The Pakistani Spectator

There are many risks of sun exposure. People have now started to realize this and so are changing their habits as avoiding direct sunlight, and wearing a lot of sunscreen. That’s actually called the awareness.

But sunlight also provides the Vitamin D and the need for this vitamin is usually met through exposure to sunlight. Actually the Ultraviolet (UV) B radiation penetrates uncovered skin and converts cutaneous 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D₃, which in turn becomes vitamin D₃.

So there is no need to totally reduce your sunlight exposure because of skin hazards because the trade off may be Vitamin D deficiency. And the Vitamin D deficiency can result to a lot of ailments such as osteomalacia, bone diseases, and skeletal deformities.

Studies prove that homebound people and people often covered for religious reasons often lack in Vitamin D. But the great news is that now you can have Vitamin D from supplements and a few food sources like fish liver oil.

From the close medical point of view, Vitamin D is responsible fro regulating the levels of calcium and phosphorous in the blood by promoting their absorption from food in the intestines. This Vitamin also promotes reabsorption of calcium in the kidneys.

Also Vitamin D affects the immune system as it promotes anti-tumor activity, and immunomodulatory functions.