Vitamin D is a steroid hormone obtained from sunlight and converted by the skin into its active form. It also can come from food (naturally or fortified as in milk) or from supplements. It is known best for its role of increasing the flow of calcium into the blood. Because of that role, vitamin D deficiency has long been known to be a major risk factor for bone loss and bone fractures, particularly in elderly people whose skin is less efficient at converting sunlight into vitamin D. But recent research has found that many people suffer from the deficiency, and investigators are actively looking at whether low vitamin D promotes poorer health in general.
Research keeps pouring in about the benefits of vitamin D. Current recommendations for Vitamin D (400-600 IU) were recently called "grossly inadequate" at the annual meeting of American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. It should be more like 1500 to 2600 IU daily. D3 from animals is likely more effective than D2 from from plants.
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