Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning your body can store it within your fatty tissues. This vitamin is important as it supports you immune system, your body weight and your bones by aiding in your absorption of certain minerals such as calcium. Most people obtain this vitamin almost every day without realizing; however, there are still individuals who are at risk of deficiency, in which supplements of vitamin D should be added to their daily lives.
Deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to health issues including rickets in children -- softened or weakened bones -- as well as osteoporosis in adults, which is a serious bone disease. To get the proper amount of vitamin D, talk to your physician. Your recommended daily value is 400 IU or international units, daily, based on a 2,000-calorie diet for adults as well as children down to the age of four years, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If you have a lack of vitamin D, consider supplements; lack of vitamin D can be the result of different things including not enough sunlight exposure.
Not Enough Sunshine
You may need to take vitamin D supplements if you're not getting enough sunshine. Vitamin D-3, the most natural form of vitamin D according to the Vitamin D Council, is synthesized through your skin by sunlight. MedlinePlus explains that 80 to 90 percent of the vitamin D you normally get is in fact, through the rays of the sun. Certain times of the year that have less sunny days -- like winter -- as well as certain regions that do not provide much sunlight, may cause you to have a deficiency of vitamin D. Wintertime, living in naturally darker places, and perhaps not getting outside very often, may mean you should take vitamin D supplements.
Lack of a Balanced Diet
A balanced diet helps you get enough vitamin D. Vitamin D is found through foods like fish -- mackerel, sockeye salmon and tuna -- beef liver and fortified orange juice. If you don't have an adequate diet, consider taking vitamin D supplements. A generous provider of vitamin D is milk. People who don't get enough milk -- people who are lactose intolerant, as well as children and adolescents -- may not reach the 400 IU recommendation, and therefore may need to take supplements as well.
Breastfeeding Infants
For health reasons, it's important to keep young infants out of the sun. This is alright for bottle-fed infants, as baby formulas typically include vitamin D; however, human milk does not contain much vitamin D at all. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that breastfed or even partially breastfed infants should have vitamin D supplements of 400 IU daily, until weaned and they can ingest either whole milk or formula with vitamin D.
Darker Skinned Individuals
Those with darker skin may want to incorporate vitamin D supplements in their diets, as they naturally have a larger amount of pigment melanin in the outer layer of their skin. More pigment melanin means more protection from the sun; however, this also can also decrease the amount of how much vitamin D you get through sunshine.
Seniors
Older people may not be getting enough vitamin D, not only because some seniors tend to stay inside more often, but also because as your body ages, your skin is not as efficient at synthesizing vitamin D. In this case, supplements are the way to go.
Member Comments