Vitamin D

What are the nutritional needs, young women want?
Young women in particular should ensure they consume enough calcium, vitamin D and iron, and adequate intake of calories to support energy and nutritional needs of your body to function properly.

In the first major study to explore the link between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis among African-Americans, a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have discovered that vitamin D in the blood is more lower in African Americans compared to the disease for African-Americans who do not.

Vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin had only once seen as important for bone health, but recent research has suggested that the nutrient is essential to achieve optimum overall health. Low levels of vitamin D is still guilty for everything from cancer and heart disease and diabetes.

The sources of vitamin D is in many foods such as fish, eggs, fortified milk and cod liver oil. The sun also affects significantly the vitamin D per day, and just 10 minutes of exposure is considered sufficient to avoid shortages. The term "vitamin D" refers to a number of different forms of this vitamin. Two forms are important for humans: ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). Vitamin D2 is synthesized by plants. Vitamin D3 is synthesized in human skin when exposed to UV-B (UVB) rays of sunlight. Foods may be fortified with vitamin D2 or D3.

The elderly are also at risk of vitamin D. They are less likely to spend time in the sun, have less 'receptors' of their skin, which convert sunlight into vitamin D, can not get vitamin D from diet, it can be difficult to absorb vitamin D, although not I understand in their diet, and may be more difficult to convert dietary vitamin D because of the aging kidney rationally. In fact, the risk of vitamin D deficiency and more than 65 years of age is very high. Surprisingly, up to 40% of the elderly, even in warm climates such as South Florida does not have enough vitamin D in their systems.


For more details, I recommend visiting the federal government's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, at www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm.

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