Vitamin D Is Important To Your Health

Vitamin D is essential for the proper formation of the skeleton. It is vital for bone growth and renewal as it helps our bodies absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D is also required for nerve and muscle activity and can help combat chronic inflammation. Research is also determining that vitamin D may help keep cancer cells from growing and dividing.

If we have too little of this valuable nutrient, our bones are not able to mineralize properly. This can lead to a condition called rickets in children, which is characterized by bowed legs, knock-knees, swollen joints, and malformed skeletons. In adults, vitamin D deficiency leads to osteomalacia, a condition in which there is inadequate mineralization of the bone. Deficiency may also result in osteoporosis due to decreased calcum abosrption, and vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with muscle weakness.