21 things to know about vitamin D

It would be great if a vitamin could help strengthen bones, fight dangerous diseases like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, depression or even help you lose weight.

1. Vitamin D promotes bone health

Vitamin D is important for strong bones, from infancy to old age by helping the body absorb calcium from food. In older adults with osteoporosis, a combination of vitamin D and calcium daily helps prevent fractures and brittle bones, which has been shown to reduce the risk of falls in the elderly in the community.
Children need vitamin D to build strong bones and prevent rickets, which is the cause of bent legs, Knock knees and weak bones.

2. Vitamin D and Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is common in sunny areas far from the equator. For years, experts suspected a link between sunlight, vitamin D levels, and this autoimmune disorder that damages nerves.
Newer evidence comes from research into gene defects that cause low vitamin D levels to increase the risk of MS compared with people without the gene defect. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend vitamin D for the prevention or treatment of MS.

3. Vitamin D and diabetes

Some studies have shown a link between low vitamin D levels and type 1 and type 2 diabetes. So can vitamin D supplements be used to prevent diabetes? There isn't enough evidence yet for doctors to recommend vitamin D pills or supplements to prevent diabetes.
However, it is certain that obesity is a risk factor for both vitamin D deficiency and type 2 diabetes, but doctors still do not know if there is a causal relationship between diabetes and vitamin D levels.

4. Vitamin D and Weight Loss

Studies have shown that obese people often have low blood levels of vitamin D because vitamin D is fat-soluble, making it difficult for the body to store the vitamin.
However, doctors are not sure whether obesity itself causes low vitamin D levels or something else. But a small recent study of dieters found that adding vitamin D to a calorie-restricted diet could make it easier for overweight people with low vitamin D levels to lose weight.

5. Vitamin D deficiency and depression

Vitamin D plays a role in brain development and function, and low vitamin D levels have been found in patients with depression. But studies don't show that taking Vitamin D supplements will help with symptoms of depression, so it's best to talk to your doctor about treatments that can help reduce symptoms of depression.

6. How does the sun give you vitamin D?

Most people get vitamin D from sunlight. When the sun shines on your skin, your body makes its own vitamin D, but how much vitamin D you can make depends on many factors. Caucasians can get enough in 5-10 minutes on a few sunny days a week.
But cloudy days, winter's low light, and using sunscreen (important to avoid skin cancer and skin aging) all interfere with the body's production of vitamin D from sunlight. Older people and people with darker skin tones are less likely to produce vitamin D than Caucasians. Experts recommend that the best vitamin D supplement is based on food sources and drugs, functional foods.

7. Diet

Many foods we eat don't have vitamin D at all. However, there are some foods that are rich in vitamin D, such as fish such as salmon, swordfish or mackerel, and other fatty fish such as sardines, which are found in high levels. vitamin D is much lower. Small amounts of this vitamin are also found in egg yolks, beef liver and vitamin D fortified foods such as cereals and milk. However, cheese and ice cream usually do not have added vitamin D.

8. Start your day with EASY Vitamins

Choosing breakfast foods for vitamin D is a reasonable way as most milks are fortified with vitamin D including some soy milks. Orange juice, cereal, bread, and some brands of yogurt also often have vitamin D added to these products. Check the information on the label to see how much vitamin D you're getting.

9. Vitamin D supplements

Eating foods rich in vitamin D is the best way to get enough vitamin D for the body. However, if you don't get enough of this vitamin from your diet, there are two types of vitamin D in supplements that can help: Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) which is found in foods and vitamin D3 ( cholecalciferol) is produced from sunlight. These types of vitamin D are recommended for some people because they can help improve the body's natural absorption of vitamin D.
Both of the above supplements are manufactured differently, but both can increase blood levels of vitamin D. Most multivitamins have 400 IU of vitamin D. However, before using supplements, you should consult your doctor before using because the amount and duration of vitamin D use vary in different areas. different ages and health conditions.

10. Are you vitamin D deficient?

When the body has problems that prevent the conversion of vitamin D from food or sunlight, you may have a vitamin D deficiency, factors that affect this process include:
50 years of age or older Skin dark House Far north of the equator Overweight, obese, gastric bypass surgery Milk allergy or lactose intolerance Diseases that reduce the absorption of nutrients in the gut, such as Crohn's or celiac disease Use some medications such as epilepsy drugs Using sunscreen can interfere with vitamin D, but not using sunscreen can significantly increase your risk of skin cancer. Therefore, it is better to find another source of vitamin D instead of long exposure to the sun.

11. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency

Most people with low blood levels of vitamin D do not notice any symptoms. Severe deficiency in adults can cause soft bones, or osteomalacia, with symptoms such as bone pain and muscle weakness. In children, a severe deficiency can lead to rickets, soft bones, and other bone problems.

12. Vitamin D level test in the body

A blood test is a simple method used to check vitamin D levels in the body, known as 25-hydroxyvitamin (Vitamin D3) metabolite quantification. Recent guidelines from the American Institute of Medicine require a blood vitamin D level of 20 ng/mL to be sufficient for healthy bones. However, some doctors say people should go higher, around 30 ng/mL to make sure the body gets the full benefits of vitamin D.

13. How much vitamin D do you need?

The recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D from the diet is 600 IU per day for adults up to 70 years of age and 800 IU for adults 71 years and older. Some researchers recommend much higher doses of vitamin D, but too much vitamin D can cause side effects.

14. Daily Vitamin D for Breastfeeding Babies

Breast milk is the best for babies, but vitamin D content in breast milk is not much. Therefore, parents need to give their babies vitamin d supplement 400 IU in the form of vitamin d drops until the baby can drink at least one liter of milk per day.
From 1 year of age, when babies drink formula, they will no longer need vitamin D supplements. Parents need to be careful not to give their children too much vitamin D because high doses can cause vitamin D poisoning with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, extreme thirst, muscle aches, or other serious problems. more important.

15. Vitamin D for older children

Most children and teenagers do not get enough vitamin D from drinking milk. Therefore, this age group needs vitamin D supplements with levels from 400 IU to 600 IU in the form of vitamin d oral tablets or chewable tablets containing multivitamins.
Children with certain chronic diseases such as cystic fibrosis may have an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency, so the doctor will supplement vitamin D with cases of diseases that affect the body's absorption of vitamin D.

16. How much is too much vitamin D?

Some researchers suggest taking much more vitamin D than the 600 IU daily guideline for healthy adults, but too much can also be dangerous.
Very high doses of vitamin D can increase blood calcium levels, causing damage to blood vessels, heart and kidneys. The American Institute of Medicine recommends a maximum of 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day.

17. Drugs that interact with vitamin D

Some medications cause your body to absorb less vitamin D, including laxatives, steroids, and anti-seizure medications. When digoxin is used to treat heart disease, if vitamin D increases calcium levels in the blood, it will lead to an irregular heartbeat.

18. Vitamin D and Colon Cancer

Some previous studies have suggested that people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood may have a reduced risk of colon cancer, but this finding is controversial and needs further study in the future. next.

19. Vitamin D and Other Cancers

Current data do not demonstrate whether taking Vitamin D can prevent or treat any type of cancer. Therefore, the American Cancer Society recommends that controlling body weight, exercising regularly, and following a scientific diet can help prevent cancer.

20. Vitamin D and Heart Disease

Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to heart attack, stroke, and a higher risk of heart disease. However, it remains unclear whether vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of heart disease and how much vitamin D is needed to prevent it. But one thing is for sure, if the blood level of vitamin D is very high, it can be harmful to blood vessels and heart by increasing the amount of calcium in the blood.

Đau ngực — Hàm lượng vitamin D thấp có liên quan đến đau tim, đột quỵ và nguy cơ mắc bệnh tim cao hơn

21. Dementia

The researchers found that older people with vitamin D deficiency performed worse on tests of memory, attention, and reasoning than those with enough vitamin D in their blood. However, studies are still uncertain whether vitamin D supplementation can prevent, slow, or even improve dementia or mental decline. Therefore, these studies still need to be further explored in the future.

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Article referenced source: Webmd.com