Vitamin D3 is a soluble fat vitamin. It is produced in the skin in response to sunlight. It is also referred to as sunshine vitamin. The body produces vitamin D3 naturally when directly exposed to sunlight. Furthermore, it can be generated from certain food supplements like orange juice and milk. However, less vitamin in the body causes a risk of bone abnormalities development such as fragile and weak bones.
Uses of vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 is essential in the absorption of phosphorus, calcium, facilitating immune system functions, and ensuring normal development of teeth and bone, among others, as named below.
1. Bone health
Vitamin D3 helps control and regulate the ability of the body to absorb calcium, two compounds, and phosphorus, which allow the mineralization of bones. This helps improve the strength, density, and quality of the teeth and the skeletal system.
2. Insulin control
The pancreas is triggered and stimulated by vitamin D3, responsible for insulin production. Insulin produced is considered effective in controlling type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic control in diabetes, and blood sugar levels management. However, vitamin D3 helps with insulin resistance and enhances glucose tolerance. It also ensures normal calcium flux by normalizing calcium extracellular, enabling insulin secretion. Furthermore, vitamin D improves systematic inflammation by affecting cytokinesis directly, which speeds up the insulin receptor expression, helping in insulin action on insulin secretion via a calcium effect and enhancing the response of insulin in glucose transportation.
3. Lower blood pressure
Vitamin D3 reduces renin concentration, which is secreted by the kidney and has harmful effects on blood vessels. There is a high correlation between hypertension and vitamin D, which makes vitamin D3 to be used in therapy as a supplementation.
4. Cancer prevention
Vitamin D3 intake slows prostate, colorectal, breast, and pancreas cancer progression. In addition, it helps in the stimulation of cell death, cellular differentiation, decrease in cancer cell growth, and reduction in the formation of blood tumor vessels. Fiber combined with vitamin D3 reduces polyp development that causes cancer.
5. Heart health
They help prevent the expansion of the heart muscle cells and improves the endurance of the cardiovascular. This, in turn, prevents the blocking of blood flow by preventing the thickness of ventricle walls, which protects the heart from attack. Vitamin D3 is responsible for the stimulation of nitric oxide, which prevents clot formation in the cardiovascular and regulates blood flow. However, it prevents the cardiovascular system from oxidative stress. Additionally, vitamin D3 is important in the restoration of normal functioning after stroke, heart attack, and capillary endothelium occurrence.
6. Mood
Vitamin D3 reduces clinical depression symptoms and mood regulation. It is also essential for supporting mental well-being. Low vitamin D3 makes one feel blue rather than happy. Besides, it is also responsible for preventing self-control, self-harm, memory, and attention-related problems.
7. Weight loss
Vitamin D3 and calcium contain appetite-suppressing effects, hence effective for calorie restriction and obesity. Weight loss is essential in improved vitamin D3 circulation, as blood levels of vitamin D3 are inversely associated with fat mass. Moreover, the hypothalamus depends on vitamin D3 to regulate hormones that determine whether fats should be stored or released, whereby a high level enables the burning out of fats.
8. Strengthen oral health
It supports oral health by lowering gum disease and tooth decay. Vitamin D3 is preferred for better oral health as it stimulates antimicrobial peptide production, which acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and has effects on bone metabolism.
9. Strengthen muscles
Vitamin D3 helps in muscle strengthening hence preventing falls in muscles, which leads to death in adults and substantial disability. Vitamin D3 controls the concentration of serum calcium through receptors in muscle fibers, which impact the contraction of muscles. Besides, it influences calcium uptake in muscle cells and activates pathways, through which signals are transmitted to the regulating intracellular calcium cytoplasm and influence calcium transportation. Furthermore, extracellular kinase pathways are activated by vitamin D3 to stimulate growth and muscle proliferation. However, vitamin D3 has resulted in improved mitochondrial oxidative capacity and improved cardiac muscle functioning.
10. Immune system
Vitamin D3 fights viruses and harmful bacteria, thus preventing infection. It is also infective in the acute respiratory. Vitamin D3 is essential in tuberculosis treatment, adaptive immune system modulator, and activation of T cells. Furthermore, it promotes antimicrobial peptides cathelicidin genes coding that enhances bacterial clearance in immune cells, macrophages, monocytes, and barrier sites.
11. Healthy infants
Breast milk contains vitamin D3, which is important in absorbing phosphorus and calcium. This helps prevent weak bones, soft bones, and rickets. Furthermore, it helps babies develop strong teeth and build strong. Infants can also attain more vitamins through exposure to sunlight.
12. Healthy pregnancy
Adequate intake of vitamin D3 during gestation by pregnant women lowers immune positive effects and pre-eclampsia. Additionally, it is important in improving the rate of growth and preventing undersized babies. High intake of Vitamin D3 by pregnant women secures them from premature births, infection development, preterm labor, toxicity, and Cesarean section.
13. Supporting lungs
Vitamin D3 in the lungs increases regulated genes that are responsible for killing and recognition pathogens. The pulmonary immune response is also regulated by vitamin D3 in the lungs. It is also essential in decrease in chemokine production, T cell activation alteration, dendritic cell inhibition, and increase in cathelicidin peptide antimicrobial in the lungs. Moreover, it is important in preventing allergic lung disease development, respiratory tract infection, and infections in mycobacterial.
14. Dementia and cognition
Vitamin D3 protects neurocognitive functioning deficit. Additionally, it also protects the integrity of the critical neurotransmitter pathway for mental processes and increases the transpeptidase of the gamma-glutamyl. Moreover, it protects the neurons from taking in excess calcium and regulating the calcium homeostasis of the neurons. This enhances cognitive functions, such as orientation, executive functioning in Alzheimer’s patients, and memory boost. Whoever, it also plays a role in brain injury of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic and helps adults keep cognitive functioning.
15. Bowel Inflammatory Disease
Vitamin D3 promotes anti-inflammatory and regulates the functioning of the gastrointestinal microbiota. Its availability is essential in gut mucosal immunity regulation. However, it plays a role in gastrointestinal barrier integrity maintenance by regulating proteins associated with the epithelial junction of the cell gap. Besides, it prevents the effects of microbiota homeostasis and disease ameliorate progression through anti-inflammatory, immune responses.
