The sunshine vitamin, medically termed Vitamin D, is essential for bone strength, immunity, and heart health. Even the healthiest of individuals may have deficient vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D Deficiency Can Lead to
- Auto-Immune Diseases (Like Diabetes)
- Depression
- Hair Loss
- Muscle Loss
- Soft Bones
- Fractures
- Frequent Illness
- Cognitive Impairments
- Deformity in Children
- Asthma
Constituents Affecting Vitamin D Levels
Vitamin D is absorbed through very few sources. Here is a list of unavoidable factors that could be affecting Vitamin D production in our body.
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Being Lactogen Intolerant
Having milk allergies means non-consumption of cow milk which is an essential source of Vitamin D.
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Being Vegan
Vitamin D is found mostly on non-vegetarian diets such as fish, liver, egg yolk, etc., and vegan diets can cause a deficiency.
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Minimal Exposure to the Sun
Our skin produces Vitamin D when being exposed to the sun. Thus, Individuals staying in the colder regions or who shun the sun are prone to Vitamin D deficiency.
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Age
Older people can experience various vitamin deficiencies as the conversion of food into important nutrients declines rapidly.
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Obesity
Vitamin D is fat-soluble, and being obese means having low sugar levels incapable of dissolving the vitamin.
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Dark Skin
Dark skin means an increased melanin concentration that blocks the skin from absorbing the sunlight to produce the vitamin.
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Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Pregnant women require extra as the Vitamin D level tends to fluctuate during pregnancy while human milk does not contain high levels of the vitamin. Therefore, breastfeeding children may require Vitamin D supplements until they begin consuming formula milk.
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Cosmetics
Cosmetic products that block the sun, such as sunscreen, can restrain the body from producing Vitamin D even when exposed to the sun.
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Other Ailments
Digestive diseases, kidney diseases, cystic fibrosis, and heart diseases can inhibit the body from acquiring calcium, magnesium, and others that increase vitamin levels from the food we consume.
Treatment
The appropriate Vitamin D level in adults is 50-125 nmol/l. Blood tests can analyze this, and the doctor can suggest the following treatments. It’s advised individuals don’t self-medicate as high Vitamin D can cause more alarming effects on the human body.
- Intake of Vitamin D-rich foods.
- Supplements
- Increased exposure to the sun
Thus it is necessary to get checked out on a regular basis.
