Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that is responsible for helping the body use calcium to support the skeletal system. Vitamin D deficiency, or low levels of vitamin D, may cause weak bones, fractures and muscle pain or spasms. Vitamin D...
Vitamin D is essential for human health. To ensure that you are getting optimal vitamin D from sun exposure and diet, your doctor might suggest that you get a vitamin D test, which typically measures the amounts of 25-hydroxy vitamin in your blood.
Vitamin D-3 is a fat-soluble vitamin that is very limited in food sources in your diet. Humans have the ability to make D-3, also known as cholecalciferol, when skin is exposed to ultraviolet-B, or UVB rays. Having limited sun exposure or wearing...
Vitamin D refers collectively to two substances. These substances are ergocalciferol, known as vitamin D-2 and cholecalciferol, known as vitamin D-3. Both substances are biologically inactive on their own. Your liver converts them to 25-hydroxy...
Hydroxy vitamin D is also called calcidiol. This substance is the second stage of your body's conversion of vitamin D3 to the hormone calcitriol. If you suspect that you are deficient, the blood test you need is called the 25-hydroxy-vitamin D...
Having low levels of vitamin D in your blood affects your body's ability to absorb calcium. Eventually, this may lead to weak, brittle bones, increasing your risk of breakage. Very few foods supply adequate vitamin D, so your doctor may suggest...
Part of the secret to strong bones is to have enough vitamin D in your blood. Ergocalciferol, or vitamin D-2, and cholecalciferol, or vitamin D-3, are two types of vitamin D that are essential to humans, the University of Maryland Medical Center...
Vitamin D is often called the "sunshine vitamin" because your skin manufactures it naturally when you are outside in the sun. Until recently, scientists thought that the primary biological function of vitamin D was to help your body in absorbing...
Vitamin D is an important vitamin that helps your body absorb and store calcium, keeping bones and teeth strong. Having an inadequate vitamin D intake or problems with absorption may cause your vitamin D levels to drop. If you are concerned about...
Vitamin D plays in important part in how your body absorbs and uses calcium. Many adults in developed countries are vitamin D deficient due to a lack of exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency is best diagnosed by determining the levels of...
There has been much discussion among researchers over the last few years about the connection of vitamin D and various cancers. Vitamin D deficiency is frequently seen in patients with cancer as well as in generally healthy individuals, as it is...
Vitamin D3 is a form of vitamin D synthesized in your body, and also found in fortified foods and many vitamin supplements. Its major function in your body is to regulate calcium localization, protecting against abnormally high or low blood...
Vitamin D is an unusual vitamin because your body will manufacture adequate amounts of it if you spend enough time in the sun. However, the Dietary Reference Intakes from the USDA indicate that many people do not have enough vitamin D in their...
Vitamins, including vitamin D, are important for maintaining the health of many tissues in your body. If you do not get enough vitamin D, the strength of your bones can be affected, leading to easy fracturing. Symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency...
Vitamin D is a hormone produced by the human body in response to sun exposure. Vitamin D is also found naturally in food sources such as fish, eggs, cod liver oil and fortified milk. Vitamin D helps keep bones strong by aiding in the absorption of...
Vitamin D2 is a synthetic D2 form used in food fortification and some dietary supplements and is commonly prescribed to patients with low vitamin D status. Vitamin D2 and D3 were considered equivalent until recently. Vitamin D3 is the natural...
A deficiency or toxicity of vitamin D may be affecting your health. Too much vitamin D can cause a problem known as hypercalcemia, which can be dangerous. Too little vitamin D can affect the health of your cardiovascular and skeletal systems. If...
Vitamin D is an important fat-soluble vitamin involved in a variety of bodily functions. A blood test to analyze the levels of vitamin D in the blood is an effective way to detect a variety of abnormalities of the bone or digestive system as well...
Getting enough vitamin D during pregnancy is important for your baby's bones and teeth. Vitamin D may also help reduce the risk of pregnancy complications. Because vitamin D is naturally found in few foods, you may need to get this important...
Your body produces vitamin D, also called the sunshine vitamin, after exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. That may seem like the only excuse you need to head outdoors, but organizations like the American Academy of Dermatology urge you to...
You obtain vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, from your diet and through skin production in association with sun exposure. An abnormally low vitamin D level indicates a deficiency of this essential substance in your body, which can...
Approximately 70 percent of young people under 21 years of age do not get enough vitamin D each day, according to a study published in the August 2009 issues of "Pediatrics" by Dr. Juhi Kumar and colleagues. If your doctor suspects that you have...
Doctors and scientists sometimes measure the levels of ferritin and vitamin D in your body. Levels of both can serve as indicators for numerous health conditions. The levels of ferritin and vitamin D are measured via blood tests. Always discuss...
The hazards of getting too much sun have been widely researched and reported. Excessive exposure to UVA rays can facilitate DNA damage and skin cancer; so can an overdose of UVB rays, which cause sunburn. Both types of rays can also wipe out...
Vitamin D is a naturally occurring, fat-soluble, hormone-like substance that is used as a treatment for osteoporosis, rickets, cancer, flu, and cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D is not a single chemical entity, but the umbrella term for many...
Low vitamin D and high uric acid levels in your body may conspire to increase your blood pressure. Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is a critical nutrient that far too many Americans are skimping on. It's also possible that dietary factors...
Various types of weight loss surgeries have become popular as a way to help people who are severely obese to permanently reduce their weight and improve their health and quality of life. About 220,000 people underwent bariatric surgery in 2009,...
Vitamin D was discovered in 1922 for its role in the development of rickets, a childhood disease characterized by softened and weakened bones. Since then the importance of this vitamin in preventing bone diseases such as rickets and osteoporosis...
Vitamin D has long been known to be important for bone health, especially in the prevention of rickets, a serious disease that causes bone malformation and poor growth in children. But recent data suggest it is also important in the prevention of...
