The importance and benefits of vitamin D

The sun has gotten a bad rap lately. We blame a higher rate of skin cancer because of a depleted ozone layer. We are encouraged to stay away from the sun and protect ourselves when exposed to harmful UV rays. All this is good advice, except that sunlight can also have positive effects on our health. Exposure to the sun on our skin allows us to produce vitamin D.

Vitamin D is in fact the only vitamin that humans are able to produce their own, rather than having to eat. Technically, that is not a vitamin at all, but it is extremely important for healthy bones. It allows us to absorb calcium and use it to grow and strengthen bones throughout life.

Why is it so vital, food manufacturers have supplemented the basic foods like milk with supplemental vitamin D for those of us who do not spend enough time in the sun to make sufficient quantities. That's actually quite a few 'of us. People who live in places far from the equator suffer from a lack of sunlight during the winter months.

This makes it difficult for a large number of people to get the recommended 200 to 600 international units per day. Most Europeans and many Americans are among those who need to supplement their intake of vitamin D, especially during the winter.

The importance of vitamin D

So now we know that keeping up our levels of vitamin D is essential for the health of our bones. But that is only just emerging is the possibility that vitamin D is important in many other areas of our body. Medical research has recently revealed some startling new theories about the effects of this important vitamin.

As we age, we tend to lose some 'of our muscle strength. It was found that this trend goes hand in hand with reduced levels of vitamin D in their blood. Taking a supplement, studies have shown that elderly people could increase their muscle strength. Thus, to make sure that you get enough of it can keep your muscles healthy as long as the bones together.

Even more benefits

Another surprising finding is that our immune system needs vitamin D. The researchers noted that people living near the equator, where they are exposed to more sunlight and therefore produce more vitamin D, rarely develop autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Animal studies showed improvements for diseases including multiple sclerosis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease and even diabetes type 1, giving the animal a 25-D, the active form of vitamin D. Although this may seem promising, the problem is that high doses of the vitamin can cause other health problems, including kidney stones and heart disease. But researchers are developing drugs that mimic the effects of a 25-D, hopefully without any of the toxic side effects.

It 's difficult in this day and age to sort through all the information and understand what is good for us and what is bad for us. If going out in the sunlight, the answer is that it is so good and bad. We want all the muscles and bones strong and healthy immune system, but without the potential harmful effects from the sun.

So even if our bodies can produce vitamin D on their own, may just be safer to do it from another source....