Who Has a Higher Risk of Vitamin D Deficiency?
The following types of people may be at a higher risk of not getting enough vitamin D from sunlight exposure and diet:
- People not getting enough sunlight: If you live in places like the northern latitudes where there isn't enough sunlight, you may have a vitamin D deficiency. Also, people who are home-bound or those who work night shifts and don't get enough sun exposure may have low vitamin D levels. Even when you go out during the daytime, using sunscreen reduces the amount of Vitamin D that your skin can produce.
- Older adults: As we age, our skin's natural ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight decreases. So, even with sun exposure, you may not get enough vitamin D due to old age. Also, elderly people don’t spend a lot of time outside in the sun and this can result in low vitamin D levels.
- People with dark skin: Melanin in the skin gives the dark color and it reduces the skin's ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight. Such people may have low vitamin D.
- Individuals with medical conditions: Certain conditions like ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, crohn's disease, etc, can impair vitamin D absorption. Some people have poor gut health and have malabsorption. They may not be able to absorb vitamin D from their diet.
- Obese people: When you have a higher body fat percentage and come under the obese category, it means that you have more body fat. It can bind to vitamin D and prevent it from getting into the bloodstream. So, vitamin D levels in the blood may be low.
For people who have low levels of vitamin D, vitamin D supplements may be useful. Studies show that a consistent oral vitamin D supplement for up to 4 weeks may be useful to improve vitamin D status.
Signs You May Have Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency signs are often subtle. You need to check whether you have low vitamin D levels if you experience the following symptoms:
- Fatigue and low energy: Low energy, feeling constantly tired, or lacking motivation may be due to vitamin D levels. When your body doesn't have enough vitamin D, energy production may be lower. This can lead to fatigue. A study published in the North American Journal of Medical Sciences found that normalizing vitamin D levels with ergocalciferol helped improve fatigue symptoms.
- Bone and Muscle Pain: Vitamin D is needed for calcium absorption and bone mineralization. Low vitamin D may cause back pain, achy bones, or muscle cramps.
- Mood issues: Low levels of vitamin D can cause irritability, depression symptoms, or mood problems. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) creates depression symptoms during cold winter months when sunlight exposure is minimal. As vitamin D is involved in serotonin production, it's deficiency is associated with higher rates of depression. Research indicates that vitamin D supplementation may be useful to stabilize mood, especially in those with confirmed low levels of vitamin D.
How to Get Enough Vitamin D?
The best way to get vitamin D is unprotected sun exposure. Compared to taking vitamin D, sun exposure produces vitamin D in the skin that may last twice as long. Between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm, you may get sensible sun exposure. Full body skin exposure may give you vitamin D equivalent to taking 10,000 to 25,000 IU.
Dietary sources don't provide sufficient amounts of vitamin D to meet daily requirements. The general recommendation for adults aged 19-50 is to get at least 600 IU/day of vitamin D for muscle function and bone health.
The correct way to identify vitamin D deficiency is to take a blood test to measure 25(OH)D concentrations. They may identify deficiency based on 25(OH)D levels:
- 12-< 20 ng/mL: Vitamin D insufficiency
- < 12 ng/mL: Vitamin D deficiency
Depending on the test results, your doctor may recommend the right vitamin D supplement. Based on scientific studies, vitamin D3 is better than D2 in increasing 25(OH)D levels. So, you can buy BrainMD Vitamin D5 5000 to improve vitamin D levels, address deficiency, and experience mood, immunity, brain, and heart health benefits.
