Health experts say that the need for vitamin D remain steady throughout most of life.
Up to age 70 a person need 15 micrograms per day (MPD or µg), for those 71 and older the need increases to 20 MPD because of the increased threat of bone fractures.
It is because a diet deficient in Vitamin D in conjunction with inadequate sun exposure causes osteomalacia (or rickets when it occurs in children), which is a softening of the bones.
A weak imune system lacking enough of Vitamin D increases the risk of cancer and poor hair growth. Vitamin D deficiency has become an issue in the elderly and remains common in children and adults. Deficiency also results in impaired bone mineralization and bone damage which leads to bone-softening diseases.
Vitamin D is also essentially required for absorption of calcium, bone development, immune functioning, and alleviation of inflammation.
But wait, excess of Vitamin D can lead the body to absorb more calcium than needed, also a tipping point into the risk of heart disease and kidney stones.
Health experts in the United States consider pro health the daily value for Vitamin D is 600 International Units (IU) and the toxicity level is at 10,000 to 40,000 IU per day.
Two things to remember here. Vitamin D values can either be referred to in micrograms (mcg, µg) or IU. A microgram, µg or mcg, is a unit of mass equal to one billionth of a kilogram, one millionth of a gram, or one thousandth of a milligram. But it is easy to convert as 1 mcg is equivalent to 40 IU.
Can you believe these are the 8 really good sources of Vitamin D?
And the last is, exposure to the morning sunshine as one way of getting Vitamin D for free!
Some portions, H/T Wikipedia.
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