We estimate that in the modern world, one billion people [1] have a vitamin D deficiency. Such issues can cause huge problems for the body, including weaker bones, fatigue, or immune system setbacks. Some of this can surprise people; after all, what kind of immune system support does vitamin D give?
This article explains the purpose of vitamin D in the human body. By the end of the article, you should have a much better understanding of how vitamin D supports the body's natural abilities. So, read on and learn how to keep your body in the best state it can be in.
What Does Vitamin D Do?
Before discussing the specific benefits of vitamin D, it is important to understand its purpose in the human body. In short, vitamin D has a role in the body's ability to take in and keep hold of specific nutrients. The primary chemicals that it absorbs and retains for use around the body are calcium and phosphorus.
These two nutrients are critical to the human body as they assist with the growth of many parts of the body, especially bones. Thus, this can be vital to both young people who are growing up and those who are older and might struggle to maintain their bodies in their older age.
A large number of the body's internal organs have receptors that accept vitamin D, and the tissue in humans also contains many of these tools. This suggests that it has an even greater part to play in ensuring a healthy body, and we are discovering more benefits every day.
The National Institutes of Health speak at length [2] about the importance of this nutrient. On top of building bones, vitamin D is an important tool in the body's ability to carry out many other tasks.
For example, muscles demand vitamin D to perform their job, move, or hold tension. On top of this, your nerves need this nutrient to help them take electrical impulses around your body. This allows nerves to carry messages from your brain to your limbs and organs that direct movement and action.
Finally, your body needs vitamin D for its immune system. It is an essential weapon in its ability to defend itself from outside invaders such as bacteria and viruses. Without it, your body would slowly succumb to such infections, and you would lose the ability to function.
The Difference Between Vitamin D2 and D3
Vitamin D2 and D3 are the most common varieties of vitamin D that one finds in the body. Although they play similar roles, they have different chemical structures. This is because of where they come from in nature.
Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is a largely plant-source and fortified food [3]. Although it is the one most often added to food. As such, you can find Mushrooms (grown in UV light), Fortified foods, and Dietary supplements.
Vitamin D3 is animal-based. Oily fish, beef liver, and eggs all contain more of this vitamin, and it is also the type that humans produce in their bodies due to sunlight.
While vitamin D is vital for the immune system, both perform similar roles. If you are looking for a vegetarian diet, you should focus on vitamin D2. At Nummies, since Mushrooms are the main ingredient in our supplements, you can count on finding vitamin D2 in our supplements.
Vitamin D and the Immune System
The human immune system is vital in the fight against diseases, and the role of vitamin D in boosting it has been known for quite some time. Several studies [4] have shown that having adequate amounts of vitamin D can boost the immune system. At the same time, it is obvious that lacking this hormone ends up causing harm by not supporting the body's fight against invading pathogens.
Reviews have discovered that autoimmune diseases are much more prevalent in those who do not have high levels of vitamin D. This means that ensuring that you have a high level is important in keeping your body safe well into old age.
Where Do You Get Vitamin D From?
There are many places where you can get vitamin D in your life. These include food, sunlight, and supplements that you can buy and take. The following is a little bit more information so that you can choose the right path for you.
Food
Food is not the best source of vitamin D, although options are available. Some things that you can add to your diet do contain a small amount[5], and you would do well to include them in any attempt to increase your vitamin D uptake. This is helped by food production companies adding vitamin D to foods during the creation process.
Some of examples of such food include:
Breakfast. Many breakfast items have added vitamin D. These include breakfast cereals, margarine, orange juice, and yogurt.
Fish. Fatty fish is a very good natural source of vitamin D. You can also gain this from fish liver oils if eating fish is not palatable for you.
Milk. The milk you buy in the United States receives a small amount in every portion to help with national nutrition. While this is in liquid milk, you rarely find it in foods made from milk, such as cheese.
If you cannot have lactose, you are still in luck. Soy, almond and oat milk all receive the extra nutrients for the same reason.
Sunlight Exposure
One of the wonderful things about the human body is that it can produce vitamin D for itself. While supplements and diet can help get a little extra boost, a lot of the time, your body can handle itself. It only needs around half an hour of sun every 24 hours to make enough vitamin D to last.
Some things will get in the way of this. For example, covering up all your body with clothing or wearing sunscreen will mean you do not receive the right sunlight to get the process going. Also, depending on where you live, it might not be easy to get the sun when you need it.
For this reason, measurable supplements can help many people.
Supplements
Supplements are a practical solution to the problem of not getting enough vitamin D through sunlight or food. They can help one increase the amount they receive in their diet simply and measurably.
Vitamin D supplements often come in many different forms. These might be drinks, pills, or snacks. Although one of the most recent popular forms is gummies.
Gummies are small gel-like chewable supplements that one can have on a shelf without them looking like medicine. They are a simple method of taking vitamin D and are often also packed with many other different vitamins and nutrients too.
The Effects of Vitamin D Deficiency
It is hard to overemphasize the importance of vitamin D when trying to maintain a healthy immune system. As vitamin D levels can affect how T cells form[6], this can then impact the prevalence of such cells in the human immune system. Without a high vitamin D level in the body, the body starts to fall behind.
Some of the signs of lacking vitamin D are not only physical but also mental. It can start to affect one's mood, as the body's differences are reflected in the brain of the sufferer. Fatigue can start to set in as the body tries harder to do more with less, and it can even lead to an onset of depression in the more extreme cases.
As vitamin D deficiency continues, you will start to get muscle cramps or weakness in your muscles as they find it harder to maintain themselves. Over time, this gets worse the longer the lack of the hormone continues.
Eventually, you will start to suffer from joint pain. However, the worst sets in as your body cannot maintain its bones. In some of the worst cases of vitamin D deficiency, you will even see the start of bone loss in the body.
If you feel that you are starting to succumb to any of these issues, talk to your doctor and start reading reviews on good supplements on the market.
The Effects of Excessive Vitamin D
While exposure to sunlight is not going to give you too much vitamin D, you can get it in other ways. While vitamin D tries to support the immune system and the rest of the body by retaining minerals. Having too much vitamin D means your body holds on to these, and it does not need them.
The easiest way to prevent this is to be sensible with how much vitamin D you take in. Supplements, such as Nummies gummies, will help you know the exact measurements for what you are taking. So, investigate them if you want a better handle on the vitamins in your diet.
How to Get More Immune System Support
After reading this article, it should be evident to you how you can gain much better immune system support with a healthy amount of vitamin D. If you want a better way to ensure that you can maintain a high level of this vitamin in your diet, you should check out our shop.
Our Supergreen Vitamin Gummies are the perfect supplement to keep your immune system running at peak efficiency. Mushrooms will help you keep your calm and your mental health in check.
Source:
[1] Prevalence of vitamin D - National Library of Medicine - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3126987/#:~:text=Vitamin%20D%20deficiency%20is%20the,countries%20(19-21).
[2] Vitamin D - https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-Consumer/#:~:text=Levels%20of%2050%20nmol%2FL,and%20might%20cause%20health%20problems.
[3] Vitamin D2 vs D3 the difference - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d2-vs-d3
[4] Vitamin D and Immune Function - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738984/