Contributed by: Healthians Team
Introduction
We all know that the sun is the greatest source of vitamin D, as the sun helps our body to make vitamin D with the help of cholesterol.
Vitamin D plays a vital role in making our body strong and active.
Vitamin D deficiency occurs when a person has a lesser amount of vitamin D than needed by the body.
It is one of the most common deficiencies in India. Vitamin D is also known as the “sunshine vitamin” which is very important for us.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) to an estimation from a recent study, a large population of India is known to be vitamin D deficient. It is the most common vitamin deficiency globally.
Vitamin D deficiency affects up to 84 per cent of pregnant women in India, and it is also linked to vitamin D deficiency in their newborns.
The prenatal and postnatal skeletal development of children of mothers with low vitamin D levels is at risk, affecting both height and bone health. So, it is important to look into the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency and work on it.
The following are the reasons why vitamin D is critical for you:
Strengthens our bones
Vitamin D is essential for strong bone density. Our bodies cannot absorb calcium properly without vitamin D, which is necessary for optimal bone health.
Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets in children, which causes bone weakening, bent legs, and other skeletal malformations including slumped posture.
Fish, mushrooms, fortified milk, fortified milk substitutes, fortified tofu, and fortified yoghurt are some good sources of vitamin D.
Prevents cardiovascular diseases
Vitamin D plays an active role in regulating blood by functioning on endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells.
Cardiovascular diseases mean encountering conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels.
Vitamin D enhances blood flow by relaxing the blood vessels and decreasing blood pressure.
The following are some of the common symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.
Bone pain
Back pain and bone pain are the most evident symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. The main role of vitamin D is to strengthen bones and muscles and if the body has low levels of vitamin D then it causes bone pain.
Vitamin D improves calcium absorption in the body, which helps to maintain bone health. It can also cause osteoporosis and fractures (broken bones).
Fatigue and tiredness
According to the doctors, the most frequent symptom of vitamin D insufficiency is lethargy and fatigue.
A recent study found a strong link between daytime drowsiness and low vitamin D levels.
Supplementing with vitamin D may be able to assist in reversing the trend, for example, vitamin D therapy was found to enhance people’s fatigue rating scale.
Low immunity
Another crucial role of vitamin D is to maintain the immune system functioning properly.
Lower vitamin D levels have been linked to an increased risk of infection in several studies. Vitamin D was used to treat infections like tuberculosis before antibiotics were available.
So if the person has an insufficiency of vitamin D then the immunity of the person also becomes low.
Hairloss
Hair health depends on the type of diet we choose and the nutrients we intake. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to female-pattern hair loss, which affects more than 55 per cent of women over the age of 70, according to one research.
Vitamin D helps in improving keratin levels in the body. Keratin, a protein found in hair, nails, and skin, is processed by these skin cells.
Keratinocytes in hair follicles have problems controlling hair growth and shedding when the body lacks vitamin D.
Final thoughts
Vitamin D is a super vitamin which plays several important roles in building good health. It helps in reducing many health risks such as osteoporosis, depression, weight management, low immunity and more.
Here we have explained to you the different symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, which are many times not taken seriously and can lead to major abnormalities.
It is important to keep our health under check so if you are facing any of the mentioned symptoms then you can take a Healthians vitamins test to check your vitamin D levels and take appropriate steps to rectify the deficiencies.
