Vitamin D
What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D (also called calciferol), a
fat soluble vitamin, acts as a hormone, which means that it’s made in one place in the body but used elsewhere.
Most of the vitamin D your body uses is made under your skin when you’re exposed to the sun, but you also get it from food.
What vitamin D does for you
Vitamin D helps ensure strong bones by increasing the rate that
minerals like calcium and magnesium are deposited into bones. It’s also crucial for the absorption of
calcium from food.
How much vitamin D you need?
The current
RDA is currently 400IU’s or roughly 10mcg.
Which foods have vitamin D?
Cod liver oil (capsules or liquid form), fatty fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines and salmon, as well as trout and tuna, eggs and cheese.
Signs of vitamin D deficiency
Rickets, once common in children of poorer families who lived in areas of little sunshine, is more rare now. It was caused by poor diets in
breastfeeding mothers and resulted in soft, curved bones, particularly in the legs. Breastfeeding mothers who take 10mcg of Vitamin D daily can avoid the problem. People over 65 should take the same amount.
