Vitamin D continues to be a little ray of sunshine in the health news. Think about it – can’t you just picture drug company executives gnashing their teeth because something sooo cheap (even in pill form), something sooo readily available (sunshine) could be associated with sooo many important issues? How did they miss out on profiteering with this one? Our latest is a trifecta of news about vitamin D – and then a cautionary tale to boot. First up – a review of increased rates of survival from colon cancer with higher levels of vitamin D. Second in line – an article showing lower rates of depression and fatigue with higher levels of vitamin D. Although, in fairness, you should know that vitamin D deficiency has LONG been known to cause fatigue and weakness (including muscle wasting). The depression angle, however, is a new one. Third, playing the ultimate trump card, we’ve got a study showing that, with lower levels of vitamin D, you get higher rates of…you guessed it, death. Elderly Germans had twice the rate of death with low levels of vitamin D, even when everything else was taken into account. Sheesh. Talk about impressive – especially after the recent vitamin D news about breast cancer and heart disease. Hey, was that an executive molar I heard cracking? But keep in mind, our fourth study shows that vitamin D deficiency is shockingly common among our babies and toddlers – which means, if you’re breastfeeding, use those sticky, icky supplements! If you’ve got a toddler, push milk. That’s right, milk – at 100 units a glass, that’s a good dose of vitamin D for a small body, but not enough, usually, for an adult. Why battle to get these down your kid? Because now we know, there’s even more than rickets at stake.