The Sunshine Vitamin: The Benefits of Vitamin D

Vitamin D, or the “sunshine vitamin”, is a crucial part of a healthy human body at any age. Vitamin D is often described as a nutrient from the sun but many don’t know why it’s important at all. The benefits of Vitamin D can be found in almost all parts of your body!

Even though Vitamin D is often referred as the sunshine vitamin it is actually not a vitamin at all. Despite its name, Vitamin D is actually a prohormone. Vitamins are things that cannot be produced in the body. Vitamin D is actually a prohormone that is converted in the body when exposed to sunlight. Therefore it is produced in the body meaning it is not a vitamin. Despite this confusing name though, Vitamin D is a crucial part of our health for several reasons:

1. Most importantly Vitamin D is essential to calcium absorption in our body. Without Vitamin D the body is not able to properly absorb calcium which can lead to brittle bones, cramping, and other health problems. Vitamin D deficiency in infants causes rickets which causes a softening of the bones. Normal levels of Vitamin D also help prevent osteoporosis in adults as well. Calcium absorption and proper Vitamin D levels lead to better oral health as well because the calcium helps to strengthen teeth which leads to fewer problems.

2. The second most important role of Vitamin D in our bodies is the boost to our immune systems. Proper levels of Vitamin D have been shown to lower our risks of sclerosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and even our susceptibility to the common flu! Vitamin D helps to fight off harmful bacteria and viruses. While the studies have shown that Vitamin D does in fact boost our immune system and fight off these diseases, there is little known about how or why it does so.

3. Vitamin D has also been shown to lower symptoms of depression and anxiety. The prohormone seems to be essential in regulating mood and patients with mental health problems have seen improvement after increasing their exposure to the sun.

4. A little-known benefit of Vitamin D is also a boost in weight loss. The uptake in calcium absorption in the body caused by Vitamin D actually produces appetite suppression in most people also. This leads to eating less which causes weight loss!

The easiest way to improve your Vitamin D level is to increase your time in sunlight especially in the upcoming months. The summer months provide enough sunlight in most locations to give your body enough Vitamin D to last all year. While there is a huge debate on how much sun is enough sun, most researchers agree that between 15 to 20 minutes several times a week in direct sunlight should be enough. Just remember the sunscreen!

If you do not live in an area with a lot of direct sunlight, there are a few other ways to make sure you are getting enough Vitamin D in your body. Seafood, especially fatty fish like salmon can increase your body’s Vitamin D as well as mushrooms and egg yolks. If you think you are extremely deficient in Vitamin D then you can also find Vitamin D supplements that can regulate your levels.

However you get it, Vitamin D is an important part of your health. So spend some time away from the blue lights of computer screens and get some sunlight!

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