Introduction And Background
Vitamins are essential for the body. They are vital in some details for growth and general good health. Vitamin D also happens to be one of those vitamins without which the body will be severely affected. However, vitamin D deficiency is becoming quite common in today’s time despite the fact that the human skin is the manufacturer of this particular nutrient.
How Does The Skin Produce Vitamin D?
The phenomenon of vitamin D production is not that difficult to understand. To produce vitamin D, the skin needs to be exposed to the sun. The skin already contains a cholesterol substance called provitamin D3 that chemically reacts with the UV rays present in the sunlight to make Vitamin D3. The specific vitamin then travels throughout the body, foremost through the liver, to different parts of the body. An interesting fact though; the vitamin D disintegrates at times with excessive exposure to sunlight.
Importance Of Vitamin D
This is probably the most important vitamin present in the body since it deals directly with growth, bones, teeth and a healthy body. It has many other uses too, listed below:
• It activates the use of calcium and phosphorous in the body, both important elements for growth and development.
• It regulates the immune system.
• It is utilized in preservation of the bones of the body and the teeth too.
• Good vitamin D levels in the body have proven to reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
• Vitamin D deficiency may lead to heart problems and even early death.
• It helps to absorb other nutrients present in the system.
What Can Happen With Vitamin D Deficiency?
Many people do not realize how important Vitamin D is for the human body. Since their skin already develops it when exposed to sunlight, they take it for granted that a lot of it is present in the body. Nonetheless, times have changed considerably. With the entire world staying indoors to work and even young children being prone to playing games on their computer or gaming consoles, nobody really realizes that their skin does not get any exposure to sunlight or that the only sun they see during the twenty four hours tenure is in the car. Vitamin D Deficiency can cause a lot of problems, later in life as well as in the current tenure. There was a sixteen year old boy whose collar bones broke because he lightly bumped into something. It was later figured out that the level of Vitamin D in his body was insufficiently low; so low that his bones had softened considerably and broke at the slightest touch!
What If You Live In A Cloudy Area?
At times, one cannot be blamed for the low level of vitamin D. Their deficiency is not due to negligence of health but because of the area they live in. There are many cities around the world that do not get to see the sun for months at a stretch. The people in these areas need to be more aware of this and find ways to elevate the levels of Vitamin D such as:
• Eating foods that contain Vitamin D like cod liver and fish. Vitamin D is also found in some fruits.
• Vitamin D supplements are readily available in almost every medical store and even some markets. Adults should consult a doctor and find out the daily dose for themselves as well as their children.
• Even in cloudy areas, the sun does come out. Make sure to get as much exposure as possible since nothing can match the Vitamin D produced by the skin itself.
Vitamin D’s production by the skin is truly a blessing. It is constantly being needed by our body for various functions. Imagine if the skin did not produce it and we had to fulfill the vitamin D requirements of our body by eating tablets all the time or finding out foods that contain it. Vitamin’s D importance has already been clearly outlined above and for all those who have read this article, one thing everyone must have realized; it is time to give yourself a break and do a little sunbathing. You’ll get free vitamins.