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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin plays an important role in the maintenance of organ systems which acts like a hormone, regulating the formation of bone and the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine. It helps to control the movement of calcium between bone and blood, and vice versa. In infancy and childhood, deficiency of vitamin D causes the deformed bones characteristic of rickets, while in adults a lack of the vitamin causes a softening of the bones known as osteomalacia. An excess of the vitamin can cause loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, headache, depression and deposits of calcium in the kidneys.
Vitamin D deficiency can result from inadequate intake coupled with inadequate sunlight exposure, disorders that limit its absorption, conditions that impair conversion of vitamin D into active metabolites, such as liver or kidney disorders, or, rarely, by a number of hereditary disorders.

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