LoveToKnow Vitamins:AllComments

Comments

Hassan, thank you for your post and sharing your information with our readers. Because this article is focused on foods with vitamin D, it doesn't go into all the reasons why one might be deficient in this important vitamin. According to the Merck Manual, there are several reasons for vitamin D deficiency, including lack of exposure to sunlight and certain disorders of the kidneys and liver. You should talk to your doctor further if you suspect kidney or liver problems; only he can guide you to a diagnosis.

Good luck Hassan. We wish you better health.

-- Contributed by: Jeanne Grunert

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I am 53 year old. I maintain DRI on daily basis, by having a balance diet and reasonable exposure to sunlight. Recently my Dr told me after my blood work that I am deficient in vitamin D.

I have body ache always. Arm movement is painful at certain angle. I feel tired always and after 6 to 7 hours sleep I don't get up fresh.

This information is great but does not help me what are the other reasons of vitamin deficiency whether it is due to kidney or liver functions problems.

-- Contributed by: Hassan

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Dolores, thanks for leaving a comment. The article topic here is foods with vitamin D, so the author addressed foods (not sunlight) because that's the focus. Other articles provide lots of detail on vitamin D. Much of what you say is true. However, there's a lot of disagreement among the scientific community about how much sun exposure, and the quality of sunlight, one needs in order to make adequate amounts of vitamin D. Light skinned people, for example, need about half the sun exposure time as dark skinned people to make the same amount of vitamin D.

The bottom line for our readers is that if you are worried about vitamin D deficiency, or a lack of vitamin D causing chronic disease, a simple blood test can measure the amount of vitamin D in the body. Smart sun exposure can also ensure adequate amounts, as can eating a healthy, well-balanced diet.

-- Contributed by: Jeanne Grunert

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Simple explanation of vitamin D metabolism

There are two forms of Vitamin D.....active and inactive.

Vitamin D is not a vitamin. Vitamins are substances the body cannot make (lack of Vitamin C causing scurvy is a good example).

Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone with a function similar to that which prednisone performs. It was misidentified when it was discovered (at the University of Wisconsin) and the name has stuck. Vitamin D (a secosteroid hormone) is an immune-suppressant.

The body makes the inactive form of Vitamin D in the cells of the skin.

The Vitamin D made in the skin is inactive and easy to measure. It's only function is as a precursor for the body to make the active form of Vitamin D.

People do not need to take Vitamin D in any form (food or supplements) to have enough of the active form in their body because the body makes it in the kidneys and other cells using the inactive form made in the skin.

It only takes a few minutes of natural light to produce enough inactive Vitamin D which is stored by the body for use when natural light is scarce.

The active form of Vitamin D is used by the Vitamin D Receptors (VDR) in almost every cell in the body, including immune system cells, for many vital functions including activating the immune system.

-- Contributed by: Dolores
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