October 1, 2005Southern Medical Journal233 citations
View Full PaperVitamin D: Important for Prevention of Osteoporosis, Cardiovascular Heart Disease, Type 1 Diabetes, Autoimmune Diseases, and Some Cancers
Key Points
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Abstract
Vitamin D is very important for overall health and wellbeing. A major source of vitamin D comes from exposure to sunlight. Measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the blood and not 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D is used to determine vitamin D status. A blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D of at least 20 ng/mL is considered to be vitamin D sufficient. Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of many common cancers, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, cardiovascular heart disease, and type I diabetes.