What is Vitamin D Good For?

Vitamin D and Additive Awareness

At Dure, vitamin D as an essential ingredient that helps foster good health through our lifestyle products and supplements.

As food preferences change across the globe, many consumers are much more aware of what is in their food. Most prefer a well-balanced diet that consists of a range of different vitamins and nutritional benefits, but with so many vitamins, it can be hard to keep track of the benefits of each one.

In this article, we’ll take a more in-depth look at vitamin D and what it can do to improve your health. We’ll also examine the effects of having low Vitamin D.

What is Vitamin D and What Does It Do?

Vitamin D is considered a fat-soluble ‘secosteroid.’ There are five different forms of vitamin D, though they have very similar purposes. These are referred to as vitamin D1 through vitamin D5.

Vitamin D is consumable through supplements and certain types of food. It is also produced in your skin via sun exposure. While most humans receive some vitamin D through everyday sun exposure, increasing your exposure in an attempt to produce more vitamin D is not recommended. Excessive sun exposure, particularly without sunscreen, can increase your chance of skin cancer.

What are the Benefits of Vitamin D?

The benefits of vitamin D supplementation are still unclear. There are many claims that vitamin D benefits human bone health and can potentially reduce the risk of cancer. At the same time, some studies show this to be inconclusive.

There is evidence that higher rates of vitamin D can help prevent mortality in older patients. Problems do arise when you are deficient in vitamin D – it can cause bone problems and a variety of other issues. Many older individuals have issues related to drops in vitamin D levels.

What Foods Are High in Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is found naturally in a variety of different foods. Some foods that are high in vitamin D include fatty fishes (such as salmon or tuna), dairy products, soy milk, cheese, egg yolks, and orange juice.

People also take vitamin D supplements via different pills and tablets, though this isn’t necessary if you have a diet that promotes vitamin D intake.

What Does It Mean to Have Low Vitamin D?

Low Vitamin D simply means you have a vitamin D deficiency. This occurs when you have low levels of vitamin D in your blood.

What are the Side Effects of Low Vitamin D?

There are many side effects associated with low vitamin D levels. Most of these side effects are related to bone strength and health. Reduced bone density is common in individuals with prolonged vitamin D deficiencies.

The reason vitamin D helps bone health is that it improves the metabolism of calcium within your body. For this reason, vitamin D is also used to help prevent Rickets and other bone diseases.

Also, in elderly individuals, low vitamin D can result in increased chances of mortality via injuries from slips and falls.

Summing it up…

In those with regular sun exposure and a healthy diet, vitamin deficiencies are uncommon.

None the less, deficiencies can lead to reduced bone health, and there is some research that it may also result in other adverse effects such as depression.