People need adequate levels of vitamin D in all stages of life because it acts as a carrier for the minerals that build up healthy, strong bones. Vitamin D assists the body to absorb calcium and phosphorous and maintains bone health, and aids in preventing osteoporosis. The body can't utilize calcium and phosphorous stores to build bone without vitamin D.
Sunshine
We obtain vitamin D naturally by exposure to sunlight. Unfortunately, many of us do not obtain enough vitamin D this way due to lifestyle or UV-protecting agents like sunscreen. An average person requires 10 to 40 minutes of midday sun without application of sunscreen to gain enough vitamin D without supplementation to sustain the body's process of absorbing calcium and phosphorous into bone, where it is used.
Expert Opinion
According to nurse practitioner, Marcelle Pick, this essential nutrient is called a vitamin, but vitamin D is actually one of the building blocks of a steroid hormone in your body called calcitriol. Vitamin D is critical to the health of our bones and teeth. More than adequate amounts of calcium can be consumed, but will not be able to be utilized for bone health without vitamin D.
Deficiency
Rickets, osteomalacia and osteoporosis are diseases of vitamin D deficiency. In children, vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets which is characterized by soft bones and skeletal deformities. German physicians noted in the early 20th century that consuming 1 to 3 tsp. of cod liver oil per day, a high source of vitamin D, could reverse rickets.
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