The Role of Vitamin D in Bone Health

Calcium may get more of the spotlight in the general public opinion about what supplements are good for bones, but Vitamin D also plays a very central role. So what is the role of vitamin d in bone health?This is because it not only promotes the development of new bone but it is also crucial in helping your body absorb calcium to strengthen and maintain the state of your bones. Without enough vitamin D, your bones can become weaker and even deformed; this puts you at risk of conditions like rickets (in children), osteomalacia (in adults), or osteoporosis (in older adults). Convinced yet? In this Meds for Less article we’ll talk through a few commonly asked questions about how Vitamin D relates to bone health and what we can do to improve our bone health.

What Is Vitamin D and How Does It Work in the Body?

Let’s get into the role of vitamin d in bone health. Vitamin D is crucial for maintaining strong bones as well as calcium absorption in your gut. If we are deficient in Vitamin D, our bones can become weak, thin, or deformed. You can get Vitamin D naturally when your skin is exposed to the sun, as well as some foods such as fatty fish (e.g salmon, mackerel) or egg yolks. So how exactly does this vitamin work in the body to support our bones? Well for starters, Vitamin D supports the activity of cells that build new bone. Additionally, it helps to absorb calcium. Having enough calcium in your body means the process of bone mineralisation (strengthening and maintaining the bone density) can occur.

The Link Between Vitamin D and Strong Bones

Given the central vitamin d role in bone health, having normal levels of Vitamin D in your body is linked to having strong bones. In fact, Vitamin D deficiency is linked to a higher risk of fractures, and health conditions including osteoporosis (older adults), and rickets (children). Why? Not only does the body needs Vitamin D to support the cells that make new bone, but also to absorb calcium which help make and then maintain bone strength.

How Vitamin D Supports Calcium Absorption and Bone Formation

Calcium is an important mineral in supporting bone health. In fact rather than Vitamin D, calcium may have been the first thing that popped into your head when thinking about bone health. Calcium acts as a building block in the development and maintenance of bone structure and strength. Vitamin D is crucial for the absorption of calcium in the gut so insufficient levels of Vitamin D mean that not enough calcium may be absorbed. This then means that not only do you not have enough building blocks to keep the existing bone strong and dense, but then the body starts to break down bone to maintain calcium levels. Scary right? That’s not all, without enough vitamin D, the process of making new bone is also disrupted so the body cannot replace the bone that was broken down.

Importance of Vitamin D in Bone Healing After Injury or Surgery

Given the important role of vitamin d in bone health, it makes sense that vitamin D is incredibly important in bone healing after an injury (e.g fracture recovery) or a surgical operation. If you do not have enough of this vitamin, it may mean you heal more slowly and you are at a higher risk of the bone not healing at all (also known as non-union). Now let’s talk through some of the roles of vitamin d in bone healing:

• After an injury or surgery, a process called bone mineralisation is needed. This just means that calcium and phosphate are put into the bone structure to maintain its strength. Vitamin D is important to this process.
• Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption. If you do not have enough calcium, your body may start breaking down bone to try and get enough.
• Vitamin D also promotes the activity of cells that build new bone at the site of the injury or surgery.
• At the site of the injury, Vitamin D can also help with regulating the immune system response to improve healing.

Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency for Bone Health

Now that we’ve covered questions like “how does vitamin d help bones?”, let’s get into some of the risk of vitamin d deficiency. Without enough vitamin D, in the short and long term bone health can be affected. The processes that support bone health such as bone mineralisation or remodelling are highly dependent on vitamin D so a deficiency could lead to thin, weak, brittle, or even deformed bones. You may have heard of a condition called “rickets” in children who do not get enough Vitamin D; in adults this is called osteomalacia. Older adults who do not have enough vitamin D are at increased risk of a condition called osteoporosis.

Sources of Vitamin D – Diet, Sunlight, and Supplements

Hopefully if you’ve read to this point in the article you are fully sold on the importance of vitamin d in bone health. If you feel worried that you are not getting enough vitamin D, here are some good sources of it to support your skeletal system health:

• Dietary sources– Some foods that are rich in vitamin D include: fatty fish (salmon, mackerel), egg yolks, and beef liver. You may want to increase some of these foods in your diet to naturally supplement your vitamin D levels.

• Sunlight – The sunlight on your skin causes a reaction that activates vitamin D. Handy right? However, a lot of factors can affect this including where you are in the world, the season, how much melanin is in the skin etc. So a lot of the time, people may not be getting enough vitamin D if they are just relying on sunlight.

• Supplements – Most pharmacies will sell vitamin D supplements, usually there is Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is usually from plants while Vitamin D3 is usually from animal products and also made in the skin. If you are unsure about which Vitamin D supplement is most suitable, you can consult a pharmacist.

 Recommended Daily Intake and Safety Considerations

According to the NHS website, the recommended daily Vitamin D intake for everyone above the age of 1 is 10 mcg (or 400 IU) of Vitamin D. This includes women who want to conceive, are pregnant, or breastfeeding. This might not sound like much vitamin D but taking too much Vitamin D supplements can also have negative effects. Some risks include having too much calcium in the body, this can have a damaging effect on your heart, kidneys, and bones. If you have a pre-existing medical condition or you take any medication regularly, please consult your healthcare provider or doctor first before you start taking vitamin D supplements to ensure you supplementing properly, at correct doses and to ensure no interactions or contraindications with any general health medicines you may be taking.

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