Vitamins are critical for your body to work properly. Most vitamins, including vitamin D, have a variety of different roles in the human body, and can affect the levels of minerals and other substances in the blood. Although there is a relationship between vitamin D levels and the skin pigment melanin, vitamin D does not appear to actually affect melanin levels.
What Is Melanin?
Melanin is a pigment that can be found in your skin and is responsible for making your skin darker. Melanin is produced by skin cells known as melanocytes; these cells are spread out in the top layer of your skin. Once produced, melanin can then spread into the other cells in your skin. One of melanin's main functions is to protect the skin from the effects of the ultraviolet light in the sun, which can damage cells and cause genetic mutations.
Vitamin D Function
Vitamin D is a steroid molecule because it is chemically related to cholesterol. One of the most important roles of vitamin D in your body is to increase the intestinal absorption of calcium, because your body does not absorb calcium efficiently in the absence of vitamin D. Vitamin D also increases absorption of magnesium and phosphate and helps your body make proteins necessary for bone growth. Vitamin D also helps cells grow and develop.
Vitamin D and Melanin
There is a relationship between the amount of melanin in your skin and vitamin D levels. Your body can synthesize vitamin D when your skin is exposed to direct sunlight. Because melanin blocks the effects of sunlight, increased levels of melanin can impair your ability to make new vitamin D. As a result, people with dark skin often have lower levels of vitamin D than lighter-skinned people. Increasing your intake of vitamin D does not appear to stimulate the production of melanin, however.
Considerations
If you are trying to make your skin darker, increasing your vitamin D intake will likely not have an effect. Because melanin is secreted to protect your skin from the sun, exposing yourself to sunlight will stimulate the production of melanin, making your skin darker. If you are concerned about aberrant melanin production, talk to your doctor. Unusually dark skin may be a sign of a pigmentation disorder, such as melasma.
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