Posted on February 12, 2009 in Latest News
You must have observed that 2 nutrients in particular i.e. Calcium and Vitamin D are always taken in conjunction. The obvious question arises is why Vitamin D is always taken in conjunction with calcium? According to research studies vitamin D and calcium are essential for proper growth and maintenance of your bones. Besides that the combination of Vitamin D and calcium plays a vital role in preventing osteoporosis.
Everyone is aware that calcium is essential for the formation and growth of healthy bones. Besides that calcium plays vital role in clotting of the blood and proper functioning of heart, nerves and muscles. With a well balanced diet you can get a enough calcium to satisfy your body’s daily requirement. Dairy products are the best natural sources of calcium. Besides dairy products following are the foods that have calcium and vitamin d:
- Brown rice
- Oranges
- Cabbage
- Beans
- Broccoli
- Kale
- Beans
- Salmon
- Shrimps
- Oysters
- Haddock
Why Vitamin D is needed along with Calcium?
Vitamin D is required by the body for the proper absorption of calcium. Vitamin D plays an important role in the formation of hormone called as calcitriol or active vitamin D. This hormone helps in the proper calcium absorption from your diet. In case of Vitamin D deficiency sufficient amount of calcitriol hormone is not formed hence leading to insufficient absorption of calcium. In that case body depends on the calcium stored in skeleton hence weakening them and slow downs the process of new bone formation.
What are the sources of Vitamin D?
There are 3 major sources from where you can get Vitamin D. Vitamin D rich sources are listed below:
- Diet: Foods like fortified milk, egg yolks, saltwater fish and liver are the best dietary sources of Vitamin D.
- Sunlight: On exposure to sunlight your body will manufacture sufficient amount of Vitamin D naturally. At least 15 minutes of sun exposure without sunscreen is enough to produce sufficient amount of Vitamin D.
- Supplements: Besides the above mention natural sources you can get Vitamin D through dietary supplements.
Lastly the combination of Vitamin D and calcium do decreases the risk of osteoporosis and maintains good bone health. But people suffering from heart and kidney diseases should take this combination only under medical supervision.
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