Sunday, November 25, 2007

7 Reasons Why Vitamin D Is Essential to Your Body

By Keith Woolley

This interesting article highllights just some of the key issues regarding Vitamin D. After careful reading of this article I believe the information could make a big difference in how you think about the exciting research that is currently being published about Vitamin D.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you're fully informed about Vitamin D, keep reading.

Vitamin D is a major player in ensuring the body's health. It is a member of the fat-soluble group of vitamins which means that it can be dissolved and stored by our body's fat deposits. Is the only vitamin that the body can produce with adequate exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D may also be obtained from food. The form of this vitamin that comes from plants is called ergocalciferol (also referred to as Vitamin D2). From animals, it is called cholecalciferol or Vitamin D3. Vitamin D has key benefits to the body. They include:

Calcium absorption - Without Vitamin D it would be very difficult for the body to build strong, healthy bones. In the digestive system, Vitamin D helps the body absorb dietary calcium for food, and it is this mineral that promotes that hardness of bones. With Vitamin D, wherever the calcium we take into our body comes from, it makes sure it is utilized properly. Vitamin D also benefits the teeth and gums.

Disease prevention - Since Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium necessary to proper bone growth, it helps prevent the bone-deficiency disease called rickets in children. Vitamin D also helps prevent osteoporosis, a debilitating bone disease characterized by the decrease in bone density.

Vitamin D has been shown by research to be very beneficial to the health of the muscles. A 2003 study, published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, reported that patients who suffered from chronic musculoskeletal pain had a marked Vitamin D deficiency.

There is also some exciting reports which show Vitamin D's ability to help prevent diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and possibly Type 1 diabetes. The results shown in the studies, published in 2004, are not conclusive, but researchers believe it holds promise! Vitamin D also helps boost immunity sand may prevent inflammation, which probably explains its role against rheumatoid arthritis.

Vitamin D's benefits against cancer - The latest research promises that Vitamin D may be beneficial against certain cancers, such as prostate, colon and breast cancer. Tests conducted by researchers on the subject over a long period of time showed that the lower the Vitamin D levels are, the more probable the risk of cancer.

The vitamin's most active form is capable of producing important responses in the body. One of these is the regulation of how cells grow. When uncontrolled, both these processes result in various cancers. Again, the evidence is still in the early stages and more studies will have to be conducted.

If you want to supplement more, you will find extra Vitamin D in foods like salmon, sardines and mackerel. It's also found in cod liver oil and fortified foods like milk and cereals.

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took the time to learn more about Vitamin D.

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