Why do We Need Vitamin D for Health
We know vitamins are essential for body health. In that regard, Vitamin D is a special kind of vitamin that is crucial for health. It is essential to have enough vitamin D in our body as it plays a major role in helping the body for absorbing calcium. This calcium absorption is essential to promote good bone health. On the other hand, vitamin D is essential for other important body functions like immune system regulation, mental health, blood sugar maintenance, memory, and overall metabolism. The need of Vitamin D for health is crucial.
It is clear that vitamin D contributes to various functions. On the contrary, very little vitamin D would result in problems like fragile bones, rickets, or osteomalacia. Vitamin D deficiency also leads to heart diseases, depression, weight gain, prostate cancer, and other maladies. People with dark skin and those having very limited sun exposure are prone to vitamin D deficiency. Also older adults and obese people can also get vitamin D deficiency.
Benefits of Vitamin D
- Vitamin D has primarily benefits Bone health, Immune system, cardiovascular health, Cholesterol management, and Blood sugar regulation.
- Vitamin D fights diseases by boosting the immune system. With enough vitamin D supplements, you develop less disease.
- Vitamin D fights depression and regulates your mood swings. Apart from that, it also supports healthy mood and sleep patterns regulation.
- Vitamin D boosts weight loss and prevents heart diseases. Having enough calcium and vitamin D will help you lose weight more easily. They have an appetite suppressing effect, which aids in weight loss.
How do we get Vitamin D?
Sun is the primary source of Vitamin D. just a 10 minutes of daily walk in midday sun can help your body produce enough Vitamin D. when you shun sun, you can setting yourself up for lots of issues. It is essential to balance the levels of getting sun exposure for Vitamin D needs. However, make sure to avoid overexposure to sunlight, as it might cause skin problems.
There are also few Vitamin D3 supplements, which would help in case of lack of sun exposure. There are also some food sources that contain vitamin D such as egg yolks, sardines, cod liver oil and shrimp; but they have vitamin D in very mild quantities. Also you can try fortified milk, fortified cereals, fortified yoghurt, and fortified orange juice.
A Word for Care
The crucial need of vitamin D for health is inevitable. Vitamin D deficiency can be mainly due to lifestyle changes and environmental factors. Pollution, sunscreen use, dark skins, avoiding sunlight or blocking it can be the reasons for your body’s deficiency of vitamin D.