Vitamin D deficiency is rampant in the United States. Approximately 75% of the population has low levels of vitamin D. The list of associated illnesses is growing; heart disease, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis etc. One more disease on the list may be autism.
There is nothing near conclusive data on this, but many researchers recommend higher doses of vitamin D for affected individuals. Maintaining healthy vitamin D levels is good counsel to all of us, but considering the often aberrant immune response in autistic kids, this may be especially relevant.
While autism and something like multiple sclerosis may seem to be dramatically different diseases on the surface, there is a common thread. That commonality is the fact that the immune system may be overzealous in response to poor nutritional/biochemical modulation, environmental insult, or some combination of the two.
Supplementing with vitamin D is not likely to be the 'cure' for autism. But it may play a significant role in the prevention and the reduction of symptoms.
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