August 25, 2023

4 Medical conditions that vitamin D can help remedy

Studies show that Vitamin D is a nutrient that your body requires for the formation and maintenance of healthy bones. This is due to the fact that your body can only absorb calcium, the fundamental component of bone, if vitamin D is present.

Many other biological functions in your body are also regulated by vitamin D. Its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuro-protective characteristics help to maintain immunological function, muscular function and brain cell functioning.

Although vitamin D is not naturally present in many foods, it can be obtained through fortified milk, fortified cereal, and fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines.

When direct sunlight changes a molecule in your epidermis into an active version of the vitamin (calciferol), your body produces vitamin D.

The Mayo Clinic found that a number of variables, including the time of day, season, latitude, and your skin colour, affect how much vitamin D your skin produces.

Depending on where you live and how you live, vitamin D production may decline or cease entirely during the winter months.

While sunscreen is helpful for preventing skin cancer, it can also reduce vitamin D production. Many elderly people do not get enough sunlight and have difficulty absorbing vitamin D.

If your doctor feels you aren't getting enough vitamin D, a simple blood test can determine your vitamin D levels.

Taking a multivitamin containing vitamin D may benefit bone health. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association's Regulation of Dietary Supplements states that the recommended daily dose of vitamin D for children under the age of 12 months is 400 international units (IU), 600 IU for persons aged 1 to 70 years and 800 IU for people over 70 years.

It is important to point out that vitamin D-3 (the natural form of vitamin D) is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicine, which is a list of pharmaceuticals required for a health system to be safe and effective.

However, new research reveals that the sunshine vitamin may also be useful in preventing a variety of other diseases. Here are three examples:

Depression

Because sunshine generates vitamin D and many people experience depression during the low-light winter months, it stands to reason that there is a link between vitamin D and depression.

According to Healthline's data, a 2008 study indicated that increasing vitamin D supplements dramatically reduced depression symptoms in overweight and obese persons.