Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that the body creates using several chemical compounds. It helps improve your body’s functionality and is more important than we think.
However, sometimes our body does not create enough of it, leaving us with the task of getting more of it from the food we eat.
Scientists discovered that Vitamin D was the solution to preventing and treating Rickets, a disease mostly found in children who have insufficient Vitamin D and Calcium. The same disorder for adults is called Osteomalacia. Bones need this compound to grow properly, strong and filled up in the right spaces.
It oversees the direction of calcium ions and phosphates in the blood and makes the liver execute the absorption of Calcium and Magnesium in the right places. It improves immune functions.
Vitamin D is so important that our bodies set an automated production process. Our contact with the sun’s rays triggers this process.
Types of vitamin D
We make several special types of Vitamin D compounds; Vitamin D1, D2, D3, D4. Vitamins D2 and D3 are the most popular. Human beings and other living organisms naturally create D3. Vitamin D2 looks and particularly behaves like vitamin D3, but they have distinctions. Vitamin D is so important that our bodies set an automated production process triggered by contact with the sun’s rays.
Here’s how it works. On the first contact with the ultraviolet light, the liver acts on a fat-like molecule in the skin called cholesterol, converting it into a much more active compound. Therefore, another way to naturally produce enough vitamin D is to get enough sunlight. Not too much, though, so you don’t get sunburnt.
What may prevent the creation of Vitamin D? And How much is Needed?
Melanin does an excellent job of protecting the body but also limits the natural creation of vitamin D.
The color of a person is a factor that affects how many vitamin D compounds they produce. Age is also a factor. As older people’s skin slowly ages with them, the rate at which they produce Vitamin D reduces. It can get so slow that even with enough sunlight, they will still need some supplements.
Vegetarians and people who cannot fully process lactose will find it hard to store enough vitamin D in their diet.
During winter, rays of the sun may be too weak to trigger the automatic process.
Certain health disorders can restrict the Intestines from collecting enough vitamin D from the food we eat or our medicine.
People who lose weight through surgery go through a sudden change in their body mass; therefore, they may not be able to produce their usual dose of vitamin D. People who suffer from obesity are usually diagnosed with a lack of active Vit D.
Abnormal situations can make fat cells lock up every Vitamin D compound that goes into the storage house. It will be best if patients with this condition take extra supplements for their safety.
Liver diseases can lead to a reduction of the enzymes used to process vitamins from fat. Making the stored vitamins remain unfunctional.
It is not easy to accurately point out how much D3 Vitamins an average person needs constantly. Health experts have recently advised consuming more Vit D supplements.
We can naturally take up to 25 micrograms (1000 IU) every day, but to stay safe, we are advised not to take over 100 micrograms (4000 IU) of Vitamin D3 every day. (1)
Healthy people can live on 25 micrograms per day. To be on the safe side, it’s imperative that you take the standard amount per day.
How can we get more Vitamin D?
Only a handful of natural foods produce Vitamin D. We can find them in most fishes like Sardines, Mackerel, and Salmon. We can also find it in egg-yolks. Fungi and some edible mushrooms also produce Vitamin D2 compounds naturally.
Vitamin D3 needs fat to be absorbed by the body. Our body triggers this feature when we have more vitamins than we need in our bodies. Extra D3 compounds are dissolved as fat under the skin and are stored for future use when there could be a real need for it!
Health dangers for insufficient Vitamin D
Vit D helps prevent and most likely cure disorders like heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Lack of it is associated with certain forms of cancer; Prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer.
Vit D Deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency symptoms are not conclusive since the signs and symptoms are sometimes mistaken for many other disorders. Extreme cases cause problems for children and adults. During the early stages, where the absence of the Vitamin is less destructive to the health, signs begin to show, with time, as children experience growing abnormalities.
People who lack Vit D report having muscle pain, bone pains, and frequent joint issues.
Recovering Vit D
Adults who suffer from a deficiency of vitamin D are required to take in about 50,000 IU of Vitamin D3 every week for about two (2) months. They can also take in 6,000 IU of vitamin D every day.
Studies show that people who take extra Vit D supplements during their largest meal of the day end up recovering faster. So, do yourself a favor and take a Vit D supplement or a stroll in the morning. (2)
This year, it is necessary to take more Vit D than ever before as you have been indoors for possibly the longest period ever.
Experts still do not know which exact amount of medicine to take, but they’ve all concluded that taking over 100micrograms is unhealthy for the body. It can soften your bones and leave them weak and frail.
Improved nutrition has always contributed to much better health. A key has been the discovery of our vitamin and mineral needs. A balanced diet With sufficient vitamins B, C, and D can help you avoid diseases such as beriberi, rickets, pellagra, and scurvy. Also, as doctors have become more engaged with nutritional research, many reports have surfaced about other illnesses that seem to respond to high amounts of specific vitamins and minerals given under medical supervision. (3)
See also: Health Benefits of Vit D.
