FACTS ABOUT VITAMIN D

Children are back to school, but with the mercury-levels soaring beyond the 40 degree Celsius mark, parents are worried that their wards might get affected if they are made to play in the searing heat.

No need to worry, dear parents. Exposure to sunlight would help in production of Vitamin D,also known as the sunshine vitamin, essential to absorb calcium and promote bone growth. Less amount of Vitamin D would lead to soft bones in children (rickets) and fragile, distorted bones in adults (osteomalacia).

Not just this, but Vitamin D also helps regulate the immune system and the neuromuscular system. It also plays a major rolein the life cycle of human cells.

Vitamin D is so important that your body makes it by itself -- but only after the skin is exposed to sufficient sunlight.

Those with dark skin cannot get as much Vitamin D as light-skinned people, as dark skin absorbs less sunlight.

DURATION OF EXPOSURE TO SUNLIGHT

Nearly 30 minutes of exposure to sunlight would trigger production of Vitamin D. Without applying sunscreen lotion, you should ensure that face, hands, legs, or back get exposed to sunlight twice in a week, to help in production of Vitamin D. However, the 30-minute duration of exposure to direct sunlight is also rife with chancesof cancer-causing UV radiation.

FOODS RICH IN VITAMIN D

Only a few foods contain Vitamin D. The foods rich in this vitamin is salmon, particularly wild-caught and mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light to increase Vitamin D; cod liver oil, tuna canned in water, egg yolks, cheese, milk or yogurt.

There is evidence that people with a lot of body fat need more vitamin D than lean people.

Too much Vitamin D can also lead to abnormally high blood calciumlevels that can result in nausea, constipation, abnormal heart rhythm and even kidney stones.

However, one need not worry because one cannot get too much Vitamin D from sunlight or from foods. All Vitamin D overdoses come from supplements.

BEST KIND OF VITAMIN D

The kind of Vitamin D best suitable for your body is Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol, as it is the natural form of the vitamin that your body makes from sunlight. Supplements are made from the fat of lambs' wool.

In 2008, a clinical study suggested that Vitamin D2 works as well as Vitamin D3.

Many supplements contain vitamin D as vitamin D2 or calciferol but because this is not the form of vitamin D naturally made by the body, it is recommended using vitamin in the D3 form.

So parents, the body by itself would regulate the production of Vitamin D3 that can be stimulated through exposure to sunlight, so this is the best form of the vitamin needed by your body.