Why Vitamin D and Calcium Matter

Everyone knows that getting enough vitamin D and calcium is important for bone strength in order to prevent bone loss and osteoporosis in the elderly and rickets in children, however, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that vitamin D and calcium are more important than previously realized to prevent other disorders including obesity, certain types of cancers, and overall healthy living. 


This paper will highlight some of the benefits of vitamin D and calcium, some of the proposed mechanisms of function and what one needs to do to insure an adequate supply of vitamin D and calcium. Vitamin D is needed for the purpose of allowing calcium to be absorbed into the body. Without vitamin D, one can eat all the calcium without absorbing much of the calcium, thus it is important to have sufficient amounts of vitamin D, which is mainly produced through sun exposure (about 10 minutes per day). Although, we have become programmed to the negative effects of UV exposure, which is valid, there needs to be a balance where one can attain some exposure and not feel that they are causing detriment to their health and in fact one is actually allowing the conversion of vitamin D to its active formthus allowing more calcium absorption. The leading expert on this topic recently published a book on this subject titled: The UV advantage (http://www.uvadvantage.com). Dr. Holick is quoted as saying:“Your overall well-being depends in part on developing an appropriate relationship with the sun." Michael Holick, M.D., PhD is one of the world's foremost authorities on vitamin D and a full Professor of medicine, dermatology, biophysics and physiology at the Boston University School of Medicine.


He is also the director of the Bone Health Care Clinic in Boston. Dr. Holick believes that the body requires 1000 IU (international units) of vitamin D per day, and most vitamin supplements contain 400 IU, thus one would have to take 2.5 pills to attain the RDA (recommended daily allowance). He argues that 10 minutes of sunshine will provide the necessary amount of vitamin D for the day. One must also keep in mind that sunblock prevents and being in your car both prevent vitamin D production. In fact, it is estimated that SPF 8 and 15 reduce vitamin D production by 95 and 99% respectively. Not all people are able to absorb vitamin D equally, that is the darker ones skin, the more difficult it is to absorb vitamin D.