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Vitamin D

Vitamin D plays an important part in maintaining the correct level of phosphorus and calcium in the blood. What is the “skinny” on vitamin D?

Vitamin D

In order for vitamin D to be utilized by your body, vitamin D, which enters your body through food or through exposure to the ultra violet rays in sunshine, must be metabolized by the kidneys and the liver. Vitamin D then becomes a type of hormone, 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D, or active vitamin D.

Functions of Vitamin D

As mentioned previously, Vitamin D’s job is to keep normal levels of phosphorus and calcium in the bloodstream. In addition, Vitamin D helps calcium to be absorbed into your body to build and keep strong bones. Vitamin D is thought to help support the immune system as well as aid in cell differentiation. Vitamin D might be able to help prevent high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, tooth loss, and prostrate cancer, although more testing is needed for confirmation.

Vitamin D Deficiencies

Vitamin D deficiencies can lead to osteomalacia, or soft bones, in adults and rickets, or the inability of bones to mineralize, in children.

Vitamin D Treatments

There is also good to strong scientific evidence that vitamin D can be used to treat:

• Familial hypophosphatemia, or an inherited disorder where the kidneys cannot metabolize enough vitamin D
• Psoriasis
• Osteoporosis

Vitamin D Sources

Sunlight provides most people their vitamin D requirements. However, if you live in an area where sunlight is limited during certain times of the year, it is important to get your vitamin D from other sources.

Foods that contain vitamin D include:

• Vitamin D fortified milk
• Vitamin D fortified cereals
• Cooked salmon
• Eggs, in the yolks specifically
• Cod liver oil
• Sardines

Who Needs Vitamin D Supplements?

If you are living in an area where you cannot at ten to fifteen minutes of sunlight without sunscreen at least two times per week, you will probably want to make sure that you eat foods that have vitamin D naturally or are fortified with D. Talk to your physician about whether you should take vitamin D supplements.

Physicians sometimes suggest infants who are only breastfed take vitamin D supplements, as many keep their babies out of direct sunlight or use sunscreens when their children are very young. Most formulas are fortified with vitamin D.

As people age, their skin starts to loose the ability to absorb vitamin D as effectively as when they were under 50 years old. In addition, sometimes the kidneys cannot perform their vitamin D conversion duties as well as in the past.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, so those who have trouble absorbing fat may require supplements. Conditions that affect fat absorption include:

• Crohn’s Disease
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Liver disease

If you suspect that you need to take vitamin D supplements, contact your physician right away for more information.

Vitamin D Toxicity

It is difficult for people to overdose on vitamin D taken from foods, with the exception of consuming too much cod liver oil, or from the sun. Supplements are usually the culprit. Symptoms of having too much vitamin D in your system include:

• Confusion
• Weight loss
• Nausea
• Abnormal heart rhythms

If you think that you are taking too much vitamin D, consult your doctor immediately.

~Laura Evans Staff Editor

Laura Evans is a freelance writer living in Southern California.

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