Vitamin D has made the headlines recently as we have become aware of the need to have adequate amounts of it along with calcium to prevent osteoporosis. Its effects reach much further than the bones as every cell in the body has receptors for vitamin D. In many ways it acts more like a hormone to help regulate growth, reproduction, immunity, cardiovascular function mood and the endocrine system. In its active form it regulates over 200 genes and many more are affected by Vitamin D indirectly. This ability to regulate genes may help explain why lower levels of serum vitamin D are associated with cancer of the colon, breast, skin and prostate.
