A Woman’s Bones Depend On Vitamin D

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is an extremely important vitamin. It exists in several forms, some of which are more absorbable than others.

Vitamin D is extremely important because of its relationship with calcium. Vitamin D signals the intestines to increase the absorption of calcium and phosphorous. It also works to maintain healthy levels of calcium in the blood.
This means that vitamin D is essential for strong bones. Without vitamin D, the body will not have enough calcium to keep bones healthy.
Vitamin D also helps keep the immune system healthy and helps with cell growth.

Without healthy levels of vitamin D and calcium, the bones become weak, brittle, and prone to breakage. Deformities or thin bones may also result from deficiency of either of these vitamins.
Children who do not get enough vitamin D may develop rickets. Adults who are vitamin D deficient sometimes get osteomalacia. Osteomalacia results in muscle weakness and weak bones.

The good news is that vitamin D is easy to get. Usually, people will get enough vitamin D from their diets and from modest exposure to UV radiation in sunshine, which is necessary for the skin to synthesize vitamin D.
Only 10-15 minutes of sun exposure twice per week is required to meet vitamin D requirements.
Some climates, especially northern ones with heavy cloud cover, may not provide enough sunshine for the skin to synthesize adequate vitamin D. If you live in a climate like this, you should be careful to get enough vitamin D from your diet.

Women are especially prone to bone diseases and osteoporosis.
Studies indicate that over 50% of women are not meeting their vitamin D requirements.

Some people are more at risk for vitamin D deficiency than others. The following are risk factors for vitamin D deficiency.

African Americans, especially women and children- Darker pigmented skin synthesizes vitamin D less efficiently
Kidney problems where the kidneys cannot convert vitamin D to the form needed by the body
People who are allergic to milk
Those with lactose intolerance
Strict vegetarians and vegans
People who cannot adequately absorb nutrients
Older adults
Women who wear religious coverings that severely limit sun exposure
Post-menopausal women

If you think you are not getting enough vitamin D in your diet, you should take a high-quality vitamin supplement.

Find a great daily vitamin here.

Sources:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp