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According to studies and scientists, Multiple Sclerosis can be prevented through daily doses of Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is caused by lack of exposure to sun light.

An Australian research study on Multi-Sclerosis has suggested that increased exposure to the sun and higher dosage of Vitamin D may help in protecting the risk of this disease.

Multiple sclerosis or MS as defined by WebMD.com (2011) as a disease that affects the brain and the spinal cord which results in loss of muscle control, blindness, equilibrium and numbness. MS also damages the nerves of the brain and the spinal cord through one’s own immune system.

Studies and researches have shown that those countries in the northern latitudes which have lesser sun light or cloudier climate and regions far from the equator have higher incidence of multi sclerosis in the world. It is also interesting to note that studies showed there are more people with MS born in the month of May and lesser than those born in November.

According to Ann-Louise Ponsonby, author, epidemiologist and public health physician from Royal Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, “the exact mechanism by which sun exposure and vitamin D may help protect against a ‘multi-factorial disease’ is not yet clear.” She stressed, however, that Vitamin D is important in the body’s immune system and where laboratory researches indicated that higher vitamin D levels “can dampen down some of the adverse immune over activity that occurs in autoimmune diseases such as MS."

Dr. Ponsonby had cautioned on the "excessive exposure" that can result to health problems like skin cancer.

Dr. Moses Rodriguez, a neurologist and immunologist of Mayo Clinic, of Rochester, Minnesota is of the opinion that dermatologists may not agree with too much exposure to sunlight because they are saying that “that the amount of sun exposure that you would need to get protection against something like MS would be the amount that would increase your risk for melanoma and skin cancer dramatically." Dr. Rodriguez however expressed agreement in not overdoing it.

A research study connecting MS to sunlight exposure conducted between 2003 and 2006 in Australia by a research team - with 216 patients, ages 18-59, diagnosed with early signs of MS -  together with almost 400 other study participants without any disease indications revealed a result that the higher the amount of both past and recent sun exposure to sun light, the lower the risk for developing early signs of MS.

Many research analysis have likewise indicated that exposure to the sun normally results to increased vitamin D levels, where the body makes vitamin D when exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sunlight.

Vitamin D may also be taken in the form of fat-soluble vitamin and is present in very few foods, which include eggs, liver, fatty fish like salmon, tuna, sardines; and fortified foods such as cereals, milk and dairy products. Vitamin D is best taken in combination of calcium and about 15 minutes of sun light each day for maximum benefits and prevention of MS.