Did you know that vitamins can be soluble in water or fats? Vitamin D, also known as cholecalciferol, is a fat-soluble vitamin. This means that vitamin D is soluble in fats and stored in the body’s fatty tissue.
It also means you need fat to absorb vitamin D in your gut. Moreover, vitamin D is different from any other vitamin you can get. Unlike any other, it is synthesized in the skin following exposure to ultraviolet rays from sunlight.
Vitamin D is important for maintaining normal blood calcium and phosphorus levels and helps maintain normal bone and teeth health. But this is no more than an overview of vitamin D. Let’s get into detail.
In this article, we’ll explore vitamin D thoroughly and give you a list of benefits, foods, and deficiency symptoms you should keep in mind to detect low vitamin D levels in yourself and your loved ones.
What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is an important substance. It is known as “the sunshine vitamin” because it is created when our skin is exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, specifically the UV-B rays. When our skin is exposed to these rays, enzymes are activated in the skin and produce vitamin D to store it later in our body fat.
Vitamin D is best known for its essential role in calcium absorption. Without calcium, our bones would become weak and susceptible to fractures and osteoporosis. That’s why vitamin D usually comes with calcium in supplements for osteoporosis.
Besides improving calcium absorption, this vitamin is also essential for keeping our immune system strong. It helps our body fight off bacteria and viruses. It also helps the liver to metabolize carbohydrates and proteins. Studies on vitamin D have shown that people with low blood levels of it are more likely to suffer from diseases like osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis, as you will see later on in this article.
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