Vitamin D a fat-soluble vitamin naturally present in some foods, and comes available as a dietary supplement. It promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations. This enables normal mineralization and prevents hypocalcemictetany.
Vitamin D and calcium help keep bones, teeth, and muscles healthy. They also assist with bone growth and bone remodelling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts.
Ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight makes one of the major providers of the D vitamin. When the sunlight touches the bare skin without sunscreen tapped on it, a vitamin D synthesis takes place by penetrating the epidermal layer of the skin which contains 7-dehydrocholesterol.
Aside from UV rays from sunlight, fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, and fish liver oils contains rich vitamin D nutrients and omega-3 fatty acids which is good for the heart. Egg yolk also provides a good dose of vitamin D but make sure to take easy on it as one egg carries bad cholesterol your body can’t handle if consumed in large amounts.
Due to the global warming causing the rise of average global surface temperature caused primarily by the build-up of human-produced greenhouse gases which trap heat in the lower levels of atmosphere, most of the people avoid getting exposed to sunlight, missing a good shot of vitamin D. But scientifically speaking, unprotected exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun damages the eyes and causes heat exhaustion, heat strokes, sunburn, heat rash, and in severe instances, skin cancer. Who would dare to enjoy lurking under the sun and feel its heat on the skin without protection?
Risk Factors Of Vitamin D Deficiency
Because only sunlight gives off natural vitamin D and only very few foods carry this nutrient, many people suffered from vitamin D deficiency. This type of nutrient deficiency may come as a downside of different common risk factors. They include:
- Having a dark skin
- Old age
- Having too much weight
- Not including enough fish or milk in daily diet
- Location
- Often use of sunscreen
- Going out very seldom
People who live in tropical countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Hawaii, and Mexico receive frequent sun exposure giving them enough vitamin D supply. The symptoms make it hard to know whether you are vitamin D deficient or not. Negative effects may already exist but they can be hardly noticed. Read on to learn more about the symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency.
