Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency: discover how some people could suffer from a lack of this most-abundant vitamin, and what to do about it ...

Vitamin D is probably the easiest vitamin to acquire even without supplementation. You can just go out into the sun preferably during the early morning hours and your body will produce Vitamin D in response to the sunlight, thus, its moniker as the sunshine vitamin. Indeed, the ways with which anybody can suffer from a Vitamin D deficiency are limited -shunning the sun, suffering from milk allergies and adhering to a vegetarian diet.

But if you can eat fish, egg yolks and other fortified grain and dairy products, your body should be able to enjoy the benefits of the sunshine vitamin. Strong bones are the main reason for vitamin D in our bodies although studies are now identifying other health benefits especially in neurodegenerative illnesses.

Health Symptoms and Risks

As with other vitamin deficiencies, your doctor will most likely be alerted to a deficiency in the sunshine vitamin by a range of physical symptoms. The most notable of these symptoms are bone pain and muscle weakness, which is understandable considering that Vitamin D affects calcium levels in the body.

However, there are cases when symptoms are not obvious so much so that tests must be conducted for a definitive diagnosis of Vitamin D deficiency. Your doctor will order the 25-hydroxy vitamin D laboratory test, which records the level of its active form in the blood. If your test results are lower than 30 to 74 ng/mL, you have a sunshine vitamin deficiency.

But even without the symptoms, you must still beware of being deficient in Vitamin D if you fall under any of the abovementioned three categories of people at risk. Otherwise, you are also at a higher risk for severe asthma, cognitive impairments and cardiovascular diseases. Studies have also pointed to the uses of Vitamin D in the prevention of diabetes, hypertension and multiple sclerosis.

Know the Causes and Seek Treatment

Of course, Vitamin D deficiency happens for a reason. You need not worry, fortunately, as the health condition has many treatment options as discussed later. Often, too, you just need to know the possible causes for your sunshine vitamin deficiency and just do the opposite.

The following are the most common causes behind this vitamin deficiency. Your doctor will be able to determine as to what category you belong to and then propose medical and natural treatments, when necessary.

• Failure to consume sufficient amounts of animal-based products rich in the sunshine vitamin, said foods of which include fish and fish oils, cheese and egg yolks and even beef liver. The Vitamin D deficiency builds up over time until visible symptoms are experienced.
  
  
• Limited exposure to sunlight. Keep in mind that sunshine is necessary for the body to start production of Vitamin D.
  
  
• Dark skin can also inhibit Vitamin D production because the body's ability to produce the micronutrient is compromised.
  
  
• The kidneys cannot convert the vitamin into its active form.
  
  
• The digestive tract is unable to efficiently absorb the vitamin.
  
  
• Obesity robs Vitamin D from the body for use on the fat cells.
  

If you cannot get Vitamin D from food and sunlight for any reason, we suggest supplementation. Just remember to check the nutritional supplements information to ensure that it does provide for the recommended daily dosage. You will soon find that your Vitamin D deficiency has bid adieu.

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