While there is a correlation between obesity and vitamin D deficiency, as the NIH notes, theres no scientific proof that taking a vitamin D supplement will help trim your waistline, saysMichael Holick, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist and the director of the Bone Health Care Clinic at Boston University Medical Center.

A previous study found that when obese and overweight women brought their vitamin D levels up to a normal level with a supplement, while eating a low-calorie diet and exercising, they lost more weight than women who were also on a low-calorie diet and exercising but were unable to raise their vitamin D up to the ideal level. Still, the researchers agree that its too early to draw any conclusions that taking vitamin D can help you shed pounds, because its still unclear whether a low vitamin D status is a consequence of obesity or in some way involved in its cause.

Having sufficient vitamin D, though, may help people live healthier lives, which could in turn help a person lose weight. If bone aches and pains from a vitamin D deficiency keep you from exercising, and if vitamin D supplementation allows you to exercise more because you dont have those aches, that could help you be more active, says Dr. Holick.

To keep your immune system functioning at its best, youll want to make sure youre getting enough vitamin D.

Thats because, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, vitamin D may help mitigate the harmful inflammatory response of certain white blood cells, as well as increase the immune cells production of microbe-fighting proteins. Adults who have low vitamin D levels are more likely to report having experienced a recent cold, cough, or upper respiratory tract infection.

Clinical trials have found that vitamin D supplementation can reduce the amount of illnesses that children develop, says McTiernan, referring to past research on influenza. And a meta-analysis published in February 2017 in the BMJ yielded two points: One, people who took vitamin D supplements were 12 percent less likely to develop acute respiratory infections compared with people who didnt. And two, the authors found that for those with a severe vitamin D deficiency, taking vitamin D supplements lowered their respiratory infection risk by 70 percent.

Because of the potential benefits to the immune system, some people have been quick to assume vitamin D could work as a potential COVID-19 prevention tool or therapy, but its still too early to say. According to Harvard, there is no good evidence on the topic because it is such a new virus. Still, they suggest its wise to keep your levels out of the low range.

One study, published in October 2020 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found that more than 80 percent of people with COVID-19 in a hospital in Spain had a vitamin D deficiency. Another study, published in September 2020 in PLoS One, analyzed 235 individuals infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus; the researchers concluded that improving vitamin D status in both the general population as well as those hospitalized with COVID-19 had the potential to reduce the severity of symptoms and death associated with the disease. Given the low risk of supplementation, if you have questions about taking vitamin D and proper dosing, its best to discuss with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian who is well versed in integrative medicine.

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For maintaining good health, its important to have your vitamin D levels in the adequate range. According to the NIH, adults need between 20 and 30 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) of vitamin D in their blood. While theres no way to know if your levels are in that range without a test, that doesnt make it necessary to get one, unless, as the Cleveland Clinic notes, you have a condition such as osteoporosis.

Testing is becoming more common, but there is no need for widespread screening, says Holick. If you take the recommended amounts of vitamin D, your levels will be sufficient.

Its probably a good idea to talk to your doctor before you start supplementing. I support seeing your doctor or other provider for a check of vitamin D level, and then taking a supplement if the test shows youre lacking, says McTiernan.

Also, according to MedlinePlus, your doctor may order a vitamin D blood test if you have low-vitamin-D symptoms, which could include bone weakness, bone softness, and fractures. Other risk factors that may signal to your doctor that you need a vitamin D test include obesity, previous gastric bypass surgery, older age, a dark complexion, and lack of sunlight in your day (for example, if youre on bedrest or have an injury that keeps you indoors), MedlinePlus notes.

If youre trying to prevent or manage type 2 diabetes, it might be time to ask your doctor about your vitamin D levels.

We think vitamin D helps with insulin resistance, says Holick. For example, one review of literature published in September 2019 in the journal Current Diabetes Reports showed that low vitamin D blood levels correlated with insulin resistance. At the same time, the study authors concluded that the role of vitamin D for preventing and treating diabetes remains to be seen.

Another study published in September 2019, in the European Journal of Endocrinology, found that six months of vitamin D supplementation did improve insulin sensitivity in people at risk for developing type 2 diabetes as well as people who had been recently diagnosed. The researchers even suggested that supplementing with vitamin D may help delay the development of type 2 diabetes or slow the progression of the disease.

Given the mixed results, ask your healthcare team about possibly adding a vitamin D supplement to your diet for preventing or treating diabetes.

RELATED: Is Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Type 2 Diabetes?

Individuals with very low vitamin D levels are thought to be at increased risk for breast, colon, kidney, lung, and pancreatic cancers, says Carol Fabian, MD, an oncologist at the University of Kansas Cancer Medical Center in Kansas City and the chair of its cancer prevention research program. The Cleveland Clinic notes, too, that vitamin D may help lower the risk for prostate cancer.

The most at-risk groups are individuals who are obese or have darker pigmented skin and have lower levels of vitamin D but are not supplementing, notes Dr. Fabian. Other factors can also drive up the risk. Most people who are obese do not exercise much, and obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are also risk factors for breast, colon, kidney, lung, and pancreatic cancers, says Fabian. While vitamin D deficiency may not be directly upping cancer risk, an association between the two exists in some cases.

That said, a review published in May 2020 inSeminars in Cancer Biology suggests that there is strong data supporting a protective effect of vitamin D (due to its role in regulating cells) against several types of cancer.

Furthermore, research shows the potential positive effects of maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D. Overall, individuals with the highest levels (greater than or equal to 35 ng/mL of vitamin D) may have about a 30 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared with those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D (less than 15 ng/ml), says Fabian. And missing out on important UVB rays during the crucial sunny months may also up your odds of cancer. A very large observational study with many years of follow-up suggests that women who have very low levels of vitamin D measured in the spring and summer are at increased risk for breast cancer, says Fabian, referring to the Nurses Health Study, published in September 2016 inCancer Research.

Right now, there are challenges to vitamin D and cancer studies, a review published in October 2018 in Trends in Cancer Research noted. For example, the amounts of vitamin D provided to study participants varies greatly from study to study, and men and women respond to vitamin D supplementation in different ways.

As for utilizing vitamin D to treat cancer? The research and technology isnt there yet. High doses of drugs with a structure similar to vitamin D may someday be used to treat some forms of breast cancer, but doses of vitamin D that are high enough to cause death of cancer cells are likely to cause very high blood levels of calcium, which can be toxic to the body, says Fabian.

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11 Vitamin D Myths and Facts - Everyday Health