Vitamin D - Benefits, Deficiency Symptoms And Food Sources

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. It plays an important role in the human body for the absorption of calcium, which is essential for the normal development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones. It is found in food, but also can be made in your body after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Vitamin D3 increases calcium absorption by as much as 30 to 80 percent.

Functions and Benefits of Vitamin D

One of its most important functions of this vitamin is the regulation of calcium absorption and metabolism. Without sufficient Vitamin D, even if there is sufficient dietary calcium available, it will not be properly absorbed and metabolized. Beyond calcium metabolism, Vitamin D is now being recognized as critical to a number of other body systems.

There are a number of ways Vitamin D works once it enters the body, and a number of ways it helps regulate bodily functions and assists in nutrient absorption. The body cannot absorb calcium from food or supplements without an adequate intake of vitamin D. Vitamin D's immunomodulatory abilities may also play a role in its anti-cancer activity. Vitamin D increases the potency of cytokines and enhances the phagocyte activity and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity of macrophages and that it boosts natural killer cell activity and helps regulate T cells, among other things.

Other uses for vitamin D include reducing the symptoms of some forms of arthritis and maybe even helping to reduce the risk for insulin-dependent diabetes in young children.

Recommended Dosage for Vitamin D

For vitamin D for adults are the same in males and females, but increase with age.

• Ages 19-50: 200 International Units (IU).
• Ages 51-69: 400 IU.
• Age 70 and Older: 600 IU.

Food Sources of Vitamin D

Food sources that are high in Vitamin D include:

• Butter and margarine.
• Cheese.
• Egg yolk.
• Fish liver oils.
• Fortified cereals and bread.
• Fortified milk.
• Herring.
• Mackerel.
• Oysters.
• Salmon.

Deficiency Symptoms of Vitamin D

Mostly it has found that the prevalence of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis increases as latitude increases, suggesting that lower exposure to sun light and associated decreases in vitamin D synthesis may play a role in the development of these diseases. Vitamin-D deficiency rickets, a disorder that becomes apparent during infancy or childhood, is the result of insufficient amounts of vitamin D in the body. Many Arab women cover the entire body with black cloth, and wear a veil and black gloves when they go outside. These women may acquire vitamin D deficiency, even though they live in a sunny climate.