What Is Vitamin D ?
Vitamin D is a vitamin that is found in various food products such as eggs, cheese, butter, fish and other fortified food products. Vitamin D can also be produced when exposed to the sun's rays as the sun's ultraviolet rays enable the production of vitamin D inside the human body. Vitamin D helps in the intake of calcium into the human body and in maintaining stable concentrations of calcium and phosphorous in the body. It can also help in the development of bones and along with calcium can make the bones strong and can prevent them from deforming.
What Is Deficiency Of Vitamin D ?
Deficiency of vitamin D occurs when there is a lack of vitamin d in the body. This can lead to deformed bones and can cause diseases such as osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults. In children deficiency of this vitamin can cause rickets.
On the other hand if there is too much vitamin D in the body, it may lead to the formation of kidney stones or cause vomiting.
What Is The Recommended Dosage Of Vitamin D ?
In general about 15 minutes of exposure to sunlight a day is sufficient to meet the required levels of vitamin D in the body. However in cases where people do not have enough exposure to sunlight, they would need to obtain vitamin D from diet sources or from supplements.
In children from 0 - 18 years of age, it is recommended that they receive 5mcg (micrograms) of vitamin D a day. In adults from 18 years up to 50 years of age, the recommended dosage is also 5mcg/day. For adults over 50 years and upto 70 years 10mcg/day is recommended and for adults over 70 years 15mcg/day is recommended.
However apart from age there are other factors that will determine the amount of Vitamin D that your body needs a day. You should talk to your doctor to know about your recommended intake.
