Most of you have probably heard of vitamin D, right? I hope you have because this vitamin is very important for your health, and what’s even better; you are likely to be deficient yourself.
For the people who don’t know what vitamin D is: Vitamin D is a fatty, hormone-like vitamin that is essential for bone health and, as it seems, cardiocascular health. But the funny thing about this vitamin is that you only get it in small amounts through your food. Food sources of vitamin D are fatty fish, such as salmon, and milk – although milk contains vitamin D in really small amounts.
So how do you get your daily dose of vitamin D without having to eat fish every day? Normally, the answer would be: through the sun. When ultraviolet rays from the sun penetrate your skin, a certain substance (7-dehydrocholesterol) is converted into previtamin D3, which in turn is converted into vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which is then converted into 25-dihydroxy vitamin D in the liver and that substance is in turn converted into active 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D or simply “vitamin D” in the kidneys.
Sounds pretty complicated huh?
Yet the only thing you really have to get out of this, is that under “normal” circumstances, you get your vitamin D through 10-30 minutes of daily sun-exposure of your face and hands, without sun-screen. And: the darker your skin-color, the more sun-exposure you would need for your body to create vitamin D.
But as you may have guessed, there are a lot of people who don’t get as much sun-exposure as they would need for their bodies to naturally create vitamin D. Especially people who spend a lot of time indoors, people with dark skin and people who live in northern climates where it’s clouded are at risk of a vitamin D deficiency.
At the same time a shortage of vitamin D puts you at risk of osteoporosis and heart-disease.
Although we all need vitamin D, there is one group of people for whom vitamin D is absolutely necessary for future health: children. Children who don’t get enough vitamin D when growing up are at risk of developing bone diseases such as rickets, which can result in severe bone deformities.
And this study shows that “7 out of 10 children in the US” are vitamin D deficient!
As the UV rays from the sun can cause sun-burn in light-skinned individuals and pose the health risk of skin-cancer, a good alternative for sun-light is a vitamin D supplement. So now The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants, children and teens should get 400 IU vitamin D in supplement form.
So people Pleease get yourself (and your children) a vitamin D supplement TODAY! This is not a joke!
When buying a vitamin D supplement, it should state “vitamin D3” in the ingredient list on the bottle, as vitamin D3 is metabolized more efficiently into active vitamin D than its counterpart vitamin D2.
As for adults, about the same amount is generally recommended, although certain conditions can require a higher amount. When in doubt, ask your physician.
I know that you are wiser after reading this article, and I wish you the best of health.
Chalix
P.S.: If you liked this article or have a question, let me know in the comment section below!
