The Ups and Downs of the Sun Hormone

Vitamin D is often considered the sunshine vitamin, but it's actually a hormone with several important jobs

Vitamin D is one of the easiest vitamins to get. All you need is some bare skin and sunlight. The consequences of not getting enough can be significant. Nejron Photo/Shutterstock

There has been a lot of discussion about vitamin D circulating among natural health enthusiasts recently. As a certified functional medicine practitioner, vitamin D status is something that I monitor very closely.

Vitamin D is actually a hormone, specifically a prohormone that the body converts into a steroid hormone. It’s synthesized in the skin from sun exposure and activated in the liver and kidneys.