Author: Rogue Unicorn

Vitamin D isn’t a single chemical – in fact, technically it’s not actually a vitamin at all – but rather a group of fat-soluble hormones responsible for enhancing intestinal absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate, and zinc.

Your body makes vitamin D when direct sunlight (specifically UV rays) converts a chemical in your skin into an active form of the vitamin. Calcium, the primary component of bone, can only be absorbed by your body when vitamin D is present. 

In addition to bone health, getting enough vitamin D may also play a role in  protecting against the following conditions (and increasing vitamin D levels may help to treat them). These conditions can include:

• Heart disease and high blood pressure.
• Diabetes.
• Infections and immune system disorders.
• Falls in older people.
• Some types of cancer, such as colon, prostate and breast cancers.
• Multiple sclerosis.

Persons commonly at risk for vitamin D deficiency include those with inadequate sun exposure, limited oral intake via diet, or impaired intestinal absorption (as seen with Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, or in those who have had weight loss surgery).

Other factors that contribute to vitamin D deficiency:

• Age: The skin’s ability to make vitamin D lessens with age.
• Mobility: People who are homebound or are rarely outside (for example, people in nursing homes and other facilities) are not able to use sun exposure as a source of vitamin D.
• Skin color: high-melanin (dark) skin is less able to make vitamin D than low-melanin (fair) skin.
• Medications:
  • Laxatives.
  • Steroids (such as prednisone).
  • Cholesterol-lowering drugs (such as cholestyramine and colestipol).
  • Seizure-control drugs (such as phenobarbital and phenytoin).
  • A tuberculosis drug (rifampin).
  • A weight-loss drug (orlistat).