Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS.
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is one of the most common human viruses and is a member of the herpesvirus family. EBV occurs worldwide with as many as 95% of Americans being infected by the time they’re 35 years old. Between 35% and 50% of the time, EBV can cause “mono”, or infectious mononucleosis, which is characterized by fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands (1).
Although the symptoms of infectious mononucleosis usually resolve in 1 or 2 months, EBV remains in the body but will not cause illness, also known as being “dormant” for the rest of the person’s life. But EBV can reactivate later in life and in rare cases cause two types of cancers: Burkitt lymphoma (2) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (3). Although EBV appears to play an important role in these two cancers, it is probably not their sole cause (1). Now a new study (4) suggests that one way to keep EBV from re-emerging and causing illness may lie in maintaining healthy blood levels of vitamin D. This type of immune system benefit is thought to only occur when vitamin D blood levels are above 50 nanomoles/Liter, with optimal levels thought to be 75-80 nmol/L (7).
In the study, 41 people living in Antarctica were given either a placebo (12 patients), 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day (14 patients) or 10,000 IU of vitamin D once per week (15 patients) for 6 months. The researchers chose Antarctica as the study site because EBV reactivation has been shown to occur commonly during Antarctica’s winter (8).
By the 3rd month off the study, those with reactivated Epstein Barr viruses included 6 in the placebo group (50% rate), 2 in the 2,000 IU per day group (14% rate), and 2 in the 10,000 IU once weekly group (13.3% rate). By the end of the study, there were still 6 in the placebo group with EBV reactivation with 3 each in the other 2 groups (21.4% for the 2,000 IU/day and 20% for the 10,000 IU/week group). When looking at the vitamin D blood levels, the end of the study saw a 41% increase in the 2,000 IU per day group (56 to 79 nanomoles/Liter) while the 10,000 IU once weekly group had a 33% increase (52 to 69 nmol/L, p = 0.001) and the placebo group had a 22% increase (59 to 72 nmol/L).
For the researchers, “in the absence of UV light…modest dietary intake of vitamin D, supplementation with either 2000 IU/d or 10,000 IU/week can provide adequate levels of vitamin D” and that an adequate blood level of vitamin D “can reduce risk of latent virus reactivation during the winter in Antarctica.”
Source: Zwart, Sara R., et al. “Response to vitamin D supplementation during Antarctic winter is related to BMI, and supplementation can mitigate Epstein-Barr virus reactivation.” The Journal of nutrition 141.4 (2011): 692-697.
© 2011 American Society for Nutrition
Posted March 5, 2012.
References:
- “Epstein-Barr Virus and Infectious Mononucleosis” – http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/ebv.htm
- “Burkitt Lymphoma” – http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001308.htm
- “Throat Cancer” – http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/throatcancer.html
- Zwart SR. Response to Vitamin D Supplementation during Antarctic Winter Is Related to BMI, and Supplementation Can Mitigate Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation. Jou Nutr 2011;141: 692–697.
- Holick MF. The vitamin D epidemic and its health consequences. J Nutr. 2005;135:S2739–48.
- Zella JB, DeLuca HF. Vitamin D and autoimmune diabetes. J Cell Biochem. 2003;88:216–22.
- Dawson-Hughes B, Heaney RP, Holick MF, Lips P, Meunier PJ, Vieth R. Estimates of optimal vitamin D status. Osteoporos Int. 2005;16:713–6.
- Mehta SK, Pierson DL, Cooley H, Dubow R, Lugg D. Epstein-Barr virus reactivation associated with diminished cell-mediated immunity in Antarctic expeditioners. J Med Virol. 2000;61:235–40.
