Deficiency Disease- Rickets, Osteomalacia

RDA 200 - 400 IU

Alpha OMX   400 IU per 15 Gram Daily Serving

Overdose: >50,000 IU

Vitamin D is also a family of related compounds with similar hormone-like activity. They are sterols, mostly of animal origin. Vitamin D is really a hormone we can get from food if internal production is insufficient. Vitamin D is produced by the skin exposed to sunlight and daily sun exposure will supply our requirement for D. Food sources are required by people with little or no sun exposure. The most common food source of Vitamin D is fish liver oils ? cod and halibut liver oil has been the most available source of Vitamin D. Plant foods are deficient in Vitamin D. Vitamin D-activity promotes the absorption and deposition of calcium in bones. Rickets is the best known Vitamin D deficiency disease, characterized by under-mineralized, soft bone, which bends and breaks easily. In adults, under-mineralized bone is known as osteomalacia. The incidence of rickets has been reduced in the past 2 or 3 decades by the addition of Vitamin D to milk and infant formulas. Rickets continues to plague undernourished, sun-deprived children. Daily intake goals are in the range of 200-400 IU/day.

The two important groups of compounds are:Vitamin D2 or ergocalciferols, and Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferols. Vitamin D is the most commonly supplemented vitamin, added routinely to foods-milk, bread, fruit juices, in their manufacture or processing. Sun or ultraviolet light exposure (wavelengths 290-320 nm) of skin excites skin cells to produce Vitamin D. Dietary source is only required when sun and skin are dissociated by clouds, buildings, and clothes.

Since plant foods have negligible quantities of Vitamin D, either sun exposure or supplementation is required to achieve adequate levels of Vitamin D activity in the body. Hypoallergenic diets typically exclude milk and other foods supplemented with Vitamin D and must be deliberately replaced in tablet or oil form, especially in the winter. Milk often contains added Vitamin D in the range of 30 IU per ml. Measurement of Vitamin D activity is confusing and irregular: 1 international unit (IU) = .025 micrograms of ergocalciferol (D2). By weight, the required amounts of Vitamin D are miniscule; 5-10 micrograms per day represent the recommended intake; therapeutic levels up to 7000 mcg/day have been used to treat osteomalacia; toxicity appears at 1200 mcg/day (above 50,000-60,000 IU/day). Blood levels of Vitamin D are usually assessed by measuring the main transport form, 25-OH-D3; serum values less than 10 nanogram/ml indicate deficiency. Serum levels higher than 400 nanograms/ml are toxic.

Increased Vitamin D activity increases blood calcium level and increased kidney excretion may produce stones. Calcification tends to occur in the wrong tissues, with accelerated calcification of arteries. Kidney damage may occur. Symptoms of Vitamin D overdose include weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, bone pain, and heart rhythm irregularities.