Vitamin D is a vital nutrient that primarily helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus, which are essential for building and maintaining strong bones and teeth
. It supports bone growth, remodeling, and prevents conditions like rickets in children and osteomalacia or osteoporosis in adults by ensuring proper bone mineralization
. Beyond bone health, vitamin D plays important roles in:
- Supporting immune system function, including modulating inflammation and enhancing resistance to infections and autoimmune diseases
- Maintaining muscle function and brain cell activity
- Regulating cell growth, differentiation, and various metabolic processes
Vitamin D is produced in the skin through sunlight exposure and can also be obtained from certain foods (like fortified milk and fatty fish) and supplements
. Its active form, calcitriol, binds to vitamin D receptors in many body tissues, influencing gene expression related to calcium absorption, immune responses, and cell regulation
. In summary, vitamin D is crucial for bone health, immune defense, muscle and brain function, and overall cellular regulation in the body
