Vitamin D Cholecalciferol

About Vitamins & Nutrition In

Supporting Health

What is it?

Known as the sunshine Vitamin because vitamin D is
synthesized in the skin with the help of the natural
ultraviolet wavelength of sunlight, it is also found in fish
(but so is mercury) and eggs.

The 'Sunshine Vitamin' is linked to lowering your risk of
several forms of cancer and many other diseases.

What does Vitamin D do?

Your body needs Vitamin D in order to absorb calcium
into your bones. It also regulates phosphorus, and is
involved in cell growth and immune system.

You can drink all the calcium-enriched milk and eat all
the cheese you like, but if you don't have adequate
vitamin D in your body, your body won't be able to use
that extra calcium at all.

Vitamin D regulates blood pressure and may help
reduce risk of hypertension, stroke, heart attack and
heart failure.

Vitamin D improves insulin production and may help
prevent diabetes.

Increasing vitamin D levels in the bloodstream helps
lower the risk of several diseases- particularly those
caused by abnormal cell growth (e.g cancer).

Current research indicates vitamin D deficiency plays a
role in causing 17 varieties of cancer, heart disease,
stroke, hypertension, auto immune diseases, diabetes,
depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis,
muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects and
periodontal disease.

Where is Vitamin D found?

It is present in oily fish, liver, butter, margarine and
eggs.

In New Zealand where there is lots of sunshine, most of
us do not need to take vitamin D to supplement our diet.

However, elderly people and those who spend most of
their time indoors particularly if they have dark skin, are
the most likely ones to become deficient and ought
therefore to increase their vitamin D consumption
through foods.

What happens if I don't get enough?

A deficiency in vitamin D caused by lack of sun
exposure increases the risk of bone diseases such as
osteoporosis.

Bone diseases may occur - rickets in children (which
affects the growth of bones) or osteomalacia (thinning
of the bones) in adults.

Older people are especially at risk of developing
osteoporosis, which leads to an increased risk of
fractures from weaker bones and puts them at risk of
serious injury and ill-health.

Vitamin D deficiency is also believed to be linked to an
increased risk of prostate cancer and even heart
disease.

What happens if we get too much?

Because it is stored in fat, too much vitamin D can be
toxic, and can damage the kidneys and stunt the growth
of children. It is not possible to get too much from
sunlight, as the body just makes what it needs.

200-600 ug is the daily recommended dose with a
maximum of 2000ug, however there is wide acceptance
amongst medical field that the RDI should be raised to
1,000-2,000 IU