Sunlight Vitamin D Synthesis

The best food sources of vitamin d are wild not farmed oily fish like salmon mackerel and sardines and cod liver oil.

Sunlight vitamin d synthesis.

In the presence of sunlight a form of vitamin d 3 called cholecalciferol is synthesized from a derivative of the steroid cholesterol in the skin. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet uv rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin d synthesis. The challenge lies is balancing skin protection from sun overexposure while reaping vitamin d s. Vitamin d is a group of fat soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium magnesium and phosphate and multiple other biological effects.

One study showed that doing outdoor activities such as gardening in the summer did indeed reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. When the sun s ultraviolet rays touch the skin they convert the precursor to a molecule called vitamin d 3 which then follows a metabolic pathway through the liver and finally to the kidneys where it s converted into a molecule called calcitriol. Vitamin d obtained from sun exposure foods and supplements is biologically inert and must undergo two hydroxylations in the body for activation. Darker skin reported to have same capacity for vitamin d synthesis but.

That s the good stuff the active form. Vitamin d has many roles in the body and is essential for optimal. The major natural source of the vitamin is synthesis of cholecalciferol in the lower. The first hydroxylation which occurs in the liver converts vitamin d to 25.

One theory is that because cholesterol is used in vitamin d synthesis levels of cholesterol will reduce as more vitamin d is made. The epidermal layer of human skin synthesizes vitamin d when exposed to uv radiation. The sun s ultraviolet b uvb rays hit cholesterol in the skin cells providing the energy for vitamin d synthesis to occur. When it s exposed to sunlight our skin makes vitamin d.

According to the national institutes of health s office of dietary supplements ultraviolet uv b radiation with a wavelength of 290 315 nanometers penetrates uncovered skin and converts cutaneous 7 dehydrocholesterol to previtamin d3 which in turn becomes vitamin d3. Other sources include free range eggs and free. Personal factors physiological skin pigmentation. In humans the most important compounds in this group are vitamin d 3 also known as cholecalciferol and vitamin d 2 ergocalciferol.

Food sources of vitamin d. In the midst of summer there s plenty of daily sunlight to boost vitamin d levels in your body. Melanin is a broad uv visible radiation absorber melanin competes with the chromophore 7 dhc for absorption of uvb thus making less available to 7 dhc. Specific sunlight kicks off the vitamin d synthesis process.