Vitamins are powerful, unique chemicals that perform a variety of functions in your body. Most vitamins have important roles in several organ systems. Vitamins C and D are particularly important for helping you build and maintain strong bones and a healthy immune system. You can obtain the vitamin C and vitamin D you need by eating a healthful, well-balanced diet.
Vitamin D and Bone Health
You may be surprised to learn that your bones are continuously remodeled. Worn bone is reabsorbed and new bone takes its place. Vitamin D is a primary regulator of bone growth in children and remodeling in adults. New bone, which has the consistency of rubber, absorbs calcium, phosphate and other minerals to harden. Vitamin D is essential to this process because it helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorus from the foods you eat. A vitamin D deficiency can lead to poor bone growth and mineralization. Including low-fat or nonfat fortified milk in your nutrition plan is a good way to help ensure that you are getting an adequate amount of vitamin D from your diet. Eggs, salmon, tuna, sardines and herring are also good sources of vitamin D.
Bone Matrix and Vitamin C
The material laid down when new bone forms is called bone matrix, which contains a high concentration of the protein collagen. Vitamin C is needed for collagen production. A vitamin C deficiency may adversely affect your bone health by interfering with the formation of healthy bone matrix. Children's bones are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of a vitamin C deficiency.
Oranges and grapefruit are exceptionally good sources of vitamin C. Other foods with high amounts of vitamin C include strawberries, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, red peppers, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.
Vitamin D and Immune System Regulation
Your immune system is comprised of many different types of cells that patrol your bloodstream and body tissues to fight off infections. Most of these cells have receptors for vitamin D. When vitamin D interacts with immune cells, it affects their activity. In an April 2010 article published in "Nature Immunology," Marina Rode von Essen, Ph.D., and colleagues report that vitamin D is essential for activating the immune system when an infection occurs. Understanding how vitamin D activates the immune system may eventually lead to insights into how to treat autoimmune diseases, wherein the immune system is mistakenly activated against the body's own tissues.
Vitamin C and Immune System Stimulation
You are probably aware that vitamin C is important for healthy immune system function. Vitamin C promotes the production of several types of immune cells. It also stimulates the immune cells that attack and destroy invading bacteria. Additionally, vitamin C helps shield immune cells from destruction when they are fighting bacteria. A vitamin C deficiency can weaken your immune system, leaving you susceptible to minor and serious infections.
References
- Office of the Surgeon General: Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General; Lifestyle Approaches to Promote Bone Health; 2004
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin C
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D
- Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin D
- "Nature Immunology"; Vitamin D Controls T Cell Antigen Receptor Signaling and Activation of Human T Cells; Marina Rode von Essen, Ph.D., et al.; April 2010
- Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin C
