vitamin D

Moderate UV light is best when it comes to boosting the vitamin D content of edible mushrooms, 91�� study finds

kay.pettigrew@mcgill.ca — Fri, 01 May 2026 15:46:33 +0000

Researchers at 91�� have discovered that moderate ultraviolet (UV) light exposure is best when the technique is used to enhance vitamin D₂ in edible mushrooms. Excessive exposure leads to nutrient degradation or a plateau effect, they found. The paper also provides quantitative guidance.

The researchers’ work supports efforts to address vitamin D deficiency, which affects between 30 and 50 per cent of the world’s population, as well as enhance the nutritional value of mushrooms more broadly.

How vitamin D deficiency can lead to autoimmune diseases

keila.depape@mcgill.ca — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 15:20:40 +0000

As Canadians brace for “vitamin D winter” – months when the sun’s angle is too low to produce the vitamin in the skin – a 91�� study explains why vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with a higher risk of autoimmune diseases.

During childhood, the thymus helps train immune cells to distinguish between the body’s own tissues and harmful invaders. A vitamin D deficiency at that stage of life causes the thymus to age more quickly, the researchers discovered.

Vitamin D may not protect against COVID-19, as previously suggested

shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 15:34:04 +0000

While previous research early in the pandemic suggested that vitamin D cuts the risk of contracting COVID-19, a new study from 91�� finds there is no genetic evidence that the vitamin works as a protective measure against the coronavirus.

"Vitamin D supplementation as a public health measure to improve outcomes is not supported by this study. Most importantly, our results suggest that investment in other therapeutic or preventative avenues should be prioritized for COVID-19 randomized clinical trials," say the authors.

Less body fat for toddlers taking vitamin D

cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 20:01:52 +0000

By Fergus Grieve, 91�� Newsroom

Supplement given during first year of life critical for muscle-mass development

A healthy intake of vitamin D in the first year of life appears to set children up to have more muscle mass and less body fat as toddlers, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.

Rene St-Arnaud

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 18:09:59 +0000

John H. White

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 16:59:44 +0000

Association between low vitamin D and MS

cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 20:26:01 +0000

Low levels of vitamin D significantly increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study led by Dr. Brent Richards of the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, and published in PLOS Medicine. This finding, the result of a sophisticated Mendelian randomization analysis, confirms a long-standing hypothesis that low vitamin D is strongly associated with an increased susceptibility to MS. This connection is independent of other factors associated with low vitamin D levels, such as obesity.