Importance Of Vitamin D And Causes For Its Deficiency

Importance Of Vitamin D And Causes For Its Deficiency

Ever heard that “There is extreme pain in my bones” or “Don’t eat too much salt. It will deplete the size of your bones”. Whether You belong to a typical middle-class family or a higher class family, your parents often use these statements to make you aware of keeping your bones healthy. If you think so, then the scientific reason is that these are vitamin d deficiency symptoms.

Now the question arising in your mind will be, What causes vitamin d deficiency? What are the symptoms of low vitamin d? What does low vitamin d mean? And many more such questions. But don’t worry, the following article consists more of answers than questions. Therefore, just read it and enjoy the knowledge and biology. 

What does Vitamin D mean?

Vitamin D is extremely necessary for the human body. It is considered as the “sunshine vitamin,” and it is simple and accurate. The presence of sunlight enables our body to produce vitamin D. Therefore, the term “sunshine vitamin” is quite applicable and accurate. This vitamin is responsible for the strength of your bones. Vitamin D deficiency symptoms are mentioned in the article below.

Vitamins are considered to be one of the most important nutrients for the body. Their deficiency can lead your body to poor health, and enough intake can lead your body to the most healthy ones. Vitamin D is important to prevent various diseases like rickets. Vitamin D, when consumed with vitamin IQ, is found out to be useful due to its extreme soluble property. Sunbath can be a vitamin D deficiency treatment. 

There are two types of vitamin Ds, namely Vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is found in fortified and plant foods. It is also referred to as ergocalciferol. At the same time, vitamin D3 is found in fortified and animal foods such as chicken, fatty fish, cod liver oil, etc. It is also referred to as cholecalciferol. Your body can produce these vitamins in the presence of UV radiation released by the sun. A normal vitamin D level ranges between 30 and 50 ng/mL. 

Vitamin D Deficiency And Requirements

Its deficiency can lead to the weakening of bones, muscles, and asthma. Vitamin D deficiency can be treated with a specific prescription and can be diagnosed with blood tests. The deficiency symptoms tend to show when the amount of vitamin D is extremely low inside your body. Vitamin D deficiency causes a lot of problems for a human being. 

Our body consumes 20% of vitamin D via food, and the rest 80% is consumed in the presence of sunlight. Guidelines for vitamin intake are designed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the form of Adequate Intake (AI) or Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). Bone health in the world is depleting day by day. Therefore, IOM designed the RDA guidelines for avoiding vitamin D deficiency worldwide. 

Diseases like rickets, bone mineral density, osteomalacia, and low calcium absorption are caused due to the lack of vitamin D in the body. New York, Leyden, and Boston were seriously affected by rickets in the 20th century. 

The Number of affected went to 90% of the total children living in these cities. Rickets was first seen in the 1600s by whistler and glisten. Later in the coming 20th century, it was discovered that sunbathing prevented vitamin D deficiency. 

Vitamin D’s benefits were not only limited to rickets but also to prevent several diseases and problems. Some of these benefits are mentioned below:

Type 1 Diabetes(T1DM)

Children who have type 1 diabetes tend to lack in terms of vitamin D. You can understand this fact by the example of Finland. Where supplementation of vitamin D was decreased in 1964, the range of the reduced supplementation was around 4000-5000 IU/day. 

You won’t even believe that the percentage of T1DM disease increased by up to 350% during this period. Furthermore, the government increased the amount of vitamin D2 in the milk supply. People suffering from T1DM disease show vitamin D deficiency symptoms. 

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Vitamin D deficiency leads to an increased risk of MS. People living farther from the equator tend to catch MS due to their less exposure to sunlight. However, various researches are still being conducted for this disease and Vitamin D deficiency symptoms. 

Lupus

People who have lupus develop the tendency to have rashes all over the body when exposed to sunlight, i.e., photosensitive. As they cannot face sunlight for a much longer time, this leads to less exposure to sunlight. However, without sunlight, there is no vitamin D production inside the body, which results in vitamin D deficiency. 

Rheumatoid arthritis

People suffering from vitamin D deficiency are found to be more attached to rheumatoid arthritis. Whereas people having higher vitamin D levels have 24 % less chance of catching Rheumatoid arthritis. However, RA can also be a side effect of low vitamin D levels. 

Autoimmune thyroid disease

AITD patients tend to have lower vitamin D levels. It is a vitamin D deficiency disease. 

Vitamin D deficiency symptoms and signs

Well, vitamin D deficiency is not too common; thus, not everyone is at risk of having it. Only a few people show the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, and not everyone with symptoms is suffering from a deficiency. Following are some of the common symptoms or signs of vitamin D deficiency

Sickness (often)

 Immune system of a person depends upon the person’s day-to-day activities. Therefore, keep your immune system healthy with the help of a healthy lifestyle. A human body can be home to several bacteria and viruses. That’s why keep your body’s immune healthy to fight against any infection or disease due to vitamin D deficiency.

Studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency may lead to several respiratory tract infections. Hence sickness is a vitamin D deficiency symptom. 

Moreover, vitamin D deficiency can cause trouble sleeping. So, it would be better to consume foods that induce sleeping. Make sure that these foods are rich in vitamin D.

Fatigue and Tiredness

Tiredness might be due to some heavy load of work or regular sitting. But, if you feel fatigued without performing any of the tasks, it might indicate vitamin D deficiency or vitamin D deficiency symptoms. 

Bone or Back Pain

Vitamin D extremely useful for bones. Vitamin D improves the strength of bones and also helps in making it immune from various diseases. Calcium presence inside vitamin D provides enough energy to the bones. Bone pain or lower back pain are some of the vitamin D deficiency symptoms. 

People suffering from vitamin D deficiency suffer a lot from bone pain or lower back pain. Therefore, take vitamin D and calcium in some good amount. 

Depression

Depressing mood can also indicate lower levels of vitamin D. In older people, vitamin D deficiency sometimes leads to depression. People suffering from depression socialize less and keep themselves aloof. Which often leads to the disturbance in the lifestyle and food. Therefore, depression is also a vitamin D deficiency symptom.

Impaired Wound Healing

Wounds are a part of life and their healing too. However, if you cannot heal a wound in a specific period, it is an indication of lower vitamin D levels. 

Hair Loss

Hair loss is often connected to stress with people. But to be honest, there is a biological reason too. In stress, the level of vitamin D often decreases in a human being. Therefore, if you face a severe hair fall or loss, then improve the intake of vitamin D. It will surely reflect positive signs in a few days.

Muscular Pain

There are various reasons for muscle pain, but vitamin D deficiency is still one of the key reasons behind muscle pain. Most of the people facing muscle pain have lower levels of vitamin D in their bodies. Therefore, muscle pain is among vitamin D deficiency symptoms. 

Final Words

Vitamin D is extremely important for the human body. Production of vitamin D inside the body takes place in the presence of sunlight. Therefore, vitamin D deficiency may lead to several issues in a person’s health. Many of the symptoms for vitamin D deficiency are mentioned in the above article. Whereas answer to your questions such as, what are the symptoms of low vitamin D? What is a normal vitamin D level? Are also provided in the above article too.

I hope you liked this article, for more such articles stay connected to us. And, don’t forget to drop your review in the comment section.

Aryman

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