Sunday July 28, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- If you are a frequent visitor to the foodconsumer.org website, you might have learnt that vitamin D promotes the making of antibacterial peptides, which protect against bacterial and viral infections, theoretically including hepatitis B viral infection.  That is why people who expose themselves to the sun are less likely to suffer bacterial and viral infections.

A new study now provides evidence suggesting that vitamin D indeed protects against hepatitis B virus.  The study published in Hepatology shows that patients with chronically infected hepatitis B who had low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D were more likely to have high levels of hepatitis B virus (HBV), compared with their counterparts who had high serum vitamin D.

Christian M. Lange1 from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Hospital in Germany and colleagues conducted the study and found serum vitamin D concentrations were a strong predictor for the levels of hepatitis  B virus.

The study involved 203 patients  with chronically infected hepatitis B virus infection found 34%, 47%, and 19% of the patients had "severe vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D3 <10ng/mL], vitamin D insufficiency [25(OH)D3 ≥10ng/mL and <20ng/mL], or adequate vitamin D serum levels [25(OH)D3 ≥20ng/mL], respectively."

The study also found "hepatitis B early antigen (HBeAg) positive patients had lower 25(OH)D3 serum levels than HBeAg negative patients."  

In addition, in seasons when patients were exposed to less sun rays, leading to the reduced production of serum vitamin D, hepatitis B virus DNA concentrations in the blood were higher.

The researchers concluded "Low 25(OH)D3 serum levels are associated with high levels of HBV replication in patients with chronic hepatitis B."

The study report cited early studies as finding that the association between serum vitamin D levels are not associated with the hepatitis C virus load. 

The current study suggests that patients with chronic hepatitis B should make sure to maintain sufficient levels of serum vitamin D.

Vitamin D is not the only measure patients can take to fight hepatitis B viral infection.  A vegan diet can make the hepatitis B virus harmless, according to China Study, a book authored by Dr. T Colin Campbell, a distinguished nutrition professor at Cornell University. (reporting by David Liu ,PHD)