Vitamin D3: what is it, how is it taken and why is it important?

Vitamin D3 is a very important element for our immune system, but it is equally important to take it in the right way and above all in the right quantities. If a deficiency can indeed lead to gods important side effectsthe same can be said about its excess.

For this reason it is important to approach this vitamin in the right way, as the doctor explains Martina Doneganinutritionist biologist and scientific ambassador of Gazette Active: “In the body we find different forms of vitamin D, and D3 is one of the most important together with D2. Vitamin D3 is mostly found in animal foods and unlike others it can be produced by the body through sun exposure. It is an important thing because vitamin D3 is not very present at a dietary level, it is very difficult to cover the daily requirement with food alone”.

What foods is vitamin D3 found in? How is it assumed?

“A food in which it is particularly found is cod liver oil, which, however, has a very unpleasant smell, in fact it is no longer used. There are oily fish which are the main source of vitamin D like herring, salmon or mackerel. It is also found in egg yolks or liver, and in fatty cheeses and butter. However, it is not found in foods of plant origin, with the exception of some types of mushrooms, but they contain very few traces of it that are not enough to meet the daily requirement. It is added to many foods, such as for example in breakfast cereals, and in this way it is possible to cover its needs”.

What are the benefits and functions of Vitamin D3?

“The most important function is to regulate the absorption of calcium and phosphorustherefore it is related to the mineralization of the skeleton, and is involved in the regulation of the immune system. It is no coincidence that with Covid there has been a boom in vitamin D3 supplements, since a deficiency can compromise the body’s ability to respond to external attacks”.

Is it possible to use supplements?

“You have to be careful with supplements, because the Vitamin D3 is fat soluble, therefore it dissolves in fat and therefore can be accumulated. In excess, therefore, it could give gods toxicity problemstherefore before resorting to integration we need to understand if we are in deficit and therefore if it is really necessary. It is essential that the doctor chooses the dosageafter having done blood tests to verify the dosage of 25-OH-D, which is found in the blood and allows us to understand if we are in deficit”.

How do you recognize a vitamin D deficiency?

“It’s not easy, because it is usually asymptomatic, at most you can feel exhausted or not very energetic, but these are symptoms common to many things. When it comes to feeling pain in the bones due to vitamin D deficiency, it means that we are already at one very serious level. A vitamin D deficiency can lead to skeletal mineralization problemscan promote osteoporosis, can interfere with calcium absorption and can lead to a impaired immune system. A lack of vitamin D3 is also linked to rickets, in fact the pediatric societies in the guidelines recommend integrating it in the first months of life, and also in the elderly and in pregnancy the need for this vitamin increases and the ability to synthesize it decreases “.

What are the symptoms of an excess?

“The most common symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea and mental confusion.”