Not only has it been shown to have potentials in reducing cancer risks, Vitamin D also appears to control the body’s innate immune response, affecting a skin wound’s ability to heal. It appears to play an important role in the body’s ability to produce cathelicidin, a compound produced by wounds and is necessary to fight infections.
Gallo’s team has now discovered that injury stimulates skin cells called keratinocytes, which surround the wound, to increase the production of vitamin D3 and that this in turn increases the expression of genes (CD14 and TLR2) that detect microbes. These genes, together with active vitamin …read more

Cranberry juice can help fight bladder infections and other bacterial infections. Yes, I know I’ve sung that tune before. But there’s still the question of how.
A new study presented by researchers from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) during the the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco last week suggests that a group of tannins called proanthocyanidins found primarily in cranberries may affect potentially pathogenic bacteria in three ways:

They change the shape of the bacteria from rods to spheres.
They alter their cell membranes.
They make it difficult for bacteria to make contact with cells, or from latching …read more