What Is Vitamin D And Why Do We Need It?

Vitamin D, known as the "sun vitamin", is fat-soluble chemical compound made up of vitamin D1, D2 and D3. Despite its name, this is no ordinary vitamin. It is a steroid hormone which has the ability to affect about 2000 genes in the human body. This explains its wide-ranging effect on human health.

There are many health benefits of taking vitamin D. It helps regulate the immune system, plays an important role in building and maintaining healthy cells, it is essential for absorption of calcium by the body, promotes bone growth.

Vitamin D is believed to be a preventive agent for autoimmune diseases, autism, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, neuromuscular diseases, osteoporosis, chronic pain, common cold.

Deficiency of vitamin D is associated with serious diseases such as breast cancer and colon cancer, soft bone, osteomalacia and weight gain, depression and others.

The main external symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are bone pain and lack of muscle strength. For some people, however, symptoms can be more subtle and difficult to distinguish. But even without visible symptoms, the small amount of vitamin D in the body can contribute to the development or increasing:

·        cardiovascular diseases

·        diabetes type 1 and 2

·        cancer

·        multiple sclerosis

·        cognitive impairment in the elderly people

·        severe asthma in children

·        high blood pressure.

The best way to obtain vitamin D is by exposing ourselves regularly to sunlight. Modern lifestyles often prevent this, with the result that many people suffer from a deficiency of sun vitamin. Animal proteins, which are widely consumed, also have tendency to block the production of the supplied already by the sun vitamin D, thus leaving the body with low levels of vitamin D in the blood. Dr. Perez Lopez, who is a researcher within the university of Zaragoza claimed that nearly 70% of Europeans have vitamin D deficiency and that many diseases can be aggravated with that deficiency.
 

To obtain sufficient amount of vitamin D, it is advisable to expose your body to direct sunlight for a period of time each day. For whiter people this period is 15 minutes a day. For darker - about 30 minutes. For black skinned - 60 minutes. Since ultraviolet forms vitamin D, it is good to know at what time of the day it is present the most. During winter these are the hours between 11:30 and 15:00 and in the summer between 09:00 and 11:00 and between 15:00 and 18:00.

If it is difficult or impossible to spend time sunbathing or where you live there are not many sunny days, you can obtain the right amount of sun vitamin through supplements. The best form of vitamin D is holikaltsiferol or D3, which is derived from plant sources.

Health Center Vita Rama recommends product Vitashine D3 - a proven source of vitamin D3, also suitable for vegans and vegetarians.