Vitamin D-3 5000 IU

Vitamin D Supplement - Dee Cee Labs Natural Vitamin D

Benefits of Vitamin D

Let's not underestimate the importance of a Vitamin D supplement just because the media does not talk about it as much as the other vitamins. Humans need Vitamin D - a fact that most are not aware of; if they are, they don't think it's something to be overly concerned about. The truth is, we should all be concerned about whether or not we have sufficient amounts of Vitamin D.

As with Vitamins A and E, Vitamin D is stored in our body. This is the reason it is called a fat soluble vitamin. It is the only vitamin produced by our body provided it receives adequate amounts of natural sunlight.

Foods Alone Cannot Provide Required Levels

Certain foods supply the body's requirements of Vitamin D. These foods include cod liver oil, milk fortified with Vitamin D, fish (especially tuna and salmon and sardines) and eggs. Unfortunately, many people are unable to maintain sufficient levels of Vitamin D from the foods they eat or from direct sunlight. This statement is supported by a Reader's Digest article that said, "Even with a healthy diet, you may be vitamin D deficient.". Essentially, the article's main point was this: not many foods contain Vitamin D, and people don't eat enough of the foods that do contain it. One more thing: the widely-covered skin cancer scare has people lathering sunscreen on their skin liberally, cutting off potential sources of Vitamin D.

Vitamin D Role in Preventing Osteopenia and Rickets

Another article published in the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION entitled "Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults" said that insufficient amounts of Vitamin D could bring about osteopenia and broken bones. Osteopenia is a disorder that precedes osteoporosis. It also said that diet alone will not provide the amounts of vital vitamin D that people need. The article further stated that given this situation, it is only reasonable for adults to take vitamin supplements. Vitamin D allows our bodies to process and use calcium and phosphorous efficiently; if we don't have enough of this vitamin, the body turns to the bones and takes it from them. This is what causes osteoporosis, a bone disease that strikes adults.

Children who lack Vitamin D may develop a bone condition called rickets. Rickets occur when bones become soft and brittle, but this condition is no longer common in wealthy countries.

The Link between Vitamin D and Osteoporosis

Rickets may now be rare in western countries but osteoporosis continues to beset people living in the industrialized world, proof of which is found in the 10 million cases that have been diagnosed in the US alone. In addition, there are reportedly 18 million people who are suffering from low bone density which makes them prime candidates for osteoporosis. The medical community estimates that after the age of 50, one out of two women and one out of eight men will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture. Taking it on an annual basis, projections are that there will be: - 300,000 hip fractures - 700,000 vertebral fractures - 250,000 broken wrists - 300,00 cases of other types of fractures These figures point to the undisputed importance of a Vitamin D supplement. It is important to note that Vitamin D helps us absorb calcium from the foods we eat. As everyone knows, our muscles and bones require adequate amounts of calcium for their healthy formation and development. So when the body can't obtain it, it takes whatever Vitamin D it can from the bones. This explains the onset of bone disorders and diseases. Bones become fragile. The scary part is that you won't develop bone disease overnight. It is a disease that "creeps" over a long period of time. Medical professionals therefore recommend that bone loss prevention must start at a very young age and that we should ensure that we get an adequate supply of Vitamin D supplements and calcium.

There's another disease that adults can potentially fall victims to: osteoarthritis. While osteoporosis is bone-related, osteoarthritis, on the other hand is joint-related. It is a form of arthritis and is one of the most common. Disease in the joints starts when there is a gradual breakdown of cartilage. Vitamin D helps to minimize the pain symptoms of this disease. When a person doesn't have enough Vitamin D, he or she could develop osteoarthritis of the knees, a debilitating condition. In assessing this disease, the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION reported that the case for increasing our intake of Vitamin D is strong, as it appeared in their article, "Steps Toward Understanding, Alleviating Osteoarthritis Will Help Aging Population."

Link Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Cancer

You may ask, what about Vitamin D and cancer? Is there a link there? More evidence is needed to establish a solid link between low levels of Vitamin D and cancer, but preliminary results from various studies indicate that Vitamin D can help stave off conditions such as colon cancer, high blood pressure, breast cancer and diabetes.

How Much Vitamin D Should I Take?

Let's look at what some credible sources have said: - Dr. Reinhold Vieth (from Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto): you may need more than the recommended dietary allowance to avoid getting osteoporosis and secondary hyperparathyroidism. But to avoid getting osteomalacia, people may need 200 IU (from birth to age 50), and 400 IU (for people aged 50 and older).

In the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION, a researcher stated that people need direct sunlight every single day which could give them the equivalent of 10,000 IU of Vitamin D. The person who wrote the article mentioned that our ancestors were directly exposed to the sun everyday. This was taken from the article, "Vitamin D supplementation - 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and safety." - Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine: it set the tolerable upper intake level at 1,000 UI for infants up to a year old, and 2,000 IU for children more than 1 year old and for adults. Other studies have demonstrated that the present UL requirements are conservative, given that Vitamin D is definitely safe when taken at amounts as high as 10,000 IU.

Dee Cee Labs Vitamin D is made in America to assure that this natural vitamin D supplement is safe and pure.