Vitamin D helps fight E. coli
Postmenopausal women are more likely to have urinary tract infection and low levels of vitamin D. To test the effect of vitamin D on immune activity, researchers took healthy bladder tissue samples from eight postmenopausal women before and after the women took 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day for 12 weeks.
By the end of the study, vitamin D levels had increased 70 percent and, when researchers exposed bladder cells to E. coli bacteria, immune activity tripled.
Researchers concluded vitamin D prepares bladder tissue to fight E. coli infection by increasing the antimicrobial immune response.