Vitamin D3

Biochemical significance: Vitamin D participates in maintaining calcium and phosphorus homeostasis, affects cell division, spermatogenesis, ovulation, lactation and immunogenesis.

Vitamin D deficiency: People can develop vitamin D deficiency when usual intakes, over a long period of time, are lower than recommended, when exposure to sunlight is limited, when the kidneys cannot synthesize the active form of vitamin D, or when absorption from the digestive tract is inadequate. The main biochemical features of vitamin D deficiency are hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia. The lack of this vitamin is more often found in people who have an allergy to milk and dairy products, so the intake of such products is limited even in those people who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. In children, vitamin D deficiency manifests itself as rickets. It is a disease characterized by the failure of bone tissue to mineralize properly, leading to skeletal deformities. In addition to deformities of the bone system, rickets can also cause developmental delay, cardiomyopathy, hypocalcemic attacks, tetanic spasms, and dental abnormalities. Prolonged breastfeeding without vitamin D3 supplementation can cause rickets in newborns. In adolescents and adults, vitamin D deficiency can also lead to osteomalacia, where the bones are incompletely or defectively mineralized. The symptoms of osteomalacia are very similar to those of rickets, namely: bone pain, hypocalcemic attacks, tetanic spasms and dental abnormalities.

Vitamin D3 excess can be the result of uncontrolled use of this vitamin, when symptoms of toxicity occur, namely: weakness, vomiting, diarrhea and headache. Long-term hypervitaminosis leads to kidney function disorders, calcifications in the skin, lungs and heart. Numerous studies have been conducted that prove the connection between the intake of vitamin D3 and a lower incidence of bone diseases (rickets, osteoporosis), cardiovascular diseases, depression, multiple sclerosis, type II diabetes, as well as malignant diseases. Laboratory and animal studies suggest that vitamin D may inhibit carcinogenesis and slow tumor progression. In addition, this vitamin has anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenic effects.

Vitamin D can interact with several types of medications, such as:
– Orlistat: a drug for weight loss, can reduce the absorption of vitamin D3 from food and supplements.
– Statins: drugs that inhibit the synthesis of cholesterol, because vitamin D3 is synthesized from cholesterol, these drugs can reduce the synthesis of vitamin D. Likewise, high doses of vitamin D3 may reduce the effectiveness of atorvastatin and simvastatin.
– Corticosteroids: can reduce calcium absorption and disrupt vitamin D3 metabolism.
– Thiazide diuretics: they reduce the excretion of calcium in the urine. The combination of these drugs with vitamin D3 can lead to hypercalcemia, especially in the elderly and those with impaired renal function.