Vitamin D deficiency could increase your death risk

You have probably heard in one context or another that vitamin D has an important role to play for your body, especially for your bones. But, an increasing number of research studies found that a vitamin D deficiency also contributes to a variety of other disorders and chronic illnesses. A recent research study from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark established for the first time that there is a relationship between low vitamin D levels and higher mortality rates. The study examined any genetic defects as well as vitamin D levels through blood tests of 95,000 people of Danish descent in Copenhagen. They found that genes associated with low vitamin D had an increased mortality rate of 30 percent and a higher cancer-related death rate of 40 percent. But the risk is not linked with early death due to heart-related causes, the researchers added. The researchers also considered other factors that could affect the participants' vitamin D levels, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, physical activity levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body mass index (a measurement that helps determine if a person is a normal weight for their height). The researchers concluded that death from problems involving the heart could be due to other risk factors, and not gene variants linked to low vitamin D levels. However, the findings are preliminary and more research is needed, they noted in a journal news release. ...

We get most of our vitamin D from sunlight on our skin. Vitamin D is made by our body under the skin in reaction to summer sunlight. However, it is very important that you cover up or protect your skin with sunscreen before you turn red or get burnt. ...