Unlocking The Power Of Vitamin D Benefits You Need To Know

Your body is a well-oiled machine that completes a range of functions around the clock to keep you going. So it’s no wonder it relies on nutrients, minerals and vitamins, like vitamin D, as fuel to maintain your overall health. 

The benefits of vitamin D for the body are many. From supporting bone and muscle health, to maintaining healthy immune system function and overall wellbeing¹, getting your daily dose of vitamin D is important. Let’s learn more about the importance of vitamin D, what it’s good for, and its benefits.

What is vitamin D good for?

Vitamin D, also known as the ‘sunshine vitamin,’ is a fat-soluble vitamin that’s stored by your body². Vitamin D takes one of two forms:

• Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol): comes from plant sources and can also be found in fortified foods and some supplements².
• Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol): is produced by your skin after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays, but also found in some animal foods and supplements².

Vitamin D plays a key role in helping your body absorb calcium and phosphorus from the food you eat, which is important for maintaining bone strength, healthy teeth and immune support^2,3. 

The benefits of vitamin D 

So, what are the benefits of vitamin D? Because vitamin D is important for several bodily functions, it greatly helps your body in many ways. From supporting a healthy immune system to fight illness, maintaining muscle function to supporting healthy bones and teeth, let’s take a closer look at some of the key benefits of taking vitamin D.

Vitamin D benefits for women

When it comes to women’s bodies, bone health is especially important. From the age of 50, women’s risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia increases with a diet deficient in calcium and as bone breakdown starts to outpace new bone formation⁴. This risk increases again when women hit menopause and oestrogen levels begin to drop⁵. 

As women’s bones lose density and weaken, they’re often more prone to fractures and injuries, which in turn increases their morbidity and mortality risk⁶. As such, maintaining good bone health becomes increasingly important as women age. With vitamin D aiding the absorption of dietary calcium and phosphorus, supporting bone health is considered one of the most important benefits of vitamin D for women⁶.

Vitamin D benefits for men 

Like women, there are several unique benefits of vitamin D for men. For one, there’s evidence to suggest a link between vitamin D, testosterone and healthy sperm production⁷. It’s believed that adequate vitamin D levels are associated with higher testosterone, which is essential for healthy sperm production and overall male reproductive health⁷.

Low levels of vitamin D have also been linked to age-related loss of muscle strength, also known as dynapenia, which leads to an increased risk of falls⁸. Vitamin D levels and muscle strength can be maintained by eating vitamin D-rich foods, careful sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation⁸. 

Does vitamin D help with sleep?

Low levels of vitamin D and vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to poor sleep quality⁹. While there’s early evidence to suggest vitamin D supplementation can help you spend more time asleep and enhance sleep quality, more research is needed to explore the effects of vitamin D on sleep quantity⁹. 

The sun is also an important source of vitamin D, with 90% of the body's vitamin D coming from skin exposure to the sun¹⁰. What’s also important to note is the sun’s role in regulating hormones and the melatonin circadian rhythm¹⁰. This is thanks to the production of melanin, which is produced in the skin through sun exposure. From this, melatonin is produced which helps induce sleep¹⁰. Bright light works to suppress melatonin production, so as the sunlight fades, the brain increases melatonin production, signaling the body that it’s time to sleep¹⁰.

Does vitamin D give you energy?

If you’ve ever felt a little sluggish or low in energy, your vitamin D levels could be to blame². Vitamin D has been known to support energy production by helping to reduce fatigue in those who suffer from low levels of vitamin D or vitamin D deficiencies¹¹. Who doesn’t want more energy in their day?

Bear with us while we get scientific for a second, but not meeting your vitamin D needs can impact your body at a cellular level¹². Vitamin D helps to support efficient mitochondrial activity so your body has enough energy to get through the day¹². This important vitamin also helps to keep free radicals in check and maintaining healthy levels of oxidative stress¹².

From supporting healthy immune system function to maintaining muscle function, it’s essential to make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D through diet, careful sun exposure or (if needed) supplementation. To learn more about the benefits of vitamin D or tips to support your health and wellbeing, explore Swisse’s Wellness Hub. 

Resources:

1. Office of dietary supplements - vitamin D (no date) NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Available at: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/#h17 (Accessed: 07 January 2025). 
2. Vitamin D and your health (no date) healthdirect. Available at: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/vitamin-d-and-your-health (Accessed: 07 January 2025). 
3. Devje S. 3 Surprising Benefits of Vitamin D [Internet]. Healthline. 2013. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/benefits-vitamin-d 
4. Osteoporosis | National Institute on Aging. Available at: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/osteoporosis/osteoporosis (Accessed: 07 January 2025). 
5. Osteoporosis: What you need to know as you age (2022) Johns Hopkins Medicine. Available at: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/osteoporosis/osteoporosis-what-you-need-to-know-as-you-age (Accessed: 07 January 2025). 
6. Bohon, T.M. and Goolsby, M.A. (2013) ‘The role of vitamin D supplements in women’s health’, Clinical Medicine Insights: Women’s Health, 6. doi:10.4137/cmwh.s11067. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3941188/ 
7. Adamczewska D, Słowikowska-Hilczer J, Walczak-Jędrzejowska R. ‘The Association between Vitamin D and the Components of Male Fertility: A Systematic Review’. Biomedicines. 2022 Dec 29;11(1):90. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36672602/ 
8. Salamon, M. (2023) Vitamin D deficiency linked to loss of muscle strength, Harvard Health. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-loss-of-muscle-strength (Accessed: 07 January 2025)
9. Abboud M. Vitamin D Supplementation and Sleep: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies. Nutrients. 2022 Mar 3;14(5):1076. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8912284/ 
10. The Royal Women’s Hospital (no date) Sleep, The Royal Women’s Hospital. Available at: https://www.thewomens.org.au/health-information/periods/healthy-periods/sleep-sunshine-vitamin-d (Accessed: 07 January 2025). 
11. Nowak, A. et al. (2016) ‘Effect of vitamin D3 on self-perceived fatigue’, Medicine, 95(52). doi:10.1097/md.0000000000005353. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5207540/ 
12. Matta Reddy A et al. (2022) ‘Pivotal role of vitamin D in mitochondrial health, cardiac function, and human reproduction’. EXCLI J. 21:967–990 doi: 10.17179/excli2022-4935. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9441677/