Vitamin D deficiency implies that the body is not getting enough vitamin D to stay hale and hearty. It is vital for resilient bones, cognitive health, and helps in absorbing calcium. Calcium is the key building block required for your bone. It has an essential role in improving your nerves, muscle, and immune system. If you avoid the sun or are lactose intolerant or follow a firm vegan diet, there are high chances you may be at a risk for Vitamin D deficiency. It is also referred to as sunlight vitamin and can be found in many food items like fish, oil, egg, and dairy products. One can get vitamins through diet, supplements, and skin via the sun.
People who are more prone to Vitamin D deficiency
- Breastfed infant: If a woman is breastfeeding, she should give her infant a Vitamin D supplement of 400 IU every day. As the mother’s milk is a poor source of Vitamin D.
- Old people: With age the body’s ability to produce Vitamin D from exposure to the sun reduces.
- Dark skin: People with light skin has less melanin than those who have dark skin. Melanin gives color to the skin. It decreases the skin’s capacity to synthesize Vitamin D3. Therefore, dark-skinned people need 3 to 4 times longer exposure to the sun to make sufficient Vitamin D.
- Crohn’s disease: People with celiac or Crohn’s disease are mostly vitamin D deficient because intestinal swelling prevents them from absorbing nutrients. There are certain medications to treat Crohn’s disease that, can also cause Vitamin D deficiency.
- Obesity: If you are obese or your body has a high percentage of fat, it gets difficult for Vitamin D to get into the blood.
- Pain in the joints: People who have continuous pain in the joints and are diagnosed with osteoporosis or arthritis or fibromyalgia have a low level of Vitamin D.
- Desk job: People who are working in an office with a 9 to 5 shift don’t see the sun often. Occupational hindrance limits sun exposure.
- Chronic diseases: People suffering from kidney or liver disorder or who have gone through gastric bypass surgery have low levels of Vitamin D in the body.
- Medications: Some medications can affect Vitamin D metabolisms, such as drugs for cholesterol or antifungal drug, or anti-seizure drugs. So before self-medication, consult your doctor.
- Hyperparathyroidism: In this disease, excess hormones regulate the body’s calcium level.
- Vegans or Lactose Intolerance: People who don’t consume dairy products or animal-based product, they may be Vitamin D deficient.
- Lymphomas: Patients suffering from Lymphomas (a kind of cancer) have a low level of Vitamin D.
What can cause a low level of Vitamin D?
- Lack of Vitamin D in the diet
- The body doesn’t absorb sufficient Vitamin D from food
- Lack of exposure to Vitamin sun i.e. sunlight
- The kidney or liver is unable to convert Vitamin D to its active form
- Certain medications you take are interfering with the body ability to absorb Vitamin D
The following are the signs and symptoms of lack of Vitamin D in the body:
- Muscle weakness
- Pain in the bones
- Fatigue
- Mood swing – Depression
- Rickets in children
- Loss of bone density
- Osteoporosis
- Fracture
- High risk of death from cardiovascular disease such as heart attack
- High Blood Pressure
- Diabetes
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Few types of cancer, like prostate, colon, and breast cancers
- Immune system ailments
- Reasoning impairment in older people
If you are frequently facing above mentioned symptoms, it is likely that you have a Vitamin D deficiency. It is always recommended to go for regular health care checkups. Years of going undiagnosed can have serious side effects on the body. Consult our team of orthopedic experts at Bansal Global Hospital.
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