In this video, we're going to talk about our second type of lipid vitamin, which is vitamin D. Now vitamin D is another isoprenoid lipid vitamin, but this time it's actually critical for regulating calcium and phosphorus metabolism. Vitamin D requires ultraviolet light, usually from the sun, in order for its formation and activation. And so it's important to be able to get a little bit of sunlight in order for your bodies to generate vitamin D. Vitamin D is ultimately going to increase calcium absorption in our bodies, leading to calcium uptake by our bones, and this allows us to get strong and healthy bones. And so, vitamin D is associated with strong bones.
Vitamin D is also derived from the precursor molecule cholesterol. In our previous lesson videos, we've seen cholesterol act as a precursor for a lot of other molecules. Once again, cholesterol is going to be a precursor for vitamin D. If we take a look at our image down below, notice on the far left we're showing you the cholesterol precursor molecule. In order for our bodies to convert cholesterol into vitamin D, a process that requires ultraviolet light usually from the sun, essentially it requires sunlight. Vitamin D then increases calcium absorption in our bodies and allows us to obtain strong, healthy bones, like what we see over here. This here concludes our introduction to vitamin D, and in our next lesson video, we'll be able to talk about our third lipid vitamin, vitamin E. So, I'll see you guys there.