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Vitamin D - Step Out for a Healthy Dose!

Too often we've heard warnings to avoid exposure to sunlight as much as possible because it can cause skin cancer. While that is true to some extent, we should also factor in the reality that sunlight provides vitamin D, a nutrient that our bodies need to prevent diseases and to stay healthy. And despite the fact that we can get copious amounts of this vitamin from sunlight -- for free! -- it's a sad fact that many of us still do not get enough of it daily.

Although we can get vitamin D from dietary sources, mostly from dairy products like fish, egg yolks, milk, and other dairy products that are fortified with it. But the food choices are limited. So all a person would need to do to get lots of this nutrient is to go out into the sunlight for a few minutes and soak it up, right? Well, not really. It's true that people with light skin need only a few minutes in the sun to absorb the vitamin, but for darker-skinned people a few minutes is not enough. Also, people who live in northern latitudes find it hard to get the right exposure since sunlight becomes a rare commodity during that time.

Like all the other vitamins, the D vitamin plays an important role in keeping our bodies strong and healthy. It's an essential factor in the development of strong bones and teeth. It reduces the risk of fractures and improves muscular strength as well. Research shows that people who are deficient in this vitamin run the risk of developing a number of diseases, such as rickets. Rickets is characterized by soft bones, which bend or break easily and which could lead to limb and spinal deformities. A number of studies also show that this nutrient plays a significant role in the prevention of colon and prostate cancer.

To see if you are getting enough of this vitamin and other nutrients, it would be wise to go to a physician and ask for a blood test. If you find that you're nutritionally deficient, you may want to purchase nutritional supplements if you feel that spending too much time out in the sun will cause more harm than good. Whichever way you get your vitamin D, whether from food, sunlight, or supplements, you should make sure that you get the amount that your body needs for optimum health.