The chemical name of Vitamin D is Calciferol.
The sources of Vitamin D are Liver, egg yolk, butter, cod liver oil, shark liver oil. Vitamin D is present mostly in animal foods such as liver, egg yolk, butter, cod liver oil and shark liver oil.
Vitamin D deficiency results in diseases like Rickets, fragile bones.
The deficiency of this vitamin in children leads to a disease called as rickets.
Rickets is observed in the children of age group 6 months to 2 years. The disease is characterized by improper formation of bones. The children have curved legs i.e. bow legs, deformed pelvis, knock knees (knees knock each other while standing), swollen wrists and dentition gets delayed.
In adults, the deficiency of vitamin D leads to weakness of the bones and the bones become fragile, that means bones become soft and breaks easily.
IU – International Units, 1 microgram=40 IU
This vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium and phosphorous by the intestine and it gets deposited in the bone.
Calciferol is required for the formation and normal growth of the bones.
Cholesterol present in the foods gets converted to vitamin D in the presence of sun light in our body.