Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamins are nutrients that help prevent the rise of health problems with Vitamin D being one of these essential nutrients. It is fat-soluble and greatly aids the process of calcium absorption.

The Vitamins D2 and D3 come under the Vitamin D nutrient.

While supplements and fortified foods make up D2, Vitamin D3 levels are augmented with the help of exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun in addition to the consumption of animal foods and supplements.

What do you mean by Vitamin D deficiency?

It’s commonly reported that around 1 billion people from all over the globe suffer from this deficiency.

Basically, if you give the cold-shoulder to whatever build up Vitamin D in your body, you’ll be at a higher risk of developing Vitamin D deficiency issues.

The amount of Vitamin D required for different age groups are:

• Till age 1 – 400 IU
• 13 years to 70 years – 600 IU
• 70 years and above – 800 IU

So, if you stay home complaining about being sunburnt once you step out plus if you sidestep a nutrient-dense diet, your Vitamin D levels can drastically go down. So grab a healthy snack and go for a walk right now!

What causes this deficiency?

1.Lack of exposure to sunlight:

• If you remain holed up indoors most of the time, you are standing a major risk of being Vitamin D deficient. Don’t you want to get a breath of fresh air?
• The problem persists especially in places that are located further away from the equator because people living there have minimal interaction with the sun’s rays.
• Hence, people living closer to the equator produce a significant amount of this vitamin, which is why they are not prone to this deficiency.

Latitudinal differences thus play a decisive role towards effectuating either a build-up or a slump in Vitamin D levels.

2. Dark skin:

• Melanin is a pigment that determines your skin colour. Darker people have more melanin than comparatively lighter-skinned people.
• This pigment easily absorbs the sun’s rays resulting in a decline in the amount of Vitamin D produced.
• So, dark-skinned people have to spend a lot more time in the sunlight than light-skinned people to compass the same amount of Vitamin D levels as them.
• Excessive usage of sunscreen can amplify the problem because it is extremely effective in stonewalling the transmission of ultraviolet rays. Now that’s a few bucks going down the drain!

3. Obesity:

• Vitamins, instead of circulating, stand a chance of getting stuck in your fat tissues.
• Consequently, there are many reports which have established that people who weigh more had higher rates of Vitamin D deficiency than those who weighed lesser.

4. Lactating / Pregnant women:

• There’s a lot of hardship that arises out of the herculean task of forming a healthy baby who after being born, should also be well-fed. So Vitamin D needs to go up towards the latter half of pregnancy.
• Vitamin D is important for bone metabolism and usually, women start finding themselves becoming more metabolic when they’re pregnant.

5. Cutting down on dairy products: Most people go vegan and will consequently have to shun dairy products.

• Since dairy products are where all your calcium comes from, you may start to lose Vitamin D gradually.
• This needs to be compensated by Vitamin D supplements or calcium-rich beverages.

6. Old age:

• The risk factor is higher for elderly people because they aren’t able to absorb Vitamin D as much as they could earlier.
• Their kidneys are also less efficient when it comes to boosting the amount of Vitamin D in your body. So go and make the best of your youthful days while you can!

How do you know if you’re Vitamin D deficient?

Do you fall sick a little too often?

Are you easily tired even after an uneventful day?

Do you experience excessive back pain?

If the answers to the questions are in the affirmative, you might want to give your lifestyle a major overhaul because it seems you’re Vitamin D deficient.

Vitamin D is associated with the process of toughening of your immune system for it to be able to fend off an attack by viruses.

Thus, the main role of Vitamin D is to annihilate any chances of the spread of infections. When this process is not being perceived, you’d better consult a doctor immediately!

With a reduction in the Vitamin D levels in your body, you’ll see your blood pressure skyrocketing, increased levels of anxiety plus depressing feelings as well as muscle pain.

Most of the symptoms are subtle but some of the common signs of nosediving Vitamin D levels include:

1. Recurring infections:

• Frequent occurrences of bronchitis, pneumonia, colds and similar infections can be one symptom.
• They can be combated with the help of Vitamin D supplements with a dosage of around 4000 IU on a daily basis.

2. Mood swings:

• Reports particularly alluded to feelings of depression that cropped up especially in senior adults
• There are certain studies that explicitly state that taking supplements can fight against such feelings.

3. Hair fall:

• Extreme levels of hair fall are caused by an autoimmune disease called Alopecia areata. It is related to the rickets disease.
• There were also cases studies which demonstrated how hair loss could be healed by administering the synthetic form of Vitamin D to the patient.

4. Exhaustion / Fatigue:

• There’s a tendency to disregard the effect chronic fatigue can have on people’s lives. It was found multiple times that vitamin D deficiency was having a toll on the patient’s health.

5. Slow wound healing:

• For some of you, it might take a while to get your wound recovered  This might indicate Vitamin D deficiency because the compounds necessary to form new skin are produced by Vitamin D.
• Healing is also facilitated because Vitamin D helps in controlling inflammation.

6. Low bone mineral density:

• A prerequisite for maintaining bone mass is to have adequate levels of Vitamin D because it helps in the absorption of calcium.
• It can also thus bring down the risk of fractures.

What dangerous consequences await you if you’re found to have Vitamin D deficiency?

Rickets – This is a disease that causes the bones of children to weaken or get bent due to excessive softening. African American children have a higher chance of developing this disease.

Osteomalacia – It can bring about a cycle of extreme pain in the bones and weakening muscles.

Osteoporosis – This is the resultant disease that arises out of the loss of bone density.

Multiple sclerosis – This neurological disease can stem from insufficient Vitamin D. It’s most prevalent in Vitamin D deficient women.

Cognitive impairment –

• Vitamin D promotes brain development and hence deficiency can result in cognitive problems and neurological disorders.
• Dementia and depressionary tendencies can also arise out of this deficiency.

Cardiovascular diseases – Vitamin D deficiency can also trigger an increase in stroke, hypertension, heart failure, hyperlipidemia and can cause the peripheral arterial disease to become more advanced.

Also, it is to be noted that absorbing an excessive amount of Vitamin D can also be equally dangerous.

UL is the Tolerable Upper Limit for consumption of Vitamin D and the upper cap for your blood level is 120mL/ng.

Toxicity can happen if the dose of supplements you have taken in exceeds the normal limit. Consuming up to 60000 IU daily for months on end can cause this, which is why this condition is very rare.

Consequences include:

1. Hypercalcuria
2. Hyperphosphatemia
3. Hypercalcemia

How do you treat and win your battle against it?

Treatment measures hinge on the magnitude or seriousness of the deficiency as well as the season.

•  During winter, it’s harder to absorb sunlight than during summer because of which a larger amount of supplements would be needed to achieve a balance in your Vitamin D levels.
•  Vitamin D3 supplements are found to be more effective than Vitamin D2 when long-term usage is to be considered. Plus, they are to be taken along with a fat-rich meal than on an empty stomach.

The supplement levels for different age groups are as follows:

Children (1-18 years):

• Vitamin D levels amounting to 2,000 IU/d for six weeks
• 50,000 IU once a week for around six weeks

Adults:

• Vitamin D3 levels amounting to 50,000 IU once a week for around eight weeks
• Vitamin D levels amounting to 6,000 IU on a daily basis

In addition to this, dosages for obese and dark-skinned people will also vary and will be around 6,000-10,000 IU daily.

Also, it’s necessary to educate deficient patients about the importance of monitoring their Vitamin D levels once every 3 months.

What are some precautionary measures you can take to avoid being Vitamin D deficient?

Having adequate exposure to the sun is one of the most fundamental requirements towards building your Vitamin D levels.

Also, consume nutrient-rich foods including:

• Canned sardines – 300 IU for 3.5 oz
• Sun-dried mushrooms – 1600 IU for 3.5 oz
• 1 egg yolk – 20 IU
• Canned tuna – 236 IU for 3.5 o

or fortified foods, some of which are:

• Orange juice – 100 IU for 3 oz
• Milk or yoghurt – 100 IU for 8 oz
• One cup of soy milk – 99-119 IU

It’s extremely important that you stay aware of every aspect of Vitamin D deficiency in order to combat it effectively and lead a healthy lifestyle.