How is sunlight important to bone health

But if you you're already in midlife or beyond, there is still much you can do to preserve the bone you have and perhaps even to replace lost bone. Daily weight-bearing exercise, like walking, is the best medicine.

Getting enough calcium and vitamin D are two other critical strategies for keeping bones strong. Calcium is an important nutrient for building bone and slowing the pace of bone loss. But it's not a single magic bullet, and some scientists suggest that too much calcium or dairy products may be unhealthy.

Keep in mind that in addition to calcium, there are other nutrients and foods that help keep your bones strong — most importantly vitamin D, but also vitamin K. How much calcium? The recommended daily intake for calcium is 1, milligrams mg a day for adults up through age 50 and 1, mg a day for people ages 51 and older, when bone loss accelerates.

With age, the intestines absorb less calcium from the diet, and the kidneys seem to be less efficient at conserving calcium. As a result, your body can steal calcium from bone for a variety of important metabolic functions. Ideally, you should get your calcium through dietary sources. Some research suggests that getting too much calcium from supplements may increase the risk of heart disease and prostate cancer. Therefore it's best to talk with your doctor if you think you need a calcium supplement.

In building bone, calcium has an indispensable assistant: vitamin D. This vitamin helps the body absorb calcium, and some researchers think that increasing vitamin D can help prevent osteoporosis. Milk sold in the United States is fortified with vitamin D. Vitamin D is also prevalent in fortified breakfast cereals, eggs, and vitamin supplements. Some brands of yogurt are fortified with it, as well as some juices.

The symptoms develop or worsen when the days get shorter, and they improve when the days get longer. In the northern hemisphere, this means that people with SAD will experience the most intense symptoms in January and February. Researchers say that 1. People may lose the ability to find pleasure in activities that they once loved, have difficulty thinking, or feel worthless. They may also notice changes to their sleeping and eating habits.

Both SAD and depression are treatable. Medication and therapy can both be effective, and some interventions harness the health benefits of sunlight. These interventions allow people to find other ways to access these health benefits, which is particularly important for people who:.

Light therapy is a standard treatment for SAD and can be an effective alternative to sunlight. Antidepressant medications can also be beneficial for people with SAD.

Some research has also found that increasing vitamin D intake can reduce SAD symptoms in some cases. Adjusting light levels and vitamin D intake are not the only possible solutions. Studies have shown that people with SAD can benefit just as much from cognitive behavioral therapy as they can from light therapy.

The health benefits of sunlight include generating the production of vitamin D, supporting bone health, lowering blood pressure, preventing disease, and promoting good mental health. For some people, reduced exposure to sunlight, which occurs in the winter in the U. People most commonly use sun lamps to treat a form of depression called seasonal affective disorder SAD or to help their body make vitamin D. The body produces vitamin D in response to sun exposure. Vitamin D has a range of benefits.

It protects the teeth and bones and defends against…. Accessed October 17, Vitamin d and calcium: updated dietary reference intakes — nutrition and healthy eating — health Canada. Holick M. Vitamin D: important for prevention of osteoporosis, cardiovascular heart disease, type 1 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and some cancers. Southern Medical Journal.