How To Get Solar Vitamin D?

According to recent studies, nearly 80% of Europeans suffer from vitamin D deficiency. And although in the summer we have enough sunlight to synthesize it, the lifestyle we lead indoors, the lack of movement outside, create conditions for its deficit.

Vitamin D is excreted in the human body in response to sun exposure, but can also be provided through food. It is fat-soluble and is different from other vitamins. Vitamin D is also classified as a hormone because it is synthesized in one part of the body and regulates processes in another.

Basic functions of vitamin D.

Vitamin D is involved in the regulation of blood calcium levels. This regulation is carried out by affecting the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the small intestine. Low levels of the vitamin lead to various bone diseases.

The vitamin is also involved in normal bone calcification. For this reason, providing the necessary amount of vitamin D in young children is extremely important. This amount can be provided by sufficient sun exposure, complete and varied diet and vitamin intake on the recommendation of the pediatrician. 

Vitamin D improves the body's defenses by strengthening the functions of immune cells (monocytes, macrophages) and facilitates the immune response. Infections have been found to be much less common in children and adults with normal vitamin levels.

Vitamin D and diabetes. The vitamin is thought to play a role in activating some of the pancreatic beta cells that are responsible for insulin synthesis. According to Medical News Today, more and more medical studies show that a sufficient concentration of vitamin D in the body reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, and properly dosed vitamin intake in children reduces by 88% the risk of developing type 1 diabetes to 32 years of age. .

Required daily doses of vitamin D.

Due to the fact that the vitamin is synthesized by our body and we take it through food, it is difficult to determine the daily need for it. Vitamin synthesis is highly dependent on the season and sunshine, which is different in different parts of the world. People living in sunny geographic areas such as the southern states of the United States, Mexico, Ecuador and other equatorial countries can synthesize the entire amount of vitamin D that the body needs throughout the year without the need for additional food intake.

According to European standards and regulations, the required daily dose of vitamin D is 5 mg.

At the latitude where Bulgaria is located, the body is able to produce a sufficient amount of vitamin D for its needs, provided that it is exposed to at least 2-3 hours of sunlight. During the rest of the year, however, sufficient synthesis of the vitamin by the body is not possible.

Solar radiation in winter is weak and fails to provoke the synthesis of vitamin D. In northern countries, people need to get the vitamin almost entirely through diet. Since it is not found in many products, manufacturers have begun to add it to the so-called. functional foods such as milk, milk creams, cereals, etc.

Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency adversely affects bone density. Vitamin deficiency at an early age is associated with rickets. In older age, bone diseases such as osteomalacia and osteoporosis are observed. Low vitamin levels are the cause of poor dental health. Vitamin deficiency is also associated with diseases of the nervous system such as multiple sclerosis.

Very often vitamin D deficiency is observed in people with impaired intestinal absorption. They absorb no more than 10 to 15% of the vitamin taken, which requires its compensation by additional intake.