Study: Vitamin D may help fight HIV – Greensboro News & Record

Already commonly prescribed for elderly men and women to keep their bones strong, vitamin D supplements also could be an easy and affordable way to fight serious infections like HIV, according to a recent study led by a Penn State anthropology professor.

Nina Jablonski, whose research includes skin pigmentation and vitamin D, launched the project and enlisted South African researchers and 100 young adults in Cape Town to study how levels of ultraviolet B radiation, vitamin D in the diet, genetics and skin pigment affect vitamin D in the blood. At the same time they tested whether vitamin D supplements could reverse deficiency and improve resistance to HIV. Results were published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.