Tissues throughout the body have receptors for vitamin D, and so it affects many organs, says Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, director of the bone metabolism laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.
Here are some of the most important functions of vitamin D.
Bone Density and Fracture Prevention
Throughout life, your body replaces small pockets of old bone with new bone, which keeps your skeleton strong, says Dr. Dawson-Hughes. Vitamin D helps you absorb the calcium needed to build that new bone. Without this renewal, bones would be badly weakened by old age and much more likely to break, she says.
Together with calcium, vitamin D helps protect older adults from osteoporosis, a condition that makes bones thin and fragile.
