Do you know about the benefits of vitamin D? It's a topical issue as soon as sunshine decreases! Everything starts with the sun: moderate exposure to the sun without sunscreen provides a huge amount of vitamin D. Sun rays enable the body to produce vitamin D under the skin. Vitamin D is essential for the human body to function properly. A severe deficiency leads to rickets in children and osteomalacia (or bone decalcification) in adults. Several studies have shown that because of their sedentary lifestyles and lower exposure to sunlight, Westerners have a high deficiency in vitamin D.
Vitamine D is a Real Plus for Health
Vitamin D's wide range of benefits is often ignored but is food for thought. Its usefulness has been demonstrate by an American study group on vitamin D. According to the study, an increase in the intake of vitamin D from less than 10 ng per ml of blood (ng/ml = nanograms per millilitre), which corresponds to a state of deficiency, to between 50 and 75 ng/ml (ideal level) produces the following results (1): the risk of a heart-attack is reduced by 50%, the risk of flu is reduced by 83 %, the risk of a bone fracture and of osteoporosis decreases by 50 %, the risk of breast cancer decreases by 2). Another significant finding: a sufficient level of vitamin D may protect against prostate cancer.
However, this is not all. It is now generally recognized that vitamin D boosts the immune system. The more vitamin D the body has, the shorter the bout of nasopharyngeal infection (3). It is therefore important to ensure you take a daily supplement in winter. Taken with magnesium, vitamin D boosts our energy. A lack of magnesium affects vitamin D levels, which are therefore closely correlated with daily intakes of magnesium. In older subjects, vitamin D reduces the risk of death due to a cardio-vascular disease. However, vitamin D is best known for its role in remineralizing bone. Vitamin D is necessary for a strong human skeleton as it helps the intestine to absorb calcium and also contributes fixing calcium to bones. Without vitamin D, calcium supplements are not necessarily effective.
How to Increase your Levels of Vitamin D?
Spending a quarter of an hour in the sun, with hands and face exposed, is sufficient to increase the required daily dose. While you go for a walk in the countryside or work in your garden, the body absorbs the sun to produce vitamin D. However, good quality food supplements will provide effective nutritional support during winter when many cloudy or rainy days prevent daily sun exposure.