This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding Vitamin D. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about the exciting research that is currently being published about Vitamin D.
Knowing the latest research can give you a real advantage. Putting it into effect will ensure that you reap the health benefits.
Vitamin D is a major vitamin in being required by the body and is utilised daily in supporting its health. It is a member of the fat-soluble group of vitamins. This means that it can be dissolved and stored by our body’s fat deposits. It is unique in the fact that the body can produce it with adequate exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D may also be obtained from food. The form of this vitamin that comes from plants is called ergocalciferol (also referred to as Vitamin D2). From animals, it is called cholecalciferol or Vitamin D3. Vitamin D has many benefits for the body. They include:
Calcium absorption - Without Vitamin D it would be very difficult for the body to build strong, healthy bones. In the digestive system, Vitamin D helps the body absorb dietary calcium for food, and it is this mineral that promotes that hardness of bones. With Vitamin D, wherever the calcium we take into our body comes from, it makes sure it is utilized properly. Vitamin D also benefits the teeth and gums.
Disease prevention - Since Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium necessary to proper bone growth, it helps prevent the bone-deficiency disease called rickets in children. Vitamin D also helps prevent osteoporosis, a debilitating bone disease characterized by the decrease in bone density.
Vitamin D has been shown by research to be very beneficial to the health of the muscles. A 2003 study, published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, reported that patients who suffered from chronic musculoskeletal pain had a marked Vitamin D deficiency.
There is also some potential benefits which show Vitamin D’s capability to help prevent diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and evenType 1 diabetes. The results in studies published in papers in 2004 are limited at best, but researchers believe the Vitamin might hold some promise. Vitamin D boosts the immune system and prevents inflammation - which probably explains its role against arthritis.
Vitamin D’s benefits against cancer - The latest research promises that Vitamin D may be beneficial against certain cancers, such as prostate, colon and breast cancer. Tests conducted by researchers on the subject over a long period of time showed that the lower the Vitamin D levels are, the more probable the risk of cancer.
The vitamin’s most active form is capable of producing important responses in the body. One of these is the regulation of how cells grow. When uncontrolled, both these processes result in various cancers. Again, the evidence is still in the early stages and more studies will have to be conducted.
You’ll find extra Vitamin D in foods like salmon, sardines and mackerel. It’s also found in cod liver oil and fortified foods like milk and cereals.
Soon you will come to realise that something you have read here will have a beneficial impact on your health. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about Vitamin D. Hopefully you will get enough Vitamin D through your diet, but I consider it so important in my own diet, that I supplement more with Solgar Vitamin D. Solgar is the brand I take personally.