Importance of vitamin D:
- Vitamin D helps our body to absorb calcium which is extremely important for the development of our bones. It reduces the fracture risk, strengthens bones, and promotes a good body structure.
- Improves our dental health. It prevents tooth loss, makes our gums stronger, and minimizes the risk of any infection.
- Reduces the risk of high blood pressure.
- Improves our immune, brain and nervous system.
- Vitamin D is also very beneficial for our cardiovascular health.
- Regulates our insulin level.
- Minimizes the risk of different cancers like colon cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer.
Symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency causes:
- High risk of fracture.
- Muscle soreness.
- Hair loss.
- Pain in bones.
- Backache.
- Fatigue.
- Depression.
- Slow healing of wounds.
- According to the research of 2013, a meta-analysis proves that participants who had to suffer from depression have a deficiency of vitamin d.
- Increase the risk of osteoporosis and osteomalacia.
Osteoporosis:
It is a condition where your bones become very weak. Even if you give mild stress on your bones can cause a fracture.
Osteomalacia:
It is a condition in young children where their bones become softer due to a deficiency of vitamin d and can lead to bowing of their bones during the growth period.
Causes or reasons for vitamin D deficiency:
Cystic fibrosis:
It is a genetic disease that causes persistent lung infection and limits the ability to breathe over time.
Chron’s disease:
It is a bowel disease that causes inflammation in your digestive tract, leading to abdominal pain, fatigue, and malnutrition.
Celiac disease:
It is an autoimmune disorder that can damage your small intestine. It can increase by eating gluten which is a protein found in grains. Because of these medical conditions, people have a higher chance of vitamin d deficiency.
Surgeries:
People who have undergone surgery, their bodies face difficulty in absorbing this sunshine vitamin and other vitamins and minerals also.
Kidney and liver diseases:
These two medical conditions do not allow vitamin D to be converted into the form in which our body uses this vitamin, which may become the cause of vitamin D deficiency in future.
People who always stay indoors:
People who are not going outside to take exposure to the sun have a higher chance of vitamin D deficiency.
Dark skin:
People who have naturally dark skin have at higher risk of vitamin d deficiency because melanin present in dark skin doesn’t allow your skin to absorb vitamin D.
Melanin:
Melanin is a skin pigment. It is the main reason for the dark colour of our skin, hair, and eyes. It is present in humans and animals and is produced by special skin cells called melanocytes. People who live in a place where sun exposure is less than others have higher chances of deficiency of this sunshine vitamin.
Vitamin D Side-effects:
- Toxicity will develop more calcium in the blood and develop the condition of kidney stones, which can hamper your health.
- Nausea and Vomiting.
- Poor appetite.
- Constipation.
- Weakness.
- Bone pain.
- Frequent urination.
- Kidney problems.
If you have any medical condition, you must consult a doctor before taking a higher dose of this sunshine vitamin because some vitamins create toxicity in your body if you take too many Vitamins than the recommended dosage without consulting your doctor. Instead of getting benefits from that vitamins, they will damage your body.
Good sources of food high in Vitamin D:
- Fatty fish like tuna, salmon, and mackerel.
- Beef liver.
- Cheese.
- Egg yolks.
- Diary products.
- Mushrooms.
- Fortified foods include cow milk, soy milk, orange juice, cereals, and oatmeal.
- It can be found in Fortified milk such as almond milk and rice milk.
- Almonds.
- Margarine.
- Fortified tofu.
Fortified food meaning:
Fortification is a process of adding nutrients externally which are not present in that food. For example, there is a food that contains fewer vitamins, so we have deliberately mixed some vitamins from outside to increase that food’s nutritional value.
Daily dosage of vitamin D for adults and others:
| Category | Recommended dosage(IU) per day | Upper Limit |
| Infants | 400 | 1000-1500 |
| Children (1-8yrs) | 600 | 2000-2500 |
| Pregnant women | 600 | 3000-4000 |
| 9-70 yrs old | 600 | 3000-4000 |
| People over 70 yrs | 800 | 3000-4000 |
Medication that causes vitamin d deficiency:
- Laxatives.
- Steroids(such as prednisone).
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs(such as cholestyramine and colestipol)
- Tuberculosis drug (rifampin)
- A weight-loss drug(orlistat).
- Seizure control drugs(such as phenobarbital and phenytoin).
- Anticancer drugs (Taxol and other related compounds).
Always discuss with your doctor if you are taking these or any other drugs before taking any vitamins.
How to prevent vitamin d deficiency:
- You have to consume vitamin-rich foods.
- For a vegetarian, there are limited options for vitamin d, so you have to add some supplements after consulting your doctor.
- You must sunbathe at least 2-3 times a week for 15 minutes without sunscreen. Don’t overexpose your body under the sun because that will increase the risk of skin cancer.
- Add water to the transparent bottle and keep it under the sun. After some time, you will have to drink that water. It is very beneficial for you, also known as living water or sun charge water.
Note: 1. Never keep that water in the fridge.
2. You don’t need to add ice to that water.
Please consult your doctor before taking any vitamin D supplement if you have any medical condition.
”I hope you found this article helpful and knowledgeable.”
