What is Vitamin D?
It is called the sun's vitamin. Is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning it melts in the body fat.
* This vitamin plays a key role in helping to absorb calcium in the bowel.
* Helps to insert calcium into the bones properly.
* An adequate amount of vitamin D leads to a moderate production of parathyroid hormone, which maintains a good bone mineral level.
What happens if vitamin D deficiency of the body?
- Poor absorption of calcium in the bowel
Calcium does not enter bones properly
- Loss of minerals from bones
Thus calcium deficiency of the body, a major cause of osteoporosis
What is our need for Vitamin D during the day?
- Before the age of 50: 200IU or 5 micrograms
- After the age of 51: 400IU or 10 micrograms
- After the age of 70: 600IU or 15 micrograms
It is very important to be exposed to the sun for 5-15 minutes a day because, like what we have said, this vitamin is called sun vitamin, the body can make it by itself by exposure to the sun.
The sources of food rich in vitamin D:
- Salmon 90 g - 400IU
- Tuna 90 g - 200IU
- Sardine 90 g - 250IU
- Milk cup - 100IU
- Sawdah 90G-15IU
• This means that a 60-year-old woman, whose needs are 400IU per day, can take 90 tuna with two cups of milk to meet her needs.
• Doctors recommend taking 800-1000 IU of vitamin D per day for people with osteoporosis.
• In order to know if we have vitamin D deficiency, we must examine blood to determine the level of vitamin D in the blood:
<10 ng/dl - deficient minus
10-25 ng/dl -insufficient is insufficient
> 25 ng/dl -desirable moderate
> 150 ng/dl - potentially toxic excess amount can cause poisoning
Today, there is a significant increase in the number of people who find that they have vitamin D deficiency, especially in Lebanon. Surprisingly, Lebanon is the country of the sun, and who is not exposed to the sun daily, especially during the summer?
Some doctors pointed out that the studies to determine the normal proportion of vitamin D in the body were on European and American peoples and not on the Mediterranean peoples.
It is possible that this percentage does not apply to our people, and more detailed studies should be carried out in our region to know if it is true that we have a high vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D and cancer
It is often mentioned about vitamin D and its relationship to reducing the risk of cancer, especially pancreatic cancer, chest, and colon. A large number of people are taking massive amounts of vitamin D.
-600 -400IU arrived in the daytime.
But studies are very different about the effectiveness of vitamin D in reducing the risk of cancer. Some studies have shown a positive relationship between vitamin D intake and colon cancer, while those who do not have enough vitamin D are at greater risk.
The National Cancer Center of America has not made recommendations on the importance of vitamin D and stressed the need for further studies.
Vitamin D and depression
At the same time, a new study revealed that people with vitamin D deficiency suffer from psychological depression and disappear when these vitamins return to normal levels in the body. There is also a link between high vitamin D in the body and low symptoms of depression, especially among those who have been previously depressed. Fortunately, vitamin D deficiency can be reduced by restoring the body to its normal level.