Your body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium. Vitamin D also makes bones stronger, helps with cell growth, improves immunity, regulates the amount of calcium and phosphorus in the blood and reduces inflammation. Sufficient vitamin D intake may also lower your risk for cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and several autoimmune disorders, according to MayoClinic.com.
Recommended Intake
For infants up to 1 year old, the adequate intake level is 400 IU per day. The recommended dietary allowance for people between the ages of 1 and 70 is 600 IU per day, and for people over 70 years old the RDA is 800 IU per day, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.
Deficiency Signs
Children suffering from vitamin D deficiency may develop rickets, which can cause bowlegs or knock-knees; adults may develop osteomalacia, causing them to be more susceptible to bone fractures. Symptoms include bone pain, muscle weakness and muscle aches. In infants, vitamin D deficiency delays the closing of the soft spot on the head and the start of crawling and walking.
Sources
Dietary sources of vitamin D include fortified milk and dairy products, fatty fish, cheese, egg yolks, beef liver and other fortified foods including some breakfast cereals, juices and margarines. Your body can also make sufficient vitamin D after being exposed to sunlight for at least 15 minutes without protection, but people living in certain areas do not receive sunlight at the right angle for this to happen all year long, making dietary intake important.
Considerations
Some people have a higher chance of developing vitamin D deficiency. These include breastfed infants, the elderly, people with dark skin, people who don't spend much time in the sun, people who have had gastric bypass surgery and people who have health conditions that interfere with fat absorption. Vitamin D deficiency is normally treated with supplemental vitamin D.
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