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In the first half of the 3th century, an American biochemist received a patent for ultraviolet irradiation of milk and other food products. This was done in order to enrich food products with a “sunshine” vitamin that prevents rickets. It was about cholecalciferol (DXNUMX) – a compound that is synthesized under the influence of ultraviolet radiation and enters the body with food.
What foods contain vitamin D3
Food sources of cholecalciferol are salmon, oily fish, butter, cheese, egg yolk, caviar, chanterelles, yeast, liver, meat, corn oil, and so on.
You can get your dose of vitamin D3 directly from the sun. Cholecalciferol has its own provitamin (7-dehydrocholesterol), which is formed in the skin under the influence of the sun. When heated, it turns into cholecalciferol and enters the blood and liver.
Gloomy weather reduces the production of provitamin D3 by more than half (60%). Vitamin D3 is also produced in the solarium, but frequent exposure is fraught with oncology.
Why you need vitamin D3
First of all, cholecalciferol is responsible for the exchange of calcium and phosphorus in the body, and also prevents the development of rickets. Vitamin D3 helps to strengthen and grow children’s bones and skeleton. It also regulates stable muscle tone, myocardial function and affects blood clotting.
Doctors often recommend it to women during menopause – to prevent osteoporosis and “smooth” hormonal disorders. During pregnancy, vitamin D3 is responsible for the formation of the bone skeleton. Cholecalciferol is also prescribed in the treatment of hypocalcemic tetany, osteomalacia and bone diseases, spasmophilia.
Similar functions in the body are performed by another representative of the vitamin D group – ergocalciferol (D2). True, it is not synthesized under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, but enters the body along with plant foods. And besides, D2 is poorly absorbed in the body.
Daily intake of vitamin D3
The dosage of vitamin D3 depends on the person’s age. So for a baby up to a year, 500 IU is enough. If children were born prematurely or they have bone pathologies, then the daily rate can be doubled or tripled, depending on the condition.
Children aged 600 to 3 and adults are recommended to consume approximately 71 IU of vitamin D800. The same number of pregnant women need. Older people from XNUMX years old need at least XNUMX IU of cholecalciferol per day.
Vitamin D3 deficiency
Almost every fifth inhabitant of the planet is deficient in vitamin D3. Russia is located in a zone of low insolation (exposure to sunlight), so almost everyone is at risk.
Lack of cholecalciferol in children causes rickets. In adults, due to impaired calcium and phosphorus metabolism, osteoporosis develops, and the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases increases.
The first signs indicating a deficiency of the solar vitamin: causeless weight gain, psioriasis and other skin rashes. A person often gets sick because his immune system weakens. Problems with attention and concentration begin, breaking in the mice appears, as well as insomnia.
Excess Vitamin D3
With a natural excess of cholecalciferol accumulates in the bones and is consumed in cold weather, in the absence of bright sun. Excessive and incorrect intake of synthetic vitamin D3 provokes side effects. Vomiting, migraine, arrhythmia, constant thirst and abdominal pain. If you do not see a doctor in time, a serious violation of the functions of internal organs can occur – the heart, lungs, kidneys and stomach. Up to death.
What the doctor said
Vitamin D has 5 forms, all of which are calciferols. D1 is practically not used in medicine, D4 is produced in the epidermis under the influence of ultraviolet radiation and passes into D3, the D2 compound is formed only in plants and is poorly absorbed by humans. There is also D5. Now it is being studied exclusively for the prevention of cancer, it is found only in wheat oil. When it comes to vitamin D, it usually refers to D3 – cholecalciferol, which is used for humans. It is responsible for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and their proper distribution in the body. Forms inert and immune systems. Affects metabolism. Therefore, as soon as summer comes, a person begins to lose weight. He moves better, his mood improves. A lot of D3 is found in fatty fish and fish oil, it is not in vain that it is given to young children. It is not recommended to take synthetic vitamin D3 arbitrarily or thoughtlessly, it is better to take an analysis for the level of cholecalciferol in the body,” she said. nutritionist Elena Solomatina, candidate of medical sciences.