The main source of production of
vitamin is through sun exposure,
since the ultraviolet rays of type
B (UVB) are able
to activate the synthesis of the substance.
Some foods, especially fatty fish, are sources of vitamin D,
but the sun is
responsible for 80-90% of the vitamin that the body receives. It can also be produced in the laboratory and be administered as a supplement, when there is a deficiency and for the prevention and treatment of a
number of diseases.
Vitamin D is necessary for the maintenance of bone tissue, it also greatly influences
the immune system, is interesting
for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, and cellular differentiation process, the absence of this nutrient favors 17 cancers.
This substance also acts in hormone secretion and
several chronic diseases, including metabolic syndrome, which has as one of the components the type 2 diabetes.
Consumption of vitamin D
is essential for pregnant women,
because the lack of it can lead to
miscarriages in the first quarter.
At the end of pregnancy, lack of nutrient favors
preeclampsia and increases the chances
of the child being autistic.
Vitamin D has been called this way in 1922, because
at that time it was believed that it could only be obtained through the diet. She
was named D for
being the fourth substance
discovered after the vitamins
A, B and C.
From the 1970s researchers found that vitamin D could be
synthesized by the body, that is,
in reality it is
a hormone, not a vitamin.
Proven benefits of vitamin D
Strengthens the bones: vitamin D is required
for absorption of calcium by the
bones. People with vitamin
D deficiency come to enjoy less than 30%
from dietary calcium.
Calcium is responsible for strengthening
bones and teeth. Deficiency of this nutrient can cause rickets in children and osteoporosis in later life. An example of the importance of combining these two substances is that whenever calcium supplementation
recommendation is indicated it is made along with vitamin D to work in the absorption
of the mineral.
A survey by the University of Zurich
with 40,000 people
over 65 years noted that vitamin D supplementation
reduces to 20%
the risk of hip fractures and other regions with the exception of the spine.
Protects the heart: vitamin D participates
in the control of contractions
of the heart muscle, needed to pump blood through the body. Moreover, it allows the
relaxation of blood vessels and
influences the production of the main hormone regulating blood pressure, renin.
The lack of vitamin D can lead to calcium accumulation in the artery, favoring the
risk of plaque formation. With
all these issues, the chances of
developing cardiovascular diseases
such as heart failure, stroke and
heart attack are higher in people
with vitamin D deficiency.
A survey of 50,000 men
by the Harvard School
of Public Health for ten years found
that those who had vitamin
D deficiency had
twice as likely to suffer a heart attack than men who had no disability.
Safe pregnancy: Vitamin D is
very important for pregnant women. In the first quarter the lack of it can lead to miscarriages. In cases of multiple miscarriages early in pregnancy, it may be that the mother's immune system
is rejecting the implantation of
the embryo. Because vitamin D
acts on the immune system, it can correct this problem.
Furthermore, at the end of pregnancy,
the absence of vitamin D may cause pre-eclampsia
condition in which the pregnant woman
develops high blood pressure. After all, this substance influence in the production of renin,
the main hormone regulating blood
pressure. Lack of vitamin D
also increases the chances of the child
being autistic, because it is important for the development of the baby's brain.
Research published in The American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition made
over 1,000 pregnant women found that when women take
in vitamin D the baby risks develop breathing problems decrease.
Another study done by the University
of South Carolina,
the United
States, with 500
pregnant women noted that vitamin D supplementation prevents problems such as gestational diabetes, premature birth and infections.
Good to prevent and control diabetes:
The fact of vitamin D influence the production of renin is also
interesting to prevent diabetes,
because the lack of this substance favors
the disease. Moreover, the production of insulin by the pancreas
requires the participation of vitamin D.
Because Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune
disease, vitamin D becomes interesting
to be an immunoregulatory that selectively inhibits the type of immune response that causes the reaction against the organism itself.
A study by the Institute of Child Health in England
followed 10,000 Finnish
children from birth and found
that those who regularly received vitamin supplements
were 90% less
likely to develop type 1 diabetes.
Good for the muscles: Vitamin D contributes to the muscle
strength, so its absence leads to
loss of that strength and increases the risk of falls and fractures.
A survey by the University of Zurich
with people over 65 years found that the consumption of vitamin D can reduce the
risk of falls by 19%.
Rich foods in vitamin D
A healthy adult needs to consume an
average of 5 micrograms per day
of vitamin D and
ensure exposure to sunlight for 20 minutes a day, without
the use of sunscreen.
The main dietary sources of vitamin D are fish and seafood,
such as salmon, mackerel or shellfish. The
mushrooms when exposed to
ultraviolet light, also increase the amount of vitamin
D.
Other food sources of vitamin D are:
- Cod liver oil
- Canned tuna in water
- Canned sardines in oil
- Milk, yogurt and cheese
- Beef or veal liver
- Egg yolk
- Some fortified cereals
Few foods contain vitamin D naturally. But
there is the option of consuming foods fortified with vitamin D, as we can easily
find the butters, margarines and yogurts,
for example.
Vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D comes in two forms: vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), which is in yeast that was
exposed to ultraviolet rays (irradiation)
and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol),
which is found in fish liver oils and egg yolk.
Vitamin D3 is also produced in the skin when exposed to ultraviolet rays, as with sunlight. The milk may be reinforced by any of the forms of
vitamin D.
In the liver, vitamin D becomes so as to be carried by
the blood. In the kidney, this medium was
subsequently modified to produce
vitamin D-derived hormone, whose primary function is to increase the absorption of calcium in the intestine
and to facilitate normal bone formation.
In case of vitamin D deficiency, calcium values and blood phosphorus
decreases, causing bone disease because there is not sufficient available calcium to maintain healthy bones. This is
called rickets in children and
osteomalacia in adults.
Vitamin D deficiency may be the result
of inadequate exposure to sunlight
or absence of Vitamin D in the diet. Vitamin D
deficiency during pregnancy can
cause osteomalacia in women,
and rickets in
the newborn.
Given that human milk does not
contain large amounts of vitamin D,
infants may develop rickets, even in the tropics, if
they are protected from the sun.
This deficiency in the elderly appears because the skin produces less vitamin
D, even when exposed to sunlight.
There are also several uncommon inherited forms of rickets caused by vitamin D metabolism
change.
Symptoms, diagnosis and
treatment
Muscle spasms caused by a low
calcium concentration can be the first sign of rickets
in infants.
An older child may take some more time to
start to sit, and crawl, and the spaces
between the bones of the skull could also take more time to close.
Children aged between 1 and 4 years have an abnormal curvature
of the spine, bowed legs and
inside knees, and can take time
to learn to walk.
Older children and adolescents may have pain when they
walk. The flattening of the pelvic bones in adolescent
girls can cause narrowing of the
birth canal. In adults, calcium loss from the bones, particularly the spine, legs and pelvis,
causes weakness and can lead to fractures.
The rickets and osteomalacia
can be cured by administering vitamin D orally at
doses equivalent to five times
the recommended daily amount for 2
or 3 weeks. Certain hereditary forms of rickets usually improve when treated with vitamin D hormone.
If you think you need vitamin
D, you should adapt your diet. Nonetheless you can use supplements. You can buy it here
(with the quality and safety recognized to Amazon):
