Your Daily Care: Understanding Vitamin D Needs

You may have heard vitamin D is called the "sunshine vitamin." That's because we don't get much vitamin D from food sources: our body produces it internally in response to sunlight exposure on our skin (without sunscreen). Vitamin D is an essential vitamin, and it remains essential throughout our entire lives. If you want to understand how vitamin D supports your body, how it works with other vital nutrients, and how to incorporate it into your daily routine, read on!

Why Vitamin D Matters for Your Wellness

The Important Roles Vitamin D Plays in Your Body

What does vitamin D do in the body? A lot! Vitamin D supports bone, muscle, and immune health, making it an essential nutrient for your daily wellness. Let's dig a little deeper into vitamin D's roles and learn how it supports your body's daily functions.^†

How Vitamin D Supports Your Body's Healthy Functions

Supporting Strong Bones and Teeth Through Calcium Absorption

What do bones and teeth have in common? They're both supported by vitamin D! Vitamin D helps improve calcium absorption, and you probably know that calcium is essential to the crystalline structure of bones and teeth. Vitamin D stimulates intestinal calcium absorption.^[1] Higher calcium absorption supports strong bones and healthy teeth in adults.^†

Contributing to Your Muscle Health

Vitamin D also supports muscle health. Recent studies show that vitamin D plays an important role in muscle cell proliferation, differentiation, and key signaling pathways for muscle function.^[2]†

Supporting Your Body's Immune Health

Vitamin D is an immune support nutrient that helps support the body's natural immune defenses. Almost all cells in the immune system have vitamin D receptors, indicating its importance in the system's function. Vitamin D receptors support our gut's innate immunity, the part of the immune system that is always active.^[3]†

Cellular Support: How Vitamin D Supports Your Immune Cells' Inner Workings

Part of vitamin D's role in the immune system is cellular support, that is, supporting the basic function of immune cells and helps regulate the immune response. Immune cells like monocytes and macrophages, which are key to the immune system's function, all express vitamin D receptors.^[3]

Better Together: How Vitamin D Teams Up with Other Nutrients

Vitamin D and Calcium: A Powerful Partnership for Bones and Teeth

Vitamin D doesn't just work alone; it also functions alongside calcium to help support your bones and teeth. Vitamin D is a stimulator of active calcium absorption pathways in the intestine, helping you get more of this essential mineral from food sources.^[1] Calcium is critical for bone strength and healthy teeth because it's the most prominent mineral in their crystalline structure.^†

Vitamin D and Vitamin K: Working Together for Bone Health

You might see vitamin D3 and K2 combined in supplements and wonder, why those two? What are Vitamin D3 and K2 benefits for your health? Vitamin D and vitamin K interact in the body to support bone health. Some studies suggest that vitamin D and vitamin K, in conjunction, affect the function of osteoblasts, which are cells that deposit calcium into bones. This interplay enhances vitamin K-dependent bone protein concentrations.^[4]†

Vitamin K also helps pull calcium from the bloodstream and direct it toward bone-building cells.^[5] Nature Made^® Vitamin D3 + K2 Gummies provide both these essential nutrients in two daily peach-flavored gummies.^†

Why You Might Find Vitamin D in Joint Health Supplements

Does vitamin D support joint health? Why is it included in some joint health supplements? While vitamin D does not directly support our joints, its role in aiding calcium absorption is essential in supporting bone and muscle health. Both bones and muscles are crucial for overall joint function, which is why you find this vitamin in our Glucosamine Chondroitin Complex with MSM Triple Strength^‡ + Vitamin D3 joint support supplement.^†

Supporting Your Well-Being as You Age

Vitamin D supports healthy aging. Maintaining a consistent vitamin D intake helps support healthy aging through its role in bone, muscle, and immune health. As we age, our immune systems, bones, and muscles only become more critical to our daily well-being, so giving them the support they need is essential.

Additionally, recent studies suggest that vitamin D supplementation may help maintain telomere length, which is a key indicator of cellular aging.^[6] Explore our Healthy Aging Supplements today!^†

Simple Steps to Incorporate Vitamin D into Your Daily Routine

How to Bring Vitamin D into Your Food Choices

The best way to get most essential nutrients is through a balanced diet consisting of nutrient-dense food. However, food sources of vitamin D are limited. Fatty fish such as trout and salmon, alongside some enriched cereals, are some of the only significant food sources of vitamin D.^[7] Because of this, most vitamin D in our body is produced in response to sunlight.

Soak Up Some Sunshine (Sensibly!)

Our body produces vitamin D in response to sun exposure on our skin, without sunscreen. However, taking precautions when exposing yourself to sunlight is important to avoid sunburn and other possible issues.

It's suggested to aim for 5 and 30 minutes of midday sun exposure on your uncovered arms and legs before applying sunscreen on most days.^[8] Individual sun needs can vary depending on a number of factors like skin tone, location, and time of year, so keep those in mind when determining your daily sun exposure.

Exploring Vitamin D Supplements as a Helpful Option

Vitamin D supplements can help to bridge possible nutrient gaps with a convenient, daily source of this essential nutrient. It is estimated that 95% of Americans don't receive enough vitamin D from their diet alone, and nearly one-third are vitamin D deficient.^{[9,10] †}

Nature Made Vitamin D3 Extra Strength 5000 IU Softgels provide over 100% of the daily value of vitamin D3, the body's preferred form of vitamin D. This supplement is perfect for adults who have been identified to be diagnosed as deficient in vitamin D and have been recommended a higher dosage supplement by their physician. If you're looking for a broader range of nutrient support, check out multivitamins that include vitamin D, like our Advanced Multivitamin For Adults Gummies.^†

Building a Supplements Routine?

The best first step for building a supplement routine is consulting with a trusted medical practitioner. They can help to determine which supplements most closely align with your needs and health goals, and they're equipped with information to give you personalized advice.

Nature Made nutrition science experts recommend The Daily 4™ as a solid foundation for a daily supplement routine, combining an advanced multivitamin with fish oil, probiotics, and magnesium. Everyone's needs are different, so customizing The Daily 4™ to your specific needs or building your own routine can help you start your day right.

Considering Vitamin D? Find Out if It's Right for You

Vitamin D remains an important nutrient throughout our entire lives, supporting bones, muscles, immune function, and overall well-being as we age. Learn more about vitamin D with these blogs and discuss your individual needs with a trusted medical practitioner before beginning or changing a supplement routine. Check out Nature Made's healthy aging supplements to support your aging journey. Nature Made is the #1 Pharmacist Recommended Vitamins & Supplements Brand.*^†

‡Contains: Glucosamine Hydrochloride 1500 mg, Chondroitin Sulfate Sodium 800 mg, MSM 750 mg, Vitamin D3 2000 IU (50 mcg) per 2 caplets.

*Based on a survey of pharmacists who recommend branded vitamins and supplements

† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

References

1. Christakos S, Dhawan P, Porta A, Mady LJ, Seth T. Vitamin D and intestinal calcium absorption. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2011;347(1-2):25-29. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2011.05.038
2. Kuwabara A, Matsumoto M, Hatamoto Y, Fujita S. Vitamin D and muscle health: insights from recent studies. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2024;27(6):499-506. doi:10.1097/MCO.0000000000001071
3. Martens PJ, Gysemans C, Verstuyf A, Mathieu AC. Vitamin D's Effect on Immune Function. Nutrients. 2020;12(5):1248. Published 2020 Apr 28. doi:10.3390/nu12051248
4. van Ballegooijen AJ, Pilz S, Tomaschitz A, Grübler MR, Verheyen N. The Synergistic Interplay between Vitamins D and K for Bone and Cardiovascular Health: A Narrative Review. Int J Endocrinol. 2017;2017:7454376. doi:10.1155/2017/7454376
5. Maresz K. Proper Calcium Use: Vitamin K2 as a Promoter of Bone and Cardiovascular Health. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2015;14(1):34-39.
6. National Institutes of Health. Vitamin D. National Institutes of Health. Published 2024. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
7. Zhu H, Manson JE, Cook NR, et al. Vitamin D3 and Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation and Leukocyte Telomere Length: 4-Year Findings from the VITAL Randomized Controlled Trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Published online May 21, 2025. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.05.003
8. National Institutes of Health. Vitamin D. National Institutes of Health. Published 2025. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
9. Cui A, Xiao P, Ma Y, et al. Prevalence, trend, and predictor analyses of vitamin D deficiency in the US population, 2001–2018. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2022;9. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.965376
10. Reider CA, Chung RY, Devarshi PP, Grant RW, Hazels Mitmesser S. Inadequacy of Immune Health Nutrients: Intakes in US Adults, the 2005-2016 NHANES. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1735. Published 2020 Jun 10. doi:10.3390/nu120617354.