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Article: Rethinking vitamin D and its role in osteoporosis.(Women's Health Update)
- Article from:
- Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine
- Article date:
- April 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 The Townsend Letter Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Vitamin D is the only vitamin that is also a hormone, and the only vitamin we don't have to consume from our diet. Vitamin D is normally produced in the skin through ultraviolet exposure of a derivative of cholesterol (7-dehydrochlesterol), which produces previtamin D, which is then metabolized to 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the liver and, subsequently, to 1 alpha dihydroxyvitamin D3 in the kidney, at which time it becomes functional. This hormone is then able to carry out functions including calcium absorption, phosphate absorption in the intestine, calcium mobilization in the bone, and calcium reabsorption in the kidney. Vitamin D also maintains normal parathyroid status, is ...