Vitamin D and sun, a healthy combination for humanbeings…….
Vitamin D (colecalciferol) has the task of supporting your resistance and helps to form strong bones, flexible muscles and strong teeth.
It also supports the absorption of the minerals calcium (lime), magnesium and phosphate from food.
How do we take vitamin D into our body and where is it in?
(UV index = maximum amount of UV-sunlight with the value from 0 to 8 (or higher in warm countries)
Vitamin D is a vitamin which the body can produce itself. The skin starts to produce vitamin D when sunlight hits your skin. The sun power must be more than 3 (UV index) for the skin to produce vitamin D.
(Sun cream with protection factor 8 reduces the absorption of vitamin D in your skin by 97.5%. Protection factor 15 even inhibits the absorption of vitamin D by 99%).
Vitamin D production takes place when ultraviolet (UV) radiation hits the skin and vitamin D is then formed. It is then stored as an inactive substance in the fat tissue of our body.
The vitamin D is then converted into an active form of vitamin D in the liver and kidneys. 2/3 of the daily amount of vitamin D is obtained from sunlight, the rest is obtained from what you eat. That is why sunlight is the most important source of vitamin D for us.
It occurs in foods that come from animals: including meat and eggs (in egg yolks). You can also find it in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, eel, sardines and herring. It is also present in avocado, butter, low-fat margarine, liver and fish oil (cod liver oil).
Vitamin D is also a fat soluble vitamin. This means that vitamin D can be found in the fat of some foods, as mentioned above.
Vitamin D is stored in your liver and tissues through your intestines for your body to use when needed.
Yet the amount of vitamin D that you consume is not always sufficient through sunlight and food and then you need extra vitamin D. Think of the winter when you spend a lot of time indoors and in spring when it is completely cloudy or when it rains. Especially when you do not use the foods that contain vitamin D.
Elderly and sick (and others) who do not or cannot go outside and / or do not eat enough or little and therefore do not get enough nutrients can develop or have a vitamin D deficiency. Then an extra addition of vitamin D is needed, as can be read below.
Pay attention!! There are exceptions when Vitamin D (extra) is definitely needed:
(RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance – of a supplement)
There are groups of people who do not produce enough vitamin D through their skin or have a higher need for vitamin D. The amount of vitamin D in their diet is then not sufficient to supplement the necessary RDA:
- Children with a dark or tinted skin (from 4 years old) and adults with a dark or tinted skin (a dark or tinted skin produces less vitamin D from sunlight)
- People who do not go outside enough or always wear body- covering clothing and therefore do not get enough sunlight on their skin
- Women over 50 years of age (risk of osteoporosis increases, after menopause)
- Pregnant women
- Vegans and vegetarians
- Being addicted to alcohol
- People on a low-fat / fat-free diet
- Elderly
Symptoms and /or consequences of a vitamin D deficiency: a.o.
- Fatigue or lack of energy
- Weak bones (fractures)
- Bleeding gums
- Pain, tremors or cramps in muscles or joints
- Osteoporosis (= osteoporosis, common in women over 50 years of age, which can cause fractures to occur more quickly)
- Lethargy
- Anxiety attacks
- In children: Rickets (= inhibited growth and skeletal abnormality / English disease)
Long-term vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of:
- Diabetes type 2
- Heart and vascular disease
- Certain cancers
- Infections
- Autoimmune disease
Amount of Vitamin D You Need:
(RDA = recommended daily amount)
Children and adults up to 70 years old: 10 mcg per day (RDA)
(men and women)
Adults over 70 years old: 20 mcg per day (RDA)
(men and women)
Pregnant women: 10 mcg per day (RDA)
(see also the package leaflet added with the bottle)
Take the recommended amount. Never take more!!.
Immediately taking too much of vitamin D will not cause a problem, but in longer terms this will (could) be: a.o.
Damage to the heart, kidneys and blood vessels, decreased thyroid function, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, dry mouth, muscle weakness, muscle pain, bone pain, tiredness, itching or palpitations, sleepiness, loss of appetite and constipation.
Do you want to know how high your vitamin D value is? Go and see your general practitioner, who can have this determined by means of a blood value test.
(These are some facts and tidbits about vitamin D… and there will no doubt be a lot more to say / read / write about…..)
The compiler(s) of this article accepts no liability whatsoever for the completeness, correctness or effectiveness of the information. The use of the information is at the sole responsibility and risk of the user / reader.
© 2021 by Lynn
(in consultation / collaboration with seqconsulting.be)
