body image and vitamin d

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Feature Articles: Eating Well

Vitamin D Does More Than
Help Utilize Calcium

Tammy Roberts, MS, RD, LD,

Nutrition and Health Education Specialist in Barton County,

University of Missouri Extension

 

Most adults know that vitamin D is added to milk to help assure that
our bodies absorb and utilize calcium to keep our bones and teeth
strong and healthy. What many people do not know is that vitamin D has
been successfully used to help treat psoriasis and muscle weakness
among other things. A recent study from Creighton University at Omaha,
Nebraska revealed that vitamin D can reduce the risk of cancer in
postmenopausal women.

Vitamin D has been called the sunlight vitamin because the human body
can actually make its own vitamin D after exposure to the sun. The UV
rays from the sun are the very thing most of us are trying to avoid
when we are outside but they are what the body uses to make vitamin D.
Sunscreens with a SPF of 8 or above will block the UV rays that help
us make vitamin D. Not to worry though because you only need 10-15
minutes of sun exposure on the face, arms and hands twice per week to
allow for vitamin D synthesis. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. Our
bodies are able to store and then utilize fat-soluble vitamins, which
is the reason why you don’t have to have daily sun exposure.

It is especially hard to get 10-15 minutes of sun in the winter or in
long periods of overcast skies so it’s important to know the sources
of food that provide vitamin D. If you look at your milk carton,
you’ll see that vitamin D is added to milk which makes milk a good
source of vitamin D. It is not added to other dairy products such as
ice cream and cheese. Cod liver oil is a great source of vitamin D
providing 1,360 International Units (IU) per tablespoon; 3 ½ ounces of
cooked salmon provides 360 IU; 3 ounces of tuna fish canned in oil
provides 200 IU; cereals fortified with 10% of the Daily Value for
vitamin D provides 40 IU and one egg provides 20 IU. One cup of
fortified milk provides 100 IU of vitamin D.

How much vitamin D do you need? The Institute of Medicine has
established an Adequate Intake (AI) for vitamin D. Adequate Intake in
the case of vitamin D represents the daily intake that should maintain
bone health and normal calcium metabolism in healthy people. The AI
for all people birth to 50 years is 200 IU per day. Adults ages 51-70
need 400 IU per day and adults over the age of 71 need 15 IU per day.
The reason for the increased need after the age of 50 is that as we
age we have more difficulty making our own vitamin D from exposure to
the sun.

So, go ahead and take a little break to sit out in the sun for a few
minutes and sip on a glass of milk. Your body will reap all of the
benefits.

Last update: Tuesday, May 05, 2009

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