamin D, both from sunlight and supplementation, is one of the cheapest, easiest ways to safeguard your health.

- Paula Detwiller, All Vitamins Plus contributor