Peachy the Magazine January / February 2014 | Page 80

Vitamin D Deficiency

Hype or Medical Br

T

There is a lot of talk about Vitamin
D deficiency and rightfully so. This
deficiency affects more than half of
all Americans and it may be linked to
many medical conditions that include
some cancers, heart disease, hypertension, depression, diabetes, fibromyalgia,
bone loss, and even Multiple Sclerosis.
It is believed that up to 70 percent of
our children also are deficient.
In the past, health care providers had
believed that Vitamin D was essential
to the maintenance of healthy bones
and teeth. Many current studies, however, have shown that this vitamin
may play many additional roles in
how the body functions and how it
fights illness. The recent evidence of
Vitamin D’s non-skeletal benefits has
prompted increased interest.

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PEACHY

WHAT IS VITAMIN D?

Vitamin D is not a vitamin but rather
a hormone that is produced when
the skin is exposed to ultraviolet B
radiation. More than 80 percent of the
Vitamin D we receive comes from sun
exposure. The rise in deficiency rates
is believed to be associated with the
reduction of outdoor exposure and the
increased use of sunscreens. Vitamin
D is available in food sources such as
fatty fish (salmon and mackerel) but to
get sufficient amounts of the vitamin
you must eat these foods daily.
We are just beginning to understand
the impact of Vitamin D on the body.
The vitamin has a significant impact
on cellular growth and is responsible
for controlling cellular differentiation.
When growth and differentiation are