Vitamin D, From The Sun Really?

The prescribing of vitamin D in the United States is a multi billion dollar industry. Vitamin D is a very important fat soluble vitamin that the human body needs to thrive. Vitamin D is helpful in the absorption and use of calcium. Vitamin D has five different types which are all very important. Vitamin D does not usually fall in the realm of normal vitamins the reason why is were not able to synthesize vitamin D in our body without the presence of a UV light or sunlight. Another unique feature of vitamin D is it's actually a sterol which is a precursor to cholesterol, so cholesterol actually is essential in the base product of vitamin D. This vitamin is essential for many different body systems and many other health issues one of the most important functions of vitamin D is when it is supplemented with calcium it can improve bone density hence, the lack of vitamin D has also been associated with osteomyelitis and rickets which is a childhood disease characterized by impeding growth and deformity of long bones. It has been shown that low blood levels of vitamin D can be associated with multiple sclerosis, which is a demyelinating disease in the central nervous system, cancer, and has been shown to effect the immune system, as it has been postulated to play a role in influenza with a lack of vitamin D due to decreased sunlight but higher rates of influenza during the winter. It has been claimed by the European Food Safety Authority that a normal vitamin D levels can help improve the immune system, can decrease inflammatory response, maintain proper muscle function, and reduce the risk of falling and people over the age of 60. The US Food and Drug Administration says it may reduce the risk of osteoporosis. The types of vitamin D that are mostly found in the diet are vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 the foods that are rich and vitamin D are mushrooms catfish salmon sardines tuna and eggs. When you want to get your vitamin D converted bythe sun you don't need to burn, you don't need to use sunscreen, the amount of time to convert all your vitamin D to its final form is just 20 minutes of sunlight.