Neeru Bhatt1*, Amanat Ali2, Mostafa I. Waly2
1Global Science Heritage, Toronto, Canada. 2Food Science and Nutrition Department, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
*Corresponding Author Email Address: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Vitamin D is critical for bone and mineral metabolism. Many guidelines recommend that the target serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations should be ≥ 50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL). However, the general consensus in the scientific community is that the serum concentrations below 25 to 30 nmol/L (10 to 12 ng/mL) must be prevented and treated. A significant proportion of vitamin D (~90%) is produced in our body and only around 10% comes from dietary intake. Vitamin D deficiency remains a significant health challenge globally with its overwhelming effects on skeletal growth and varied associations with extraskeletal diseases. For several decades vitamin D was known to involve with mineral and bone homeostasis and was used for the treatment of osteoporosis, rickets and bone deformities. In recent years, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to various biological processes, which regulate the calcium and phosphorus metabolism, cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, immune regulation, genome stability, and neurogenesis. Impaired vitamin D metabolism can also lead to many health problems, including cognitive decline, depression, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. The present paper discusses the significance of assessing the vitamin D status and its role in the regulation biological processes and prevention of health problems.
Keywords: Vitamin D, Cancer, Cardiovascular Diseases, Hypertension, Diabetes
Citation: Bhatt N, Ali A, Waly MI. Non-Skeletal Benefits of Vitamin D. Canad J Clin Nutr 2019; 7 (1): 141-159.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14206/canad.j.clin.nutr.2019.01.12