Vitamin D Foods

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D Foods - One of the most important natural and man made supplements that we use is the fat-soluble vitamin D. This vitamin is responsible for helping people maintain their body’s level of calcium that is in the bloodstream. Because this vitamin is fat soluble it means that it is capable of being stored in the body.

Why Vitamin D Is Important To Your Health?

Vitamin D is able to control the amount of calcium to a large degree by helping our body absorb the calcium from foods that we eat. This Vitamin also keeps up from losing too much important calcium by working with the kidneys to lower the amount of calcium that is excreted in the urine. When the body has enough calcium to meet its needs our bones’ own supply of calcium remains intact and this keeps our skeletal structure strong. To have strong bones, teeth and organs, Vitamin D is very necessary. This is one of the reason’s that you will hear people tell small children to drink milk so they will grow big and strong.

Vitamin D actually has a number of known functions in our bodies. It helps keep the heart rate regular and it is very useful when treating people who are going through detox from alcohol and drugs. Research has been done which is leading to strong support that Vitamin D supplements can reduce the occurrence of colon and breast cancers. Lack of adequate Vitamin D will lead to osteoporosis, or brittle and weak bones. This vitamin has even been used to help in the treatment of cystic fibrosis, Parkinson’s disease and Crohn’s disease.

Another action of Vitamin D has been noted in how it functions with the body’s own immune system. It is now known that this vitamin can help the body differentiate between certain cells. This ability to differentiate is necessary to help the body and the immune system fend off invading or dangerous cells. It is also believed that larger levels of this vitamin may protect people against a number of autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D may even prove to be very helpful in the prevention or treatment of diabetes.

People usually get plenty of Vitamin D from the sunshine when they go outside for several hours a day. The exposure to the sun does not have to be all at once in a 24 hour period. If you use sunscreen or have your body covered when you go outside you do not receive this benefit. The Vitamin D is synthesized by the body in response to the absorption or the rays of the sun on the skin. The recommended daily intake of Vitamin D is only 200 IU daily but many people take 600 -1000 IU daily without problem. It is often difficult to get very high amounts of Vitamin D just from our regular daily diet and sunshine, so people turn to supplements to increase the level of this vitamin in their body.

There are experts who will say that up to 10,000 IU is possible to be taken on a daily basis with no concern. People with certain health conditions, like renal disease or parathyroidism, should not be taking extra calcium. Too much extra vitamin D, however, is not healthy and can lead to renal problems, kidney stones, constipation, heart dysrhytmias and headaches. Older people who are at risk for bone fractures and osteoporosis are usually told to take about 1000 IU daily. Some doctors even encourage supplementation for people who do not get adequate amounts of sun exposure. These people will often take 1000-1200 IU daily.

Natural Vitamin D Foods

A great source of natural vitamin D foods is dairy products. You get 100 IU daily in a glass of milk and even cheeses and yogurts will contribute to your Vitamin D intake. Traces of vitamin D are found in egg yolks, butter and some bread products. One of the best sources for Vitamin D is cod liver oil and other fatty/oily fish. The above foods are some of the most common sources of natural vitamin D foods.

Much more than Vitamin D Foods is discussed back at the Natural Source Vitamins Homepage