Diet & Weight Management Home Related to Diet & Weight Management Weight Loss & Obesity Food & Fitness Planner If you shun the sun, suffer from milk allergies, or adhere to a strict vegan diet, you may be at risk for vitamin D deficiency. Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced by the body in response to skin being exposed to sunlight. It is also occurs naturally in a few foods -- including some fish, fish liver oils, and egg yolks -- and in fortified dairy and grain products. Vitamin D is essential for strong bones, because it helps the body use calcium from the diet. Traditionally, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with rickets, a disease in which the bone tissue doesn't properly mineralize, leading to soft bones and skeletal deformities. But increasingly, research is revealing the importance of vitamin D in protecting against a host of health problems. Symptoms and Health Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness can mean you have a vitamin D deficiency.
However, for many people, the symptoms are subtle. Yet, even without symptoms, too little vitamin D can pose health risks. Low blood levels of the vitamin have been associated with the following: Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease Cognitive impairment in older adults Severe asthma in children Research suggests that vitamin D could play a role in the prevention and treatment of a number of different conditions, including type1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and multiple sclerosis. Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency Vitamin D deficiency can occur for a number of reasons: You don't consume the recommended levels of the vitamin over time. This is likely if you follow a strict vegan diet, because most of the natural sources are animal-based, including fish and fish oils, egg yolks, fortified milk, and beef liver. Your exposure to sunlight is limited. Because the body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight, you may be at risk of deficiency if you are homebound, live in northern latitudes, wear long robes or head coverings for religious reasons, or have an occupation that prevents sun exposure.
You have dark skin. The pigment melanin reduces the skin's ability to make vitamin D in response to sunlight exposure. Some studies show that older adults with darker skin are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency. Your kidneys cannot convert vitamin D to its active form. As people age, their kidneys are less able to convert vitamin D to its active form, thus increasing their risk of vitamin D deficiency. Your digestive tract cannot adequately absorb vitamin D. Certain medical problems, including Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, and celiac disease, can affect your intestine's ability to absorb vitamin D from the food you eat.Vitamin D is extracted from the blood by fat cells, altering its release into the circulation. People with a body mass index of 30 or greater often have low blood levels of vitamin D. Tests for Vitamin D Deficiency The most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is in your body is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test. A level of 20 nanograms/milliliter to 50 ng/mL is considered adequate for healthy people.
A level less than 12 ng/mL indicates vitamin D deficiency. Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency Treatment for vitamin D deficiency involves getting more vitamin D -- through diet and supplements. Although there is no consensus on vitamin D levels required for optimal health -- and it likely differs depending on age and health conditions -- a concentration of less than 20 nanograms per milliliter is generally considered inadequate, requiring treatment. Guidelines from the Institute of Medicine increased the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin D to 600 international units (IU) for everyone ages 1-70, and raised it to 800 IU for adults older than age 70 to optimize bone health. The safe upper limit was also raised to 4,000 IU. Doctors may prescribe more than 4,000 IU to correct a vitamin D deficiency. If you don't spend much time in the sun or always are careful to cover your skin (sunscreen inhibits vitamin D production), you should speak to your doctor about taking a vitamin D supplement, particularly if you have risk factors for vitamin D deficiency.
What is vitamin D? What are the vitamin D requirements? What does vitamin D do for your health? What are symptoms and signs of vitamin D deficiency?What are symptoms and signs of vitamin D deficiency? What causes a vitamin D deficiency? What causes a vitamin D deficiency? Who is at risk for vitamin D deficiency? How is a vitamin D deficiency diagnosed? What is the treatment for a vitamin D deficiency? Is it possible to prevent vitamin D deficiency? What are symptoms and signs of an excessive vitamin D intake (Daily Limits Chart)? Amazing Vitamin D Slideshow Pictures Take the Vitamins and Supplements Quiz! Yes, deficiency of vitamin D can cause bone pain and muscle weakness. However, mild vitamin D deficiency is not necessarily associated with anyVitamin D has been referred to as the "sunlight vitamin" because it is made in our skin when we are exposed to sunlight. Read more about diagnosis, treatment, and risk factors of vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D Deficiency: How Much Vitamin D Is Enough? The "sunshine" vitamin is a hot topic. You may have recently found out that you are deficient or know someone who is. It's shocking for most people when they have never had a problem before and believe nothing has changed to make it a problem now. The truth is that a lot has changed, and vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is now a global public-health problem affecting an estimated 1 billion people worldwide.The most well-known consequences to not having enough vitamin D are rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. These are far from the only problems associated with a vitamin D deficiency. The consequences are numerous and include skeletal diseases, metabolic disorders, cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases, infections, cognitive disorders, and/or mortality. The majority of our knowledge about vitamin D has been discovered over the past 15 years, and with the growing issue of deficiencies, more health connections with vitamin D levels are being made.
Correcting vitamin D deficiency is not as simple as taking a pill or getting more sun. This article will teach you all that you need to know about the benefits of achieving and maintaining optimal vitamin D levels.Vitamins are considered essential nutrients because either your body cannot make them or they are made in an inadequate amount. This means you must provide them through your diet or by taking a supplement. They are essential for your health, and when you are lacking in them, there may be health consequences and diseases.Vitamin D is one of the four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). There are two forms of vitamin D, D2 and D3. Vitamin D2, also known as ergocalciferol, comes from fortified foods, plant foods, and supplements. Vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol, comes from fortified foods, animal foods (fatty fish, cod liver oil, eggs, and liver), supplements, and can be made internally when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Structurally, these two are not the same.
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