Many people believe that drinking milk is the only way that you can get enough vitamin D, in addition to healthy eating habits. However, only a few foods naturally have enough vitamin D. In order to get sufficient levels of vitamin D though diet alone, you would have to eat two serving of fatty fish per day, like salmon or mackerel. Doctors recommend increasing vitamin D levels in the body through 15 minutes of daily sun exposure.
This approach is ok, but promotes the misconception that vitamin D is not synergistic with other nutrients. Vitamin D is, in fact, synergistic with other vitamins, most notably magnesium. Decades ago, health care professionals thought vitamin D was only good for keeping healthy bones and teeth. Recent advances in science, however, have put this vitamin in the spotlight by revealing its multifaceted role in the proper functioning of the human body and its ability to lower the risk of illnesses not formerly associated with it. And despite the recent developments in understanding how vitamin D plays a role in our health, many people are still deficient in this important nutrient. The best way to discover if you are deficient in vitamin D is to take a blood test that will measure the level of vitamin D in your blood. You can either go to your doctor’s office or take a home test kit to do the test yourself. Below are 10 symptoms associated with vitamin D deficiency. If you have any of them, you should follow up with your doctor for further evaluation.
1.) The flu – In a study published in the Cambridge Journals, it was discovered that vitamin D deficiency predisposes children to respiratory diseases. An intervention study conducted showed that vitamin D reduces the incidence of respiratory infections in children.
2.) Muscle weakness – According to Michael F. Holick, a leading vitamin D expert, muscle weakness is usually caused by vitamin D deficiency because for skeletal muscles to function properly, their vitamin D receptors must be sustained by vitamin D.
3.) Psoriasis – In a study published by the UK PubMed central, it was discovered that synthetic vitamin D analogues were found useful in the treatment of psoriasis.
4.) Chronic kidney disease – According to Holick, patients with advanced chronic kidney diseases (especially those requiring dialysis) are unable to make the active form of vitamin D. These individuals need to take 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 or one of its calcemic analogues to support calcium metabolism, decrease the risk of renal bone disease and regulate parathyroid hormone levels.
5.) Diabetes – A study conducted in Finland was featured in Lancet.com in which 10,366 children were given 2000 international units (IU)/day of vitamin D3 per day during their first day of life. The children were monitored for 31 years and in all of them, the risk of type 1 diabetes was reduced by 80 percent.
6.) Asthma – Vitamin D may reduce the severity of asthma attacks. Research conducted in Japan revealed that asthma attacks in school children were significantly lowered in those subjects taking a daily vitamin D supplement of 1200 IU a day.
7.) Periodontal disease – Those suffering from this chronic gum disease that causes swelling and bleeding gums should consider raising their vitamin D levels to produce defensins and cathelicidin, compounds that contain microbial properties and lower the number of bacteria in the mouth.
8.) Cardiovascular disease – Congestive heart failure is associated with vitamin D deficiency. Research conducted at Harvard University among nurses found that women with low vitamin D levels (17 ng/m [42 nmol/L]) had a 67 percent increased risk of developing hypertension.
9.) Schizophrenia and Depression – These disorders have been linked to vitamin D deficiency. In a study, it was discovered that maintaining sufficient vitamin D among pregnant women and during childhood was necessary to satisfy the vitamin D receptor in the brain integral for brain development and mental function maintenance in later life.
10.) Cancer – Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC discovered a connection between high vitamin D intake and reduced risk of breast cancer. These findings, presented at the American Association for Cancer Research, revealed that increased doses of the sunshine vitamin were linked to a 75 percent reduction in overall cancer growth and 50 percent reduction in tumor cases among those already having the disease. Of interest was the capacity of vitamin supplementation to help control the development and growth of breast cancer especially estrogen-sensitive breast cancer.
Three-quarters of U.S. teens and adults are deficient in vitamin D, the so-called “sunshine vitamin” whose deficits are increasingly blamed for many diseases, according to the latest research. If you suspect that you might be deficient in vitamin D, please follow up with your doctor. Being deficient in vitamin D is not untreatable. Coordinating care with your doctors with vitamin D supplementation and treating a disease, if you have one, can improve your health. Being proactive and making sure you are not deficient in vitamin D can save you thousands of dollars a year.
