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The Sunshine Vitamin

 

 

Vitamin D, also known as the Sunshine Vitamin is vitally important for maintaining healthy bones and teeth; it may also play a part in protecting you against cancer, type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.

 

Vitamin D is produced by the body as a response to exposure to sun; it can also be consumed in the form of supplement and diet.

Our bodies are not capable of creating vitamins, and therefore have to be taken through food. The case of Vitamin D however is different, because it is not really considered a Vitamin but pro-hormone. It can be synthesised by the body when sunlight hits it.

Sensible sun exposure on skin for around 10 minutes 2-3 times a week allows most people to produce enough Vitamin D. But this vitamin is lost quickly, depleting its reserves rapidly especially in winter.

Benefits and sources of Vitamin D

Lets look at how Vitamin D can help us stay healthy and how to get it.

 

Healthy Bones

We need Vitamin D to regulate calcium and phosphorus levels in blood, two nutrients important to maintain healthy bones. Without Vitamin D, calcium is not absorbed by intestines and is excreted through kidneys.

Children deficient in Vitamin D can develop Rickets, a disease characterised by bow-legged appearance.

This deficiency also contributes to Osteoporosis – a bone disease most common among post-menopausal women; and muscle weakness.

Healthy Children

Low levels of Vitamin D have a link to severity and higher risk of allergic and atopic childhood, like dermatitis, asthma and eczema.

Healthy Pregnancy

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and needing Caesarean sections.

It is also important to note that high levels of Vitamin D during pregnancy are known to be a factor in an increased risk of food allergy in the child during first two years of life.

Reduced risk of Cancer and Diabetes

Some studies have suggested that calcitriol (the hormonally active form of Vitamin D) can reduce the progress of cancer, by slowing the growth and development of new blood vessels in cancerous tissue, increasing cancer cell death, and reducing cell proliferation and metastasis.

Studies find association of Vitamin D deficiency with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma severity, and swine flu.

Vitamin D deficiency in Asian Population

Doctors in the UK have found Asian populations especially women to be significantly more deficient in Vitamin D. The reason lies in the darker skin colour reducing the ability to absorb ultraviolet radiation B (UVB) rays from the sun needed to produce Vitamin D.

Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms

  • More prone to illness and infection
  • Fatigue
  • Backache
  • Depression
  • Hair Loss
  • Muscle Pain
  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Hypertension
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Current recommended Vitamin D dosage

0-12 months  400IU

1-18 years      600IU

<70 years       600IU

>70 years        800IU

Pregnant or Lactating Women   600IU

 

 

Food Sources Of Vitamin D

 

The food source richest in Vitamin D is oily fish like salmon, herring, tuna, sardines, swordfish, and fish oil. Milk and eggs also have abundance of Vitamin D.

 

Health risks associated with over consumption of Vitamin D

A balanced diet, rather than focusing on one element, is key to disease prevention and healthy living.

Consuming more Vitamin D above recommended daily allowance can lead to over calcification of bones and hardening of blood vessels, kidneys, lungs, and heart.

Common symptoms of hypervitaminosis D are headache, nausea, loss of appetite, dry mouth, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhoea.

It is best to get required Vitamin D from natural sources, rather than supplements.


By Saima Ismail