Are you suffering from brittleness of bones? Are you taking calcium supplements and still not noticing any improvement? You could be vitamin D (cholecalciferol) deficient.
Vitamin D is the nutrient that is essential for maintaining bone health. Vitamin D3 in the form of cholecalciferol is essential to ensure proper calcium and phosphorous absorption in the gut.
Cholecalciferol plays a crucial role in calcium metabolism in the body and in developing immunity. Though we may consume calcium-rich foods like milk, not all the calcium contained in these foods is absorbed by the body. Calcium absorption in the intestine depends, to a great extent, on availability of cholecalciferol to regulate calcium absorption metabolism. Vitamin D3 is essential for the proper absorption of calcium and for the development and maintenance of healthy bones, teeth, and the skeletal system as a whole.
The Top Health Benefits of Vitamin D3
• Prevention of rickets in children: Rickets is a disease occurring in young children that is caused due to improper calcium absorption and its deficiency during growth.
• Prevention of osteomalacia in adults: Insufficient amount of cholecalciferol limits calcium absorption in adults and leads to osteomalacia that is characterized by brittleness of the bones.
• Reduces risk of fractures: A study published in the "British Medical Journal" asserts that vitamin D3 supplements in elderly men and women significantly reduce the chances of fractures.
• Treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis: A study published this year in
"BioMed Research International" states that vitamin D3 supplementation helps treat postmenopausal osteoporosis.
• Aids in immunity: Vitamin D3 helps improve the immune response in our body. A recent study reported in "PLOS ONE," conducted in America, suggests that improvement in vitamin D3 levels in the body affects gene expression that regulates the body’s immunity and also aids in DNA repair.
• Prevents Type I diabetes mellitus: A study published in the "Diabetologia" journal proves that vitamin D3 can help protect or arrest the immune processes in susceptible infants and grown-ups, thereby reducing the risk of developing Type I diabetes mellitus.
• Reduces the risk of cancer: According to a recent case-control study performed in the Boston University Medical Center, increase in cholecalciferol levels has led to altered gene expression that may reduce the risk of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and even cardiovascular diseases associated with vitamin D3 deficiency.
How do you get vitamin D3? Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D3 is very difficult to assimilate from food stuffs. Vitamin D3 is synthesized by the human skin when it is exposed to sunlight containing ultraviolet light at 270 to 300 nm. That is why vitamin D3 is also called sunshine vitamin. About 10 to 15 minutes of exposure to sunlight once in two to three days is sufficient for most people to produce required amounts of vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is also available as supplements.
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