What is Vitamin D and what are the Benefits?

Vitamin D is a steroid vitamin that encourages the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous. If you are exposed to normal levels of sunlight then you will not need vitamin D Supplements as sunlight promoted vitamin D synthesis in the skin. A human requires 10 to 15 minutes in the sun at least twice a week on the face, back, hands or arms without sunscreen with a greater than 3 UV index to get adequate amounts of vitamin D. Vitamin D has a number of important functions. One of them being it helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These are the nutrients that are needed to keep teeth and bones healthy. When a person is suffering from a vitamin D deficiency it can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults which causes bone pain and tenderness. Our main source of vitamin D is the sunlight on our skin. Vitamin D is made by our body under the skin in reaction to summer sunlight. Good food sources for vitamin D are: •oily fish, such as salmon and sardines •eggs •fortified fat spreads •fortified breakfast cereals •powdered milk We need vitamin D for a number of reasons. It is an immune system regulator and is an important way to arm the immune system against ailments like the common cold. It may also reduce the risks of developing multiple sclerosis and according to Dennis Bourdette, the chairman of the Department of Neurology and director of Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Centre at Oregon Health and Science University, multiple sclerosis is much less common the nearer you get to the tropics where there is a lot more sunlight. Vitamin D may also play a role in helping the brain to keep working later on in life and could also be linked to maintaining a healthy body weight. Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that vitamin D can help to reduce the severity and frequency of asthma symptoms and also reduce the number of hospitalisations due to asthma. Other benefits of vitamin D are the reduction in the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women, protection against damage from low levels of radiation, lower risks of developing cancer and it can also help with the recovery process from tuberculosis. If you find that your body is not producing enough vitamin D because you do not have sufficient sunlight exposure you will need to take supplements or change your diet so you can obtain if from food. Elderly people as well as people with darker skin should take extra vitamin D to maintain good health.