Vitamin for Bones

For years, everyone is talking about the vital role of calcium in preventing osteoporosis. The stress on calcium is so much that one tends to forget about another nutritional necessity, vitamin D . Vitamin D has a positive impact on calcium balance as it increases calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. 

Human body manufactures its own vitamin D when ultraviolet-B(UV-B) radiation from the sun interacts with a chemical in the skin. About 5-15 minutes of unfiltered sum exposure a day is generally adequate. But the sunshine method isn’t reliable for everyone, particularly for older individuals who are at the highest risk for weakened bones and fractures. Reasons for this include : 

1.  The skin’s ability to make vitamin D from UV-B becomes less efficient 

      as we age. 
2.   Dark skin blocks out up to 95 per cent of UV-B rays. 
3.   Sunscreens absorb UV-B before the skin can convert it to vitamin D. 
4.   The earth’s ozone layer screens out UV-B during the winter.
5.   It is not always possible to get outdoors. 

As a result, many senior citizens are vitamin-D deficient or near – deficient, especially during winter. Some senior citizens lose 3 to 4 per cent of bone mass in their hips and spines in winter, only to regain it in spring and summer. 

If enough vitamin D is not circulating in the blood, the blood raids the skeleton for the calcium it needs, thus raising the risk of osteoporosis. The recommended daily dietary allowance for vitamin D in adults is 400 IU (international units)

Sources of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is available from three sources : 

1.  Fortified milk and products made from fortified milk (this does not 

     include yogurt), as well as some fish. 
2.  Exposure of skin to the sun. 
3.  Medications.