Vitamin D
Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin but a pro-hormone. Vitamins are nutrients that cannot be created by the body and so must be taken by diet. Vitamin D can be synthesized by our bodies with sunlight exposure. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium in the intestines and to prevent excretion of calcium through the kidneys. In older adult men and women, vitamin D deficiency manifests as osteoporosis. Vitamin D is very importing for the regulation of cell-to-cell communication. Calcitrol (active form of vitamin D) has been associated in some medical studies with a reduction in cancer progression. Vitamin D deficiency can occur due to sunscreens with a SPF of greater that 30 as they reduce the skin’s ability to absorb the UVB rays needed from the sun to produce Vitamin D.
Symptoms of Vitamin Deficiency include:
- Getting more frequent illnesses
- Fatigue
- Painful bones
- Back pain
- Depressed mood
- Poor wound healing
- Hair loss
- Muscle pain
Vitamin D deficiency over prolonged periods of time can contribute to the development of:
- Obesity
- Diabetes*hypertension
- Depression
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Osteoporosis
- Neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's dementia)
Benefits of Vitamin D include:
- Support healthy immune system to prevent colds and other illnesses
- Support healthy brain and nervous system
- Regulate insulin levels
- Influence the expression of genes involved in development of cancer