The relationship between vitamin D and calcium

Calcium and vitamin D are golden partners in maintaining bone health and preventing osteoporosis. Many people must have heard this sentence. And some people are often told by doctors, "Don't just supplement calcium, but also get more sun every day!"

So, what does sunbathing have to do with “calcium supplementation”? How to supplement calcium safely and effectively? Today let’s talk about the “correct posture” of calcium supplementation!

Why does vitamin D deficiency cause calcium deficiency? Let’s use an analogy! If the calcium we eat is a construction worker that can help our bodies establish various "healthy cycles", then we need a means of transportation to enter the core "construction site" along the intestines. This tool is vitamin D~

Vitamin D can regulate calcium and phosphorus metabolism, promote intestinal calcium and phosphorus absorption and bone calcification, and maintain the balance of blood calcium and blood phosphorus. It is the best "partner" of calcium. Together, they can make human bones stronger. It is an important basic preparation for preventing vitamin D deficiency rickets in adolescents, osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly people and other diseases.

Sunbathing can help the body obtain free vitamin D, but please note: sunbathing through glass has almost no effect on the skin's synthesis of vitamin D.

According to a clinical survey published in the Journal of the American Orthopedic Association, nearly 1 billion people worldwide have insufficient vitamin D levels. Although part of vitamin D can also be supplemented through food, about 80% still needs to be synthesized by itself through the above-mentioned pathways.

Due to a series of reasons such as the accelerated pace and indoorization of urban life, the density and high-rise urban housing, and air pollution, insufficient sun exposure has become the main cause of vitamin D deficiency around the world. Therefore, "calcium supplementation" has achieved twice the result with half the effort.

Vitamin D is like a transport truck. Only with its presence can calcium be "transported" into the human body. Therefore, when supplementing calcium, vitamin D must be supplemented, and vitamin D3 is the main form of vitamin D.

Common misunderstandings about vitamin D3 supplementation

Myth 1: Sunbathing to supplement vitamin D3

Although the skin can produce vitamin D3 under the action of UVB when exposed to the sun, the production is not stable, and it does not necessarily mean it will be useful after being exposed to the sun. Especially women, whose skin is delicate, may turn into little black babies before the vitamin D3 is exposed!

Misunderstanding 2: Simply rely on diet to supplement vitamin D

According to the recommendations of the 2016 edition of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", people aged 0-50 should consume at least 400IU of vitamin D every day, which is 10ug (micrograms). However, the vitamin D content in food is extremely low and cannot meet the above recommendations at all.

Take the common boiled egg as an example! Each 100g of boiled eggs contains about 2.2ug of vitamin D. If a boiled egg weighs 50g, it is equivalent to eating nearly 10 boiled eggs every day! Just thinking about it makes me choke! Not only is it difficult to eat eggs, but the content of vitamin D in other foods is also relatively low, so it is better to think about supplementing vitamin D solely through diet.

Myth 3: Vitamin D only promotes calcium absorption in the body

The role of vitamin D is not limited to the traditional understanding of calcium and phosphorus regulating metabolism. Many scientific research results show that it is also involved in regulating human immune function, assisting diabetic patients to stabilize blood sugar, assisting patients with hypertension to stabilize blood pressure, etc., and plays an important role in various physiological functions of the human body. play an active role.

Myth 4: You don’t need to supplement vitamin D and calcium when you are young

The occurrence of osteoporosis mainly depends on two factors, peak bone mass in youth and bone loss rate in old age. The bone mass of normal people reaches its peak at the age of 30-35, and then there is a process of decline. If you do not pay attention to vitamin D and calcium supplements when you are young, it will have a certain impact on the peak bone mass and the bone loss rate in old age. The impact may even lead to the early onset of osteoporosis.