What is Vitamin D for?

The SALUS VITA clinic is launching a new online project - “Healthy Life”.

Our main principles are providing highly qualified assistance and caring for the population. We firmly believe that any disease can be overcome if it is detected in time. This is the law of our philosophy - we need to fight not the consequences, we need to eliminate the cause of the disease.

Thus, we begin a “Healthy Life”, the main goal of which will be the prevention of various diseases. Our leading experts, doctors with many years of experience, will talk about how to maintain health and avoid terrible consequences.

American scientist Elmer McCollum managed to prove that there is a special fat-soluble substance that prevents the occurrence of rickets and regulates the metabolism of bone tissue. He called it vitamin D. In 1924, A. Hess and M. Weinstock obtained it from vegetable oils after exposure to ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 280-310 nm.

Currently, a group of biologically active substances is known, united by the common name - vitamin D. Basically, these are the two most important forms - cholcalciferol (D3) and ergocalciferol (D2). These are colorless and odorless crystals that are resistant to high temperatures. They are soluble in fats and organic compounds and insoluble in water.

Cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) is synthesized under the influence of ultraviolet rays in the skin and enters the human body with food.

Unlike vitamin D3, the human body does not produce ergocalciferol (vitamin D2), which enters the body with food and dietary supplements. The main function of these biologically active substances is to ensure the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D is necessary for normal bone metabolism. In children, severe vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets. In adults, vitamin D deficiency develops osteomalacia. Both conditions are characterized by a decrease in plasma calcium and magnesium and an increase in alkaline phosphatase. Mild vitamin D deficiency leads to a decrease in the efficiency of using dietary calcium. Vitamin D deficiency causes muscle weakness, especially in older people, and the appearance of pain in the pelvic bones, lumbar spine, and lower extremities. Vitamin D helps prevent dental caries and accelerates the healing of fractures, regulates insulin activity and blood sugar balance, helps regulate blood pressure, when applied topically, reduces the scaly skin characteristic of psoriasis, helps reduce inflammatory processes, stabilizes mood, especially in older people, prevents chronic fatigue, improves immunity, prevents the formation of cancer cells, which makes it effective in the prevention and treatment of breast, ovarian, prostate and brain cancer, necessary for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland and normal blood clotting. Its deficiency is a common cause of secondary hyperparathyroidism and can be associated with diabetes mellitus, various forms of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, renal and liver failure. Most often, people who can be divided into several categories face a lack of vitamin D:

-Elderly people aged 65 years and older;

-Newborns who are 100% breastfed;

-people with dark skin color;

- patients who are on a course of anticonvulsants;

- patients taking medications based on glucocorticosteroids;

-patients with obvious signs of obesity.

Moderate vitamin D deficiency is considered to be the cause of reduced efficiency in the absorption of calcium entering the body with food.

We want to give vitamin D the attention it deserves! Pour yourself a glass of milk and read about the latest research - they will tell you how vitamin D improves your health. Therefore, we recommend that you check your vitamin D level at any clinical diagnostic laboratory that conducts this research.

The article was prepared by laboratory doctor Inanbaeva I.G.