Vitamin D For Skin
Vitamin D For Skin? Can it help with dry skin? Those who know what vitamin D is may think this is a weird question. As weird as it may be, it is not hard to see why vit D is often reported as the skin vitamin. Well, it is basically the sun’s UV rays.
Vitamin D is a prohormone that is essential for human metabolism. Prohormone means that it doesn’t have the activity to produce the hormone but rather needs a complex process of synthesis to convert to active hormones for use in the body.
Vitamin D is responsible for the regulation of calcium and phosphorus in the skin. This is done by helping the body absorb calcium and phosphorus from the foods digested in the intestines. Without vitamin D, your body will not be able to get all the benefits of calcium and phosphorus from the foods you eat. For that reason, vitamin D is essential for bone growth.
It also plays an important role in the immune system by promoting anti -tumor activity known as phagocytosis. When your body does not have enough vitamin D, it is likely to cause impairment of bone mineralization, rickets and diseases associated with bone softening as osteoporosis.
Does vitamin D help with dry skin then? Vitamin D for skin?
Looking at the roles vitamin D plays in your body, you would think that vitamin D has nothing to do with skin health. However, since vitamin D is produced with the help of UV light from sunlight, vitamin D is very much related to the skin.
Sun exposure can be a double-edged sword for your skin. While it would help your body produce vitamin D, it causes damage to the skin at the same time. Your skin may lose its moisture when it is exposed to sunlight, your skin cells could be damaged and collagen bundles in your skin could be depleted.
So vitamin D doesn’t really help the dry skin. Exposure to sunlight is essential for vitamin D production and it happens to be one of the main reasons for dry skin. However, you don’t have to sacrifice one for the sake of another. You can actually still enjoy the benefits of vitamin D from UV rays without causing skin damage.
Not exposing your skin to sunlight can cause vitamin D deficiency and this can cause more serious health problems. So you need to know how to get sun exposure without harming your skin.
Most of the sunscreens in the market that people apply on their skins prevents the UV rays to produce vitamin D effect on the skin. This doesn’t mean that you should not wear sunscreen, you should. However, for your body to take advantage of UV rays without damaging the skin , you need to go in the sun early in the morning. At this point in time, the UV rays are not as intense compared to the sun for the rest of the day.
Moisturize your skin properly and use products that will increase your skin’s moisture retention and those with antioxidants that protect the skin against the harmful effects of pollutants and free radicals.
Return from Vitamin D For Skin to Glycemic Index home page
