Vitamin D helps in better absorption of calcium. Vitamin strengthens bones. The vitamin is absorbed naturally by the body directly from sunlight when the body is exposed to the sun for a certain amount of time and therefore it is named as “sunshine vitamin”.
Vitamin D helps improve immune system, nervous system, muscle system, cardiovascular system, it controls the cell growth, improves fast recovery after injuries, reduces the risk of fractures when fall down, helps to maintain strong bones by increasing mineral density of bones, protects from hypertension and several immune diseases.
Vitamin D is found in foods like fish, eggs, fortified cereals, milk, meat, cheese, cod liver oil, mushrooms etc.
It is important for women and children to obtain more vitamin D because they need for the proper development of the healthy body.
People who are not exposed to sun, lactating mothers, children younger than five, people who are elder and obese, and people who have diseases like crohn and cystic fibrosis are at higher risk of deficiency of vitamin D. So vitamin D supplements like capsules or vitamin drops should be given to those people who cannot get vitamin D directly from food to avoid diseases and problems caused from the deficiency of vitamin D.
Deficiency of vitamin D causes rickets, a childhood disease in which bones fail to develop properly and osteomalacia in adults weakens the bone density, muscular system and immune system, increases the risk of some cancers, bone diseases and tuberculosis, arthritis.
Excess of vitamin D can damage the kidneys, can develop kidney stones and heart attack because of over deposit of calcium.
