Vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 is a fat-soluble vitamin, in the family of vitamin D compounds that include: vitamin D1, vitamin D2, and vitamin D3, and helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus, and is one of the important vitamins that the body needs as a supplement To improve public health and improve bone health, the latter has been historically associated with rickets, especially in children. Children who do not have certain levels of this vitamin in their bodies are more likely to develop this disease.
A person can get vitamin D3 from sunlight, so people who are not exposed to sunlight for long periods of time or rarely exposed to it are more likely to lack this vitamin in their bodies, knowing that many experts advise people to avoid sunlight between ten in the morning until two o’clock, or three in the evening to protect their skin from cancer, and although the body actually absorbs vitamin D3 better during this time, as some studies indicate that the time we are exposed to sunlight often affects the extent to which the body absorbs this vitamin.
Benefits of vitamin D3
One of the most prominent benefits of vitamin D3 for the body is the following:
Vitamin D3 is essential for building and maintaining strong bones. It is used to prevent and treat bone disorders such as osteomalacia and rickets. Protects against osteoporosis. It is used with other medications to treat low levels of calcium or phosphate resulting from certain disorders in the body, such as hypoparathyroidism, hypophosphatemia, and pseudohypothyroidism. Treats kidney disease. Helps bone growth naturally. give drops of it, or other nutritional supplement to breastfed infants, because breast milk usually has low levels of this vitamin.
It helps absorb calcium in the body, thus maintaining healthy bones and teeth, and preventing low levels in the body, which protects the body from osteoporosis. It helps treat some types of cancer, as some laboratory studies have shown that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of certain cancers. However, these studies are not conclusive. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, vitamin D3 can reduce the risk of breast, colon, and skin cancer, although there are no definitive results.
Sources of vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 can be obtained from many food sources, in addition to the main source of sunlight, and among those sources :
Milk, dairy derivatives such as cheese, butter, and milk fortified with vitamin D. Seafood, such as fish, and oysters. Whole grain breakfast. It is worth noting that in order for us to obtain vitamin D from the sun as its main source without resorting to the use of other sources of this vitamin, the following factors must be taken into account, the place in which we live, the season, and skin color, for example, until we get the daily needs of this Vitamin It is necessary to sit in the sun for a period ranging between forty-five minutes, to three hours a week, to enable enough vitamin D to enter the body, with the necessity of exposing the skin, hands, legs, and face to sunlight, without the presence of any substances Sunscreen.