Although its name is vitamin D, it actually is not a vitamin at all. Vitamin D is a hormone that is made in one part of the body that causes another part to respond. Its pathways may get scientific, but basically, it has a protein which carries the vitamin D to the intestines, kidney, and bones (most often). Now vitamin D is very different from all the other nutrients because the human body can synthesize it with the help of beautiful sunlight. Vitamin D is not even an essential nutrient. If people spend enough time in the sun, then there is no need for vitamin D in your diet. The main role of vitamin D is to be a part of a large team that is in charge of bone maintenance and bone making. Its main role is to make sure that your blood concentrations are stable with calcium and phosphorus, so that your bones will grow stronger as they eat up these minerals.
Now a days, I personally think most of the focus with this hormone is on the deficiency. You always hear people talking about deficiencies of vitamin D and how tired they feel, or maybe I just do because I live in Massachusetts and people are always complaining (just kidding). Vitamin D is commonly associated to seasonal affective disorder, in which the body has a lack of exposure to sunlight, and vitamin D levels become low. Common side effects of low vitamin D levels are fatigue, low energy, irregular sleep patterns, and depression. But there are also a lot of other factors that can play a part of seasonal affective disorder, so vitamin D should not be the sole factor to blame. This article is not even about seasonal affective disorder, I just wanted to get that out there.
There are a couple diseases that actually stem directly off of vitamin D deficiency, and people should be more aware of these diseases. The first disease is Rickets. This is most common in children, where the bones fail to calcify normally, therefore causing growth retardation and abnormal skeletons. The bones then become so weak that they will actually bend when they are forced to hold the child's body weight. Unbelievable! This disease is usually characterized by bowed legs and beaded ribs. See for youself:
You are probably thinking okay, but what happens in adults? The answer is Osteomalacia. This occurs most often in women who have low calcium intakes, low sun exposure, repeated pregnancies, and periods of lactation. If these risk factors combine together in one women, she may become bow legged, bent, and stooped with in a matter of a few years.
Another disease that I briefly discussed on the calcium page was osteoporosis. In case you already forgot, which I hope nobody did, this happens when a loss of calcium from the bones causes very fragile bones that are easily susceptible to fractures in every day activities. If someone fails to synthesize enough vitamin D in their body, or cant obtain vitamin D in their diet, then this will allow calcium loss from the bones.
If you are concerned with your vitamin D status, increase the good dietary sources, if you are not getting enough sunlight exposure. Significant sources are fortified milk, margarine, butter, cereals, chocolate mixes, veal, beef, egg yolks, fatty fish such as herring, salmon, sardines, and their oils. If you do not enjoy any of these foods, then get in the sun! Or use this as an accuse to get your hubby to move to California with you. Either way, vitamin D is an important hormone in your body, and is a necessary part of your diet.
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