Vitamin D is essential for maintaining healthy bones and teeth and your overall immune system. A deficiency in Vitamin D can lead to bone deformities in children and even bone pain in adults.
You can get Vitamin D from the intake of certain foods or supplements. Your body produces this vitamin from exposure to sunlight. Well, vitamin D is not just a vitamin but a hormone or prohormone.
So, in this article, let’s discover all the surprising benefits of vitamin D
Best Sources of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is found in a small number of foods. You get it from food such as:
- Oily Fish- It includes Sardines, Mackerel, Salmon, etc
- Cereals
- Egg Yolks
- Liver
- Red Meat
- Rice Milk
You get Vitamin D from sunlight exposure, and you get enough from late March/early April to the end of September. However, you don’t get enough vitamin D from October and early March. So, what you can do is take dietary supplements.
A lack of Vitamin D will lead to various ailments such as Asthma, Cognitive impairment and even Osteoporosis.
If you are looking for another great source of protein, fats and other nutrients, it is Cow’s Milk. Cow’s milk can fulfil your body’s daily needs by about 15 to 22%, often fortified with Vitamin D.
What Vitamin D Can Do to Your Body (The Last One Will Shock You)
1. Support Your Immune System
A lack of a good amount of Vitamin D puts your health at risk, putting you at a high risk of infections and autoimmune diseases. You might face rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, or inflammatory bowel disease.
2. Support Weight-Loss
You might be surprised how Vitamin D can make you lose weight. Well, let’s find it out for ourselves!
A 2016 research supports the idea that Vitamin D suppresses the storage of fat cells, making it hard for fat to form in your body.
It is believed that Vitamin D can boost levels of serotonin or feel-good hormone, increasing the feelings of fullness for a more extended period. Feeling happy reduces the intake of calories, reducing your weight
3. Reduces the Chance of Heart Diseases
According to a study published by The BMJ, about 21,315 people showed that the rate of major cardiovascular events was 9 per cent lower in vitamin D compared to the placebo group.
Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health says it helps keep the arteries flexible and relaxed, preventing constricting with each other, which helps in controlling your high blood pressure.
Deficiency of this fat-soluble vitamin can lead to vascular dysfunction, arterial stiffness and left ventricular hypertrophy.
4. Make Your Muscles Stronger
Researchers found that an active amount of Vitamin D can promote and optimise muscle mass. So, the intake of Vitamin D can influence our muscle development, which is crucial for everyone, especially older people. This fat-soluble vitamin intake is vital for older adults because lacking muscles can lead to a higher risk of falling.
5. Fight Against Depression
According to the World Health Organisation, around 5 per cent of adults worldwide live in depression.
Now is the high time that we pay attention to our mental health. Studies have shown the connection between a deficiency in Vitamin D and depression in a person. So, if you are feeling low, it might probably be due to low fat-soluble vitamins.
However, there is still a study going on how it is connected. Despite that, Dr Pallavi Joshi and Dr Sneha Rajiv say that Vitamin D stimulates the production of happy hormones such as serotonin and dopamine.
6. Helps in Preventing Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
According to a new analysis, it is suggested that a higher intake of Vitamin D supplements by pre-diabetics can help reduce the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes by 15 per cent over three years.
So, Dr Ambrish Mithal, a Chairman and Head, Endocrinology and Diabetes at Max Healthcare, says a proper intake of Vitamin D can help in reducing diabetes along with a lifestyle change.
7. Strengthen Your Bone
An intake of Vitamin D is crucial for building and strengthening your bones due to its promotion of calcium absorption. Well, this fat-soluble vitamin and calcium can reduce the risk of osteoporosis, keeping the bones from weakening.
8. Enhance Your Oral Health
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, which is essential for healthy teeth and gums. So, if you lack fat-soluble vitamins in your body, you can experience these two main oral issues -Tooth Decay and Periodontitis.
Well, a lack of this vitamin in your body can weaken your teeth, causing your teeth to experience cavities. It can have inflammation and mineralisation effects on the tissue around your teeth.
9. Reduces the Risk of Certain Cancers
I know this is surprising. You might ask the question, how is that possible?
Research suggests a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and advanced cancer stages, especially in breast cancer and specific blood, esophageal, and gastric.
Mandeep Singh Malhotra, Director- Surgical Oncology, CK BCK Birla, Hospital(R), Delhi, says that vitamin D plays a pivotal role in impeding the rapid division of cancer cells, slowing down their growth.
Conclusion
So, understand that it is a fat-soluble vitamin stored in your body. Regularly taking vitamin D supplements over 2,000 IU can cause kidney damage, kidney stones, excessive bleeding, and muscle weakness