So How many of your daily nutrients do you really think you get? The problem with the standard American diet is that the foods we consume simply don’t contain the right ingredients to provide us with the fuel we need to thrive. One nutrient that we so commonly fall short of in our daily diets is vitamin D3. We all know that sunlight is another source of vitamin D3 – but what happens when we don’t get enough of that either?
So What is vitamin D3?
Vitamin D3 is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps your body to effectively absorb calcium and phosphorus. Technically, Vitamin D isn’t actually a vitamin. It’s a steroid hormone, which our bodies can make themselves, providing they can create the right conditions to do so. However, if we don’t manage to make enough vitamin D3, we can also acquire it from food sources. Having the right amount of vitamin D in our bodies is vital for building and maintaining strong, healthy bones.
You may find that you’re not getting enough vitamin D3 if you suffer from digestive issues such as celiac disease, liver problems, or Crohn's disease. As the sun is also a source of vitamin D3, you’re generally more likely to be vitamin D3 deficient if you don’t go outside a lot, or cover up from the sun when you do.
So What happens if you’re vitamin D3 deficient?
If you have a deficiency in vitamin D3, you’re at risk of developing something called rickets. This is a disease caused by low levels of vitamin D3 that can cause bone distortion, most commonly characterised by bow-shaped legs. Children who don’t take enough vitamin D3 are at a higher risk of developing rickets.
If you’re an adult, being deficient in vitamin D3 might not lead to the development of rickets disease, but your bones may still start to become softer, which is known as osteomalacia. Osteomalacia can make your bones more susceptible to fractures, as they lose some of their strength and rigidity.
Luckily, you don’t have to live with the effects of a vitamin D deficiency for the rest of your life, or even experience them at all. You can easily increase your intake of vitamin D3 to help improve and maintain your bone health, as well as promoting a number of different benefits that we’ll cover in this video.
Lets take a look at the Benefits of vitamin D3
No 1 For immune function
Vitamin D3 has the power to regulate the body’s immune responses. It’s incredibly important that our immune system works well, as we need it to defend the body from foreign organisms, preventing us from falling ill and helping us to maintain good health. A number of studies have found that a deficiency in vitamin D is associated with increased autoimmune disorders, as well as an increased susceptibility to infection.
No 2 For maintaining calcium and phosphorus levels
One of vitamin D3’s most important roles is to help the body produce and maintain sufficient levels of calcium and phosphorus. Both of these minerals are vital for retaining bone strength, which is why you will have heard that getting enough vitamin D3 is essential for warding off conditions like rickets, osteomalacia, and osteoporosis. It’s not actually the vitamin D3 itself that affects bone strength, but the calcium and phosphorus produced by the vitamin D3.
No3 For reversing heart damage
A recent study found that maintaining sufficient levels of vitamin D3 has the potential to reverse the damage of high blood pressure, diabetes, and other diseases that affect the cardiovascular system. Not only that, but doctors have recently begun to notice that many patients who’ve experienced a heart attack or heart attack symptoms also have a deficiency of vitamin D3. This isn’t to say that a D3 deficiency necessarily causes a heart attack, but there’s evidence to suggest it’s linked to an increased heart attack risk.
No 4 For regulating blood sugar levels
There’s not so much research on this yet, but it’s thought that vitamin D3 may be able to help improve the body's sensitivity to insulin – the hormone that we need to regulate blood sugar levels – and therefore reduce the potential for insulin resistance. This may mean that higher levels of vitamin D3 can lessen the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
No 5 For improved neurogenerative function
Interestingly, good levels of vitamin D3 goes beyond the physical and may also be able to help us mentally. It’s been found that vitamin D3 can support brain
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