Vitamin D: The Unexpected Key to Healing Wounds

Story at-a-glance Keloids are an extreme overreaction of the body's wound healing process, causing thick, raised scars that continue to grow beyond the original injury, leading to pain, itching, and discomfort A study published in Burns & Trauma journal found that keloid cells overproduce CYP24A1, an enzyme that rapidly breaks down vitamin D, preventing it from regulating scar formation and inflammation Researchers discovered that inhibiting CYP24A1 allowed vitamin D to remain active longer, reducing excessive collagen buildup and helping keloid tissue behave more like normal skin Even individuals with sufficient vitamin D levels in their bloodstream could still have a functional deficiency in their skin due to rapid breakdown by CYP24A1, which explains why standard supplementation has not been effective for keloid treatment Another recent study found that vitamin D supplementation significantly improved wound healing, increasing skin hydration while reducing trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), which strengthened the skin barrier and sped up recovery