D Vitamin
Importance Of D Vitamin And The Major Sources Of
D Vitamin
The D vitamin is probably the only vitamin that we cannot
obtain from the food we consume. Instead, the D vitamin is
actually obtained by the most basic element in our daily life,
which is sunlight on the skin.
There has been a lot of media coverage about the risks and
dangers of exposing too much to the sun, but it is very important
that our skin is exposed to the sufficient sunlight to obtain
the recommended daily dosage of the D vitamin. In fact, we
only need to obtain very little amount of D vitamin, a few
minutes under the sun is not going to kill us.
The most significant function of the D vitamin is to help
control the amount of calcium is absorbed from food. The main
function of the calcium is to build strong teeth and bones.
The D Vitamin is also required to send messages along the
nerves and to help the heart muscles, to contract.
The D vitamin will ensure that there is always adequate calcium
in the blood to perform these tasks. There are some other
functions in our body that require the D vitamin relate to
the immune system. It is strongly believed that it is also
a contributing factor to reduce the risk of contracting cancer,
especially the colon cancer.
The type of the D vitamin which is formed under the skin
is called vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol. This D vitamin is
produced when the ultraviolet in the sunlight reacts with
a type of cholesterol found under the skin naturally. The
D3 is then converted into a more active form of the D vitamin
in the liver and is then diverted to where it is wanted the
most. Some of the D vitamin is kept in the liver and kidneys
to help reabsorb the calcium from the blood. Then, the remaining
D vitamin is dispersed to the bones to help them retain their
calcium and the intestines to help absorption of calcium from
food.
Although D vitamin is formed through the exposure of the
skin to sunlight, there are also foods that do contain some
of the vitamin naturally as well. This form of the D vitamin
is known as vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol. This is the type
of D vitamin that is used to create the majority of D vitamin
supplements.
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