What Does Vitamin D do, What is Vitamin D good for, What is Vitamin D
What Does Vitamin D do
The best treatment is occasionally a little sunshine. You probably feel better after a bike ride or a stroll in the park, and modest sun exposure is also beneficial to your physical health. Your body is busily generating vitamin D while you’re outside soaking up the sun. That’s excellent news because this hormone, which is increased by exposure to sunlight, is crucial for the health of women.
We have long recognised vitamin D’s crucial contribution to bone health. (Did your mother advise you to consume vitamin D-rich milk to develop healthy teeth and bones?) But more recently, it has been suggested that vitamin D may play a part in a range of chronic illnesses, including cancer, autoimmune disorders, heart disease, and inflammation.
Vitamin D is crucial for women’s health, and Erin Michos, MD, associate director of preventive cardiology at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, explains why and how to make sure you’re getting enough.
Your body can build muscles with the aid of vitamin D. Muscle discomfort and weakness might result from a lack of it (NIH, 2021). You may have also heard that it strengthens your immune system and guards against several illnesses including cancer and cardiovascular disease. The truth is that further research is necessary for all of this. Although there may be a link between a lack of vitamin D and some diseases, there is not enough evidence to conclusively link vitamin D to infections, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and heart attacks (NIH, 2021; Bouillon, 2021).
How does the body process vitamin D ?
How does the body process vitamin D
Vitamin D is stored in the body’s fat cells when it is taken in through the skin, diet, or supplements. Here, it is dormant until required. The liver and kidneys convert the accumulated vitamin D into the active form that the body requires through a process known as hydroxylation (called calcitriol).
In case you were wondering, it makes no difference whether you are getting D2 or D3, and the vitamin D produced by sunlight is not superior to the dietary type. Dr. Insogna asserts that “the body can use each completely fine.”
These are the essential details, but some queries might still exist: How can you obtain enough vitamin D? When should you be concerned about your levels and how much should you take? Our Yale Medicine specialists help dispel myths regarding vitamin D in light of these frequently asked questions by distinguishing reality from fantasy.
What is vitamin D ?
What is vitamin D
A fat-soluble vitamin is vitamin D. (NIH, 2021). This implies that it undergoes a certain procedure in the body. Unlike vitamins that are not fat-soluble, fat-soluble vitamins are kept in the body’s tissues and stay there for a longer amount of time (Reddy, 2020).
Vitamin D is found in two different forms in foods and dietary supplements: vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol, and vitamin D2, commonly known as ergocalciferol. Either the food you eat or exposure to the sun will provide your body with vitamin D. Sunlight exposure causes your body to produce vitamin D3 in the end (Pilz, 2019).
When vitamin D enters the body, it is processed by the liver and kidneys. It becomes a substance known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the liver. The active form of vitamin D, 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D, is then produced by the kidneys. The body uses it in this form to support your body’s immune system and bones (Pilz 2019).
How to get vitamin D
How to get vitamin D
Depending on your age and where you live, you may need to take supplements or eat more vitamin D-rich foods. For instance, you have less opportunities for solar exposure if you live farther from the equator. Due to the fact that your body naturally produces vitamin D when you expose your skin to sunshine, you may be more susceptible to vitamin D insufficiency (Pilz, 2019).
Your body gets the majority of its vitamin D through exposure to UV light from the sun (Pilz, 2019). Sunscreen use can counteract this effect and increase the risk of vitamin D insufficiency (Charoenngam, 2020). This does not, however, imply that you should skip the sunscreen.
Some foods, such salmon, shiitake mushrooms, cod liver oil, cow liver, and egg yolks, naturally contain vitamin D. Other foods, like dairy products, oils, and even orange juice, have vitamin D added to them (Charoenngam, 2019). If in doubt, always read the labels of products.
To assist you increase your consumption of vitamin D, your doctor may also advise taking an over-the-counter nutritional supplement. They may also advise you to take a high-dose vitamin D supplement for a specific amount of weeks or months if you are severely deficient in it (Jetty, 2016).
Additionally, some research indicates that consuming vitamin D supplements may improve bone mineral density and reduce the risk of fractures and accidents. These advantages are most likely to be experienced by populations with low vitamin D levels and those who are more vulnerable, such as older persons (Pilz, 2019).
Contact your healthcare professional, who can assess your risk for vitamin D deficiency, if you are worried that you aren’t getting enough vitamin D. They can ask for blood tests to check your vitamin D levels. Your doctor may suggest boosting your vitamin D consumption if you are weak in it.
What is Vitamin D good for
What is Vitamin D good for
Healthy bones
To maintain optimal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, which are required for proper bone mineralization, vitamin D stimulates intestinal calcium absorption.
Children who are vitamin D deficient may develop rickets, which causes the bones to weaken and give the impression of having bowlegs. Similar to children, adults who are vitamin D deficient experience osteomalacia or a softening of the bones. Muscle wasting and low bone density are effects of osteomalacia.
Osteoporosis is another long-term vitamin D insufficiency symptom that can occur.
Immune function
A sufficient vitamin D consumption may promote healthy immune function and lower the risk of autoimmune disorders.
According to researchersReliable Source vitamin D is crucial for immune system health. The development of autoimmune diseases like diabetes, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis are thought to be associated with long-term vitamin D insufficiency, although further study is required to prove this association.
The immunological response of human cells has been positively impacted by vitamin D in test-tube investigations, but these results have not been confirmed in carefully controlled human trials.
Deficiency
Despite the fact that the body can produce vitamin D, some people are more susceptible to a deficit than others. The following factors can have an impact on this:
Skin pigmentation: The body’s capacity to absorb ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the sun is decreased by skin pigmentation. Sunlight absorption is necessary for the skin to synthesise vitamin D.
Lack of exposure to the sun: People who reside in northern latitudes, highly polluted locations, work night shifts, or are housebound should try to get as much vitamin D from food sources as they can.
Breastfeeding: The American Academy of Pediatrics advises giving 400 international units (IU) of oral vitamin D per day to all breastfed newborns.
Older adults: As people age, their skin’s capacity to manufacture vitamin D declines. Additionally, older folks could spend more time inside.
those with illnesses that prevent them from absorbing fat: Since dietary fats must be absorbed by the gut in order to be ingested, vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. Conditions that restrict the absorption of fat can lower dietary vitamin D intake.
Those that are obese: The body’s capacity to absorb vitamin D from the skin can be hampered by high levels of body fat.
Following a gastric bypass, a major portion of the upper intestine that absorbs vitamin D is bypassed. A deficit could result from this bypass.
Symptoms
Most persons with a vitamin D deficiency don’t exhibit any symptoms, according to reliable source. However, a persistent deficiency can result in hyperparathyroidism, a condition in which the parathyroid glands produce an unbalanced hormone that boosts the blood calcium levels, and hypocalcemia, a condition in which there is a calcium insufficiency.
These disorders may result in additional symptoms such as
bone fragility, especially in older adults
osteoporosis
bone pain
fatigue
muscle twitching
muscle weakness
myalgias, or muscle pain
arthralgias, or joint stiffness
If Vitamin D deficiency continues for long periods, it may result in complications, such as:
cardiovascular conditions
autoimmune problems
neurological diseases
infections
pregnancy complications
certain cancers, including breast, prostate, and colon
