Add More Years To Life – Try “Sunshine” Vitamin!

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“Vitamin D affects mortality regardless of the (primary) reason for death," said Harald Dobnig, an internist and endocrinologist at the University of Graz in Austria, who led a study.

This latest study to suggest health benefit from the vitamin -- revealed death rates from any cause as well as from heart-related problems varied greatly depending on the amount of vitamin D in the patient’s body.

“People with a vitamin D deficiency are likely to die sooner than people whose blood contains higher amounts of the so-called sunshine vitamin,” Austrian researchers said on Monday.

The miraculous vitamin has often been taken for granted. Isn’t it? Well its time to wake up now.

Apart from its major biological function of maintaining the body's calcium balance by increasing calcium absorption, helping to form and maintain strong bones, this hormone-like vitamin plays a vital role in major metabolic processes, and may have subtle but important effects on regulating cell growth and on our immune and cardiovascular systems

Numerous studies second the fact that vitamin D may offer a variety of other health benefits, including protecting against cancer, peripheral artery disease and tuberculosis, also as per U.S. researchers vitamin D may extend the lives of people with colon and rectal cancer.

When the skin is exposed to sunlight the body makes vitamin D -- a reason for its nickname, the "sunshine vitamin".

Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and is considered important for bone health. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, and it can lead to rickets in children.

Researchers have found that the well being of humans is directly proportional to the level of vitamin D in the body, it is believed that people should have at least 20 to 30 nanograms per milliliter of the vitamin in their blood.

What lends the vitamin a life giving property and how it is beneficial in elongating the life span is not known yet.

Especially in case of the immobile, elderly and others who spend a great amount of time indoors, doctors must be keep a regular check on the level of vitamin D in their patient's body.

Though the sun is a significant contributor of vitamin D , and as little as 10 minutes of exposure is thought to be enough to put a stop to deficiencies, still many doctors agree that specifically people with low levels of vitamin D cannot make up for it safely by sitting in the sun, so they must go in for supplements.

"These results should prompt us to perform vitamin D measurements on a more frequent basis especially in populations at risk," Dobnig said.

Adding vitamin D to your diet and soaking up the sun will definitely make your life longer and healthier.