All About the Benefits of Vitamin D
All About theBenefits of Vitamin D - Every time your body is exposed to sunlight, the body
will produce vitamin D
Too much sun, as we know, is a risk factor for skin
cancer. Not enough sunlight, as is not known to everyone, is a risk factor for
low levels of vitamin D.
And what is one of the main results of low vitamin D?
Increased risk of skin cancer!
Scientists have long suspected that one of the
benefits of vitamin D is fighting cancer. Several decades of research now show
that vitamin D protects and fights skin cancer
several other types of cancer by promoting
"apoptosis."
Vitamin D basically tells cancer cells to turn
themselves off and stop reproducing. Maybe in some cases it even causes cancer
cells to return to normal cells.
And the
anti-cancer benefits of vitamin D are only the beginning. Other potential
vitamin D applications include:
* Alzheimer's
disease. Preliminary studies show that vitamin D can increase the rate of
repair of cells in the brain 200%.
* Prostate
cancer. One of the benefits of vitamin D is the special anti-cancer
potential in the prostate.
* Breast
cancer. Women who consume 500 IU of vitamin D a day from low-fat dairy
products have a very reduced risk of breast cancer before menopause.
And the main
application of vitamin D? Bone health!
You need calcium for healthy bones, but your bones cannot
absorb calcium without the hormones your body produces with the benefits of
vitamin D.
Researchers at Harvard University recently completed
a study of 72,337 women for 18 years. They found that women who consumed high
doses of vitamin D food sources and vitamin D supplements (totaling around 500
IU) had a very low risk of having a hip fracture.
The Harvard researchers concluded that milk or
calcium is not enough to maintain bone health and avoid symptoms of vitamin D
deficiency, and take vitamin D supplements
is a good idea.
There are no fractures that are more likely to cause
death and disability than hip fractures. The benefits of vitamin D certainly
help prevent this condition.
And even though the symptoms of osteoporosis vitamin
D deficiency are more often associated with women than with men, more than 5
million men per year in North America suffer from this disease.
Who might need
additional vitamin D?
The ability of the skin to convert vitamins into
active forms begins to decline at the age of 20 years. Your body's vitamin D
production drops as soon as you grow up. By the time you are 65 years old, your
body's vitamin D production with the help of the sun drops by 60%. Improper
eating patterns, menopause, and lack of sunlight also contribute to vitamin D
deficiency.
So who needs additional D? The short answer is,
almost every adult. Vitamin D is very important for people over 65 years, women
who have passed menopause, and anyone who uses sunscreen regularly.
Can you get too many benefits of vitamin D? Is there
a real risk of vitamin D toxicity?
The short
answer is, that is impossible.
Your body can never produce vitamin D. You can
consume enough vitamin D to experience nausea, rash, vomiting, constipation and
weight loss, but you must drink it.
around 100 times the recommended daily dose, more
than 40,000 IU per day.
