The importance of vitamin d vitamin d is perhaps best known for its role in maintaining healthy bones, but it also performs a wide variety of other functions in the body. We have the ability to make vitamin d for ourselves, but the synthesis that occurs in the skin is dependent on the availability of sunlight. It is known that blood concentrations of vitamin d in the uk fluctuate in line with the seasons, with levels being lowest in winter and highest in summer. It used to be considered that skin synthesis of vitamin d in the summer would be enough to cover requirements during the winter, but this is no longer the case, and the government recommends that everyone should consider taking a vitamin d supplement. Although vitamin d is found in certain foods, dietary sources of vitamin d are relatively limited, and when you consider that it is primarily found in red meat, liver and oily fish, it is easy to see why maintaining an adequate intake of this important nutrient often poses a challenge for vegetarians and vegans. Functions of vitamin d vitamin d is perhaps best known for its role in calcium absorption and bone health, but it also has a range of other important functions, including supporting the growth of healthy cells, the maintenance of a healthy immune system, and the facilitation of normal nerve and muscle function. It has also been demonstrated that vitamin d helps to reduce the risk of falling associated with postural instability and muscle weakness. Falling is ...