Vitamin D deficiency can cause hypertension, diabetes

EDIRNE

Vitamin D is very beneficial for the body, and a deficiency of it can result in a variety of ailments, including hypertension and diabetes, says a senior health expert.

While vitamin D can be obtained from healthy sunbathing, exposure to horizontal sun rays impair vitamin D formations, Dr. Sedat Ustundag, Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences at Trakya University in the northwestern province of Edirne, warned on Wednesday.

Ustundag told Anadolu Agency that Turkey has an advantage in terms of healthy sunbathing because of its geographical location. However, he warned that exposure to horizontal sun rays disrupts vitamin D formation, and unprotected sunbathing can raise the risk of skin cancer.

He added that vitamin D is formed when the blood veins in the arms are exposed to ultraviolet-B rays from the sunlight. "Vitamin D is formed only in the presence of sunlight as well as healthy livers and kidneys," he said.

Recommending the hours dense in ultraviolet-B rays are appropriate for sunbathing, Ustundag also warned that unprotected and irresponsible sunbathing is detrimental to the human body.

He suggested that it is critical to calculating the hours of UV-B rays in a certain place, which can be done easily using certain websites online.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara