SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!
24/7 HELPLINE (903) 212-7500
  • PATIENT PORTAL LOGIN

PhyNet Health PhyNet Health

  • Home
  • Find a Clinic
    • Hughes Springs, TX
    • Longview, TX
    • Jefferson, TX
    • Kilgore, TX
    • Lindale, TX
    • Linden, TX
    • Gladewater, TX
    • Lone Star, TX
    • Tatum, TX
    • Marshall, TX
  • Health Services
    • Primary Care Services
    • Physical Therapy / Rehab
    • Allergy Testing & Treatment
    • Chronic Care Management
    • Remote Monitoring Program
    • Virtual Visit
  • Resources
    • MedlinePlus Wiki
      • Health Topics
    • Home Health Coordination
    • Transitions of Care
    • Insurance Help
  • About Phynet
    • About Phynet
    • PhyNet News
    • Better Together Stories
    • Careers
  • Billing

Health Topics

Skip navigation

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine
MedlinePlus Trusted Health Information for You
  • Health Topics
  • Drugs & Supplements
  • Genetics
  • Medical Tests
  • Medical Encyclopedia
  • About MedlinePlus
  • About MedlinePlus
  • What's New
  • Site Map
  • Customer Support
  • Health Topics
  • Drugs & Supplements
  • Genetics
  • Medical Tests
  • Medical Encyclopedia
Español
You Are Here:
Home →
Health Topics →
Vitamin D
URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/vitamind.html

Vitamin D

Also called: Cholecalciferol, Ergocalciferol
On this page

Basics

  • Summary
  • Start Here
  • Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

  • Related Issues

See, Play and Learn

  • Test Your Knowledge

Research

  • Statistics and Research
  • Clinical Trials
  • Journal Articles

Resources

  • Find an Expert

For You

  • Children
  • Women
  • Patient Handouts

Summary

Why do I need vitamin D?

Vitamins are substances that your body needs to grow and develop normally. Vitamin D is important to your body because:

  • It helps your body absorb calcium. Calcium is one of the main building blocks of bone. A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone diseases such as osteoporosis or rickets.
  • It also has a role in your nerve, muscle, and immune systems:
    • Your muscles need it to move
    • Your nerves need it to carry messages between your brain and your body
    • Your immune system needs vitamin D to fight off bacteria and viruses

How do I get vitamin D?

You can get vitamin D in three ways: through your skin, from your diet, and from supplements. Your body forms vitamin D naturally after exposure to sunlight. However, too much sun exposure can lead to skin aging and skin cancer. So many people try to get their vitamin D from other sources.

Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Most people get vitamin D in their diet from foods that are fortified. This means that vitamin D is added to the food. These foods may include milk, cereal, and yogurt. Foods that naturally have vitamin D include egg yolks, saltwater fish, and liver.

Vitamin D is available in supplements. It is also included in many multivitamins. The two forms of vitamin D in supplements are D2 and D3. Both types increase vitamin D in your blood, but D3 might raise it higher and for longer than D2. Vitamin D is fat soluble. You can absorb it better when you take your supplements with a meal or snack that includes some fat.

How much vitamin D do I need?

The amount of vitamin D you need each day depends on your age. The recommended amounts, in international units (IU), are:

  • Birth to 12 months: 400 IU
  • Children 1-13 years: 600 IU
  • Teens 14-18 years: 600 IU
  • Adults 19-70 years: 600 IU
  • Adults 71 years and older: 800 IU
  • If you are pregnant or breastfeeding: 600 IU

But certain people may need extra vitamin D, such as:

  • Older adults
  • Breastfed infants
  • People with dark skin
  • People with certain conditions that limit the absorption of fat, such as Crohn's disease, celiac disease, and ulcerative colitis
  • People who have obesity or have had gastric bypass surgery

Check with your health care provider to see if you need to take vitamin D supplements, and if so, how much you should take. Your provider may want to first do a vitamin D test to see if you are getting enough of it.

NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements

Start Here

  • Digging Into Vitamin D: All About the "Sunshine" Vitamin From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
  • Vitamin D From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

  • Vitamin D Test From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

  • Calcium and Vitamin D: Important for Bone Health From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
  • Vitamin D Toxicity: What If You Get Too Much? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Test Your Knowledge

  • Test Your Bone-Health Diet Knowledge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

  • Vitamin D and Cancer From the National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
  • Vitamin D and Multiple Sclerosis (MS): Is There Any Connection? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Vitamin D From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

  • Article: Effects of branched-chain amino acid- and vitamin D-containing high-protein food supplementation...
  • Article: A pilot clinical trial to explore the effects of UV exposure...
  • Article: Relationship between Circulating Vitamin D Concentration and the Maternal Gut Microbiota...
  • Vitamin D -- see more articles

Find an Expert

  • Find a Nutrition Expert (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
  • Food and Drug Administration
  • Food and Nutrition Information Center
  • National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements From the National Institutes of Health

Children

  • Vitamin D (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Women

  • Vitamin D and Breastfeeding (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Patient Handouts

  • 25-hydroxy vitamin D test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Calcium, vitamin D, and your bones (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Hypervitaminosis D (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Vitamin D (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Topic Image

Vitamin D

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

  • 25-hydroxy vitamin D test
  • Calcium, vitamin D, and your bones
  • Hypervitaminosis D
  • Vitamin D

Related Health Topics

  • Rickets
  • Vitamin D Deficiency
  • Vitamins

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Vitamin D is the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements

Other Languages

Find health information in languages other than English on Vitamin D

Disclaimers

MedlinePlus links to health information from the National Institutes of Health and other federal government agencies. MedlinePlus also links to health information from non-government Web sites. See our disclaimer about external links and our quality guidelines.

The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.

  • About MedlinePlus
  • What's New
  • Site Map
  • Customer Support
  • Subscribe to RSSRSS
  • Connect with NLM
  • NLM Web Policies
  • Copyright
  • Accessibility
  • Guidelines for Links
  • Viewers & Players
  • HHS Vulnerability Disclosure
  • MedlinePlus Connect for EHRs
  • For Developers
National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health
Last updated May 10, 2024
Return to top

Patients

  • Find a Clinic
  • Health Services
  • Complex Case Management
  • MA / Medicare Assistance

Quick Links

  • Billing Information
  • Careers
  • About Phynet
  • PhyNet News

Network Links

  • PrimeCareHomeHealth.com
  • PrimeCareNet.com
  • PrimeCareManagers.com
  • Core-Rehab.com

Home Office

4002 Technology Center Longview TX 75605
Phone: (903) 247-0484
Fax: (903) 247-0485
[email protected]
  • PrimeCareHomeHealth.com
  • PrimeCareNet.com
  • PrimeCareManagers.com
  • Core-Rehab.com
  • GET SOCIAL

© 2021 PhyNet Health • All rights reserved
YOUR LIFE. YOUR CHOICE.

TOP