Patient Education - Endocrine Encyclopedia
Endocrine Surgery Encyclopedia
Definition:
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is used by the body in the absorption of
calcium.
Function:
Vitamin D promotes the body's absorption of calcium, which is essential for the normal
development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones. Calcium is also important
to nerve cells, including the brain.
Vitamin D also helps maintain adequate blood levels of calcium and phosphorus.
Food Sources:
Vitamin D is found in the following foods:
- Dairy products
- Cheese
- Butter
- Cream
- Fortified milk (all milk in the U.S. is fortified with vitamin D)
- Fish
- Oysters
- Fortified cereals
- Margarine
Side Effects:
A vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis in adults or rickets in children.
Excessive doses of vitamin D can result in increased calcium absorption from the
intestinal tract. This may cause increased calcium resorption from the bones, leading
to elevated levels of calcium in the blood. Elevated blood calcium may then cause
calcium deposition in soft tissues such as the heart and lungs. This can reduce their
ability to function.
Kidney stones, vomiting, and muscle weakness may also occur due to the ingestion
of too much vitamin D.
Recommendations:
Recommended daily allowances (RDAs) are defined as the levels of intake of essential
nutrients that, on the basis of scientific knowledge, the Food and Nutrition Board
judges to be adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy
persons.
The best way to get the daily requirement of essential vitamins is to eat a balanced
diet that contains a variety of foods from the food guide pyramid.
Vitamin D is also known as the "sunshine vitamin" because the body manufactures
the vitamin after being exposed to sunshine. Ten to 15 minutes of sunshine 3 times
weekly is adequate to produce the body's requirement of vitamin D.
Specific recommendations for each vitamin depend on age, gender, and other factors
(such as pregnancy). The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a PDF file that lists
these recommendations.
Review Date: 10/27/2004
Reviewed By: Kevin Pho, M.D., Attending, Internal Medicine, Boston VA Medical Center,
Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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