Do you know the vitamin which most Indians are deficient of? Yes, you are right it is Vitamin D. Around 70% people are vitamin D deficient.

During childhood, we play a lot many outdoor games and get exposed to the sun. It helps us to get a lot of vitamin D. But as an adult, we get busy with our work and don’t get time for sun exposure resulting in vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins for our bone and muscle growth. It helps in the absorption of vital nutrients that keep us healthy. Today we will discuss 11 amazing vitamin D benefits.

Vitamin D

What is Vitamin D?

Sunshine vitamin is another name given to vitamin D because it is produced naturally in our body when exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D is important to keep our bones, teeth, and muscle strong. It is a fat-soluble vitamin hence an overdose can result in many health-related issues. Those who have less sun exposure can get it from supplements.

Vitamin D is of three types D-1, D-2, and D3. This vitamin is important when it comes to regulating the normal functioning of your teeth, bones and overall immune system. If you do not get enough vitamin D you can face problems like Osteomalacia which is softening of bones or Osteoporosis which is fragility of bones. Let us discuss the sources of vitamin D in detail.

Sources of Vitamin D

The main source of vitamin D is sun exposure. Our body produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight or we can take it in the form of supplements. Animals also produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight so non-veg food is a good source of vitamin D. You can include vitamin D rich foods in your daily diet to get the necessary amount.

The Vedic Indian culture has mention of Suryanamaskar. In Suryanamaskar Yoga the body gets exercise as well as vitamin D.

Vitamin D Deficiency

The normal range of vitamin D is 30-100 ng/mL. If your vitamin D range is below the normal range you are suffering from deficiency or insufficiency. As discussed above vitamin D is very important for the absorption of vital nutrients, if you are vitamin D deficient it can affect your health.

The less absorption of calcium will result in weaker bones. You might hear from people about back pain or bone pain that might be because of low levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can also cause muscle pain.

Vitamin D Benefits

Let us look at some important benefits of vitamin D. Here is an informative video from Demystifying Medicines

1. Strong Bones

Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium and other nutrients important for bone health. Lack of vitamin D can result in weaker bones. Many people complain of bone pain or tooth pain, all this might be because of deficiency of vitamin D. Many times doctors recommend to take vitamin D supplements.

If you are entering into your late forties or early fifties, calcium from your bone starts reducing. This makes your bone fragile. It is advisable to do a regular blood test and keep a check on all your deficiencies and illness.

2. Fights Diseases

Vitamin D helps to boost the immune system. A stronger immune system helps to fight diseases and keeps your body healthy. Cardiovascular diseases can also be reduced by normal levels of vitamin D. It is one of the best vitamin D benefits.

3. Improved Muscle Function

Vitamin D helps to strengthen muscles and muscle growth. If you have sufficient levels of vitamin D your body can absorb the nutrients required for the growth of muscles and tissues. If you are vitamin D deficient you might feel weak muscle function or weakness.

Including vitamin D rich food in your diet or taking supplements would help you get the necessary levels back. This will result in stronger muscles.

4. Reduces Depression :

Vitamin D plays an important role to control mood and behavior. Many studies were conducted to find the effect of vitamin d levels in depression control and it was found that deficiency of vitamin D results in anxiety.

5. Decrease Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Looking at today’s lifestyle the risk of type 2 diabetes has increased. Bad food habits and lack of exercise is the main cause of diabetes. Normal levels of vitamin D can help you to reduce the risk. It also protects your body organs like eyes, heart from the damage done by type 2 diabetes. It is one of the best vitamin D benefits.

6. Helps in Weight Loss

Lack of vitamin D will push your body more to absorb nutrients and in turn, you will put up more weight. If you are planning on weight loss you must make sure your vitamin D level is normal.

If you are overweight your body puts pressure on your bones and other organs. When you plan to practice heavy exercises this can result in injury if your vitamin D levels are below normal levels. The deficiency of vitamin D results in weak muscles and bones. So make sure when you plan to hit the gym or plan to practice heavy exercises you have adequate levels of vitamin D.

7. Protects from Heart Problems

Vitamin D deficiency can result in cardiovascular diseases. In a study, it was concluded that people which are vitamin D deficient have 30-40% more chances to get heart diseases. If you maintain normal levels of vitamin D it will help you to keep your heart healthy. It is one of the best vitamin D benefits.

8. Reduces Cancer Risk

Many types of cancer like ovarian, colon, the breast can be avoided if you maintain normal levels of nutrients. Vitamin D is one of the important vitamins for our body and studies has shown that if you have adequate levels of vitamin D in your body you reduce the cancer risk up to 40%.

9. Increased Fertility

Vitamin D works with other vitamins to keep our body healthy. If your vitamin D levels are very low you might run a risk of infertility. Vitamin D helps in many vital functions of the body and needs to be present in adequate amount. It is one of the best vitamin D benefits.

Along with vitamin D other vitamins like vitamin E, vitamin K are also important for fertility.

10. Avoids PCOS

PCOS is one of the main reasons for infertility. If you maintain proper levels of vitamin D it can help you to reduce the risk of PCOD and PCOS. You can also start following the diet chart for pcod.

11. Better Nutrient Absorption

As discussed above vitamin D helps in the absorption of other nutrients and keeps our body healthy. It helps to build strong bones and muscles. It helps in absorption of calcium that keeps our teeth and bones healthy.

When you find the calcium deficiency in you or your child, you start including the milk products in the diet. But to get this calcium absorbed in your body you need vitamin D. In absence of sunshine vitamin the calcium you take from food is not absorbed in your body that can lead to various bone and teeth problems.

12. Reduces Risk of Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a condition which is related to the central nervous system. In this disease, the immune system of human body attacks myelin which is a coat around nerve cells. The regular symptoms of multiple sclerosis are muscle weakness, chronic pain, coordination and balance problems etc. (1)

13. Reduces the Risk of Flu

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to the risk of the flu. As per various medical studies the normal level of vitamin D in the body helps in keeping the immune system strong and reduces the risk of flu. (2)

We have seen how important vitamin D is for our body functions. Hope this post is helpful to you. Post your comments below regarding your feedback or questions.