You’ve probably heard of vitamin D, right? This important vitamin has a significant impact on our overall health and well-being. Let’s take a look at why it is so important and how it can benefit our bodies.

Vitamin D for Better Mood

Vitamin D is extremely important for our bones and teeth. Why? The key minerals for maintaining healthy bones are calcium and phosphorus, and vitamin D helps our body absorb these essential minerals.

During colder seasons and transitional periods with significant temperature differences, it’s even more crucial to strengthen our immune system. Vitamin D can also help our body in the fight against infections and diseases. What about its effect on our mental well-being? Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to depression and anxiety. Vitamin D helps our body produce neurotransmitters. One such neurotransmitter is serotonin, which is vital for our mood.

The Majority of Adults Are Unaware That They Lack This Vitamin

The number of people who are deficient in vitamin D is considerable. It is quite difficult to obtain sufficient amounts solely through food or sun exposure. You’ve probably thought about vitamin D while enjoying the sun in spring. If you have, you’re right. The sun is an excellent way to obtain vitamin D, but unfortunately, sun exposure alone is not enough to meet our needs, especially in our climate zone.

Vitamin D is only produced in sufficient amounts from March to October. Moreover, to meet our vitamin D requirements, we should expose ourselves to the sun three times a week. This would only happen if we did not use any form of protection, such as sunscreen. However, such sun exposure is not recommended, as it can lead to skin diseases.

Certain factors also influence the amount of vitamin D our body produces. People with darker skin may not be able to produce as much vitamin D from sunlight as those with lighter skin. Age can also be a significant factor, as our bodies become less effective at producing vitamin D as we age.

So, we won’t opt for excessive sun exposure. But what about obtaining vitamin D through food? We can get a certain amount of vitamin D from our diet. Good sources include fatty fish like salmon and tuna, as well as fortified foods like milk and cereals. While we definitely need to include these foods in our diet, it won’t be enough to achieve adequate vitamin D levels. To reach this, we would need to eat a large piece of salmon every day, which would pose health risks in other ways. To protect our bones, we need 800–1,000 units of vitamin D daily, which corresponds to 20–25 mcg of vitamin D.