Check before you experience these unfavorable outcomes.
FACT CHECKED BYEMILIA PALUSZEK
The most popular supplement in America isn't Vitamin C or a multivitamin—it's Vitamin D. Vitamin D regulates your calcium levels, vital for healthy bones, and facilitates normal immune system function. (In that regard, it has been promoted by some as a barrier against COVID-19.) Dr. Anthony Fauci takes Vitamin D supplements, because he says he has a lack of it. So how do you know if you need it too? "Lack of vitamin D is not quite as obvious in adults," says the Cleveland Clinic. "Signs and symptoms might include" the following. Read on—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.
You Might Feel Fatigue
"Vitamin D deficiency is frequent and has been associated with fatigue and other unspecific symptoms including headache, musculoskeletal pain and weakness, depression, and impaired cognitive performance," says one study published in Medicine. "Vitamin D treatment significantly improved fatigue in otherwise healthy persons with vitamin D deficiency."
You Might Feel Bone Pain
"Vitamin D status influences musculoskeletal health," says one study, published in Musculoskeletal Medicine. "Low vitamin D levels may lead to clinical manifestations, including bone pain, muscle weakness, falls, low bone mass, and fractures, with subsequent diagnoses of osteomalacia, osteoporosis, and myopathy."
You Might Feel Muscle Weakness, Muscle Aches, or Muscle Cramps
"Vitamin D is increasingly recognised to play an important role in normal muscle function," say the authors of one study, published in Bone Reports. "Low vitamin D status is associated with an increased risk of falls and proximal weakness. Since vitamin D deficiency is very common, and the signs are non-specific, it is important to maintain a high index of suspicion of vitamin D deficiency in patients with muscle pain and weakness."
You Might Have Mood Changes, Like Depression
"Depression in its own right is a disabling condition impairing all aspects of human function," say the authors of a study in Issues in Mental Health Nursing. "In persons with a chronic medical disease, depression often makes the management of chronic illness more difficult. Recently, vitamin D has been reported in the scientific and lay press as an important factor that may have significant health benefits in the prevention and the treatment of many chronic illnesses. Most individuals in this country have insufficient levels of vitamin D. This is also true for persons with depression as well as other mental disorders."
If You're a Child, You Could Get Rickets
"Severe lack of vitamin D causes rickets, which shows up in children as incorrect growth patterns, weakness in muscles, pain in bones and deformities in joints," says the Cleveland Clinic. "This is very rare. However, children who are deficient in vitamin D can also have muscle weakness or sore and painful muscles."
What to Do if You Fear You Have a Vitamin D Deficiency
"Your doctor can order a blood test to measure your levels of vitamin D," says the Cleveland Clinic. "There are two types of tests that might be ordered, but the most common is the 25-hydroxyvitamin D, known as 25(OH)D for short. For the blood test, a technician will use a needle to take blood from a vein. You do not need to fast or otherwise prepare for this type of test." And to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
https://www.eatthis.com/news-signs-lack-vitamin-d/
Why Vitamin D is so Important
Dr. Majlesi says, "Vitamin D has gained a lot of recent notoriety and attention in discussions of overall health. The functions of Vitamin D are complex and appear to be more wide reaching than the commonly known benefits for bone and teeth. Despite being labeled a vitamin, Vitamin D does meet every definition for properties as a hormone. Vitamin D receptors are present on most cells within the body. Generally, the best way to summarize the function of Vitamin D is its function in calcium homeostasis. Most people do not realize that calcium is important for the function of all cells beyond bones and teeth. Proper muscle function requires calcium for contraction. In fact, every cell performs its function through an action potential. And calcium influx and efflux into cells is one of the important electrolytes involved in those processes. The role of Vitamin D in bone and musculoskeletal health is unquestionable. However, it appears to potentially have a role in maintenance of glucose homeostasis, cardiovascular morbidity, autoimmunity, inflammation, and cancer. There has also been some growing evidence linking the role of vitamin D to brain development, functions and diseases such as dementia and multiple sclerosis. The importance of vitamin D beyond the musculoskeletal conditions described above remains unclear however. Many of the studies performed simply look at Vitamin D deficiency in different disease processes. The easy conclusion from this is that supplementation may correct or potentially prevent these diseases. However, it is just as possible that Vitamin D deficiency could be the consequence of the disease and not the actual cause. More research and studies are required to understand the role of Vitamin D in many of the diseases mentioned."
How Can a Vitamin D Deficiency Affect Overall Health?
Dr. Majlesi explains, "The disease, Rickets, which is a disease of children leading to imperfect calcification and distortion of bone development often leading to "bow legs" is caused by Vitamin D deficiency. In addition, diseases such as osteomalacia and osteoporosis have been shown to benefit from Vitamin D supplementation. However, recent research has attempted to focus on other aspects of Vitamin D on human health. Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of vitamin D deficiency and potentially supplementation has been attempted to be evaluated. Critically ill patients with COVID-19 were found to have vitamin D deficiency. This caused some to interpret this literature as vitamin D supplementation may potentially decrease morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. Generally, all critically ill patients in an ICU will likely have some degree of vitamin D deficiency due to their lack of exposure to sunlight in addition to other potential factors. This does not imply that supplementation would prevent critical illness.
The Vitamin D Council — a scientist-led group promoting vitamin D deficiency awareness — suggests vitamin D treatment might be found helpful in treating or preventing autism, autoimmune disease, cancer, chronic pain, depression, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, flu, and neuromuscular diseases. However, the reality is that no clinical trials have proven the health benefits to vitamin D supplementation for any of these medical conditions listed. Hence, most reputable medical organizations continue to state that the evidence does not support a basis for a causal relationship between vitamin D and many of the numerous health outcomes purported to be affected by vitamin D intake."
How to Get Vitamin D
"Sunshine is one major critical aspect to improving vitamin D levels," says Dr. Majlesi. "It is thought that 15 minutes 3 times per week of sun exposure without sunscreen could be enough. However, as with everything in medicine, there is a risk vs. benefit analysis. Sunscreen will limit UV absorption and formation of cholecalciferol. However, excessive UV exposure will lead to increased risk of skin cancers. Dietary sources of vitamin D are ubiquitous in the American diet and can be found in seafood, dairy, grains, cereals and multiple other fortified food products. For most people, supplementation is probably unnecessary as our diets are fortified. Supplementation should be discussed with a health care provider. But the best choice would be a Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Dosing can vary but is very safe up to 2000 IU per day. No studies have looked at the higher dosing strategies many vitamin D supporters have recommended. However, it is important to note that it is difficult to overdose on vitamin D and overall it is a very safe medication when used in reasonable doses. And with the help of blood level measurements, safe administration is relatively easy to achieve. A health care provider can help guide correct dosing via routine blood measurements."
https://www.eatthis.com/news-signs-youre-lacking-vitamin-d/
Lacking This Vitamin Can Lead to Dementia, Says New Study
You know the healthy habits you need to adopt to protect your heart, but were you aware certain lifestyle changes can keep your brain healthy, reducing your risk of age-related disorders like dementia? They include diet, exercise, and according to a new study, making sure you're getting enough of this vitamin on a daily basis. Read on to find out more—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.
What The Study Found
According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, having a low vitamin D level is associated with smaller brain volume and an increased risk of dementia and stroke, and almost 20 percent of dementia cases could be prevented by keeping vitamin D level in a healthy range.
How the Study Was Conducted
Researchers from the University of Australia analyzed health data from more than 290,000 people in the UK Biobank, comparing vitamin D levels with brain imaging that measured the size of gray matter, white matter, and the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for executive functions like memory.
The scientists found that participants who had a genetically higher level of vitamin D had a decreased dementia risk, with the odds of dementia decreasing with higher concentrations of the vitamin, up to 50 nmol/L, after which the benefits were less marked.
Vitamin D's Benefits Widely Recognized
Scientists have long known about vitamin D's importance to overall health, including the immune system and bones. But less research has been done on the vitamin's effect on the brain.
"Vitamin D is a hormone precursor that is increasingly recognized for widespread effects, including on brain health, but until now it has been very difficult to examine what would happen if we were able to prevent vitamin D deficiency," said Elina Hyppönen, the study's lead author. "Our study is the first to examine the effect of very low levels of vitamin D on the risks of dementia and stroke, using robust genetic analyses among a large population."
She added: "In some contexts, where vitamin D deficiency is relatively common, our findings have important implications for dementia risks. Indeed, in this UK population, we observed that up to 17 percent of dementia cases might have been avoided by boosting vitamin D levels to be within a normal range."
Low Levels of Vitamin D Common
Both low levels of vitamin D and dementia are not uncommon in the U.S. It's estimated that 40% of Americans have insufficient levels of the vitamin. And about 5.8 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions, a number that's expected to increase as the population ages.
"Dementia is a progressive and debilitating disease that can devastate individuals and families alike," said Hyppönen. "If we're able to change this reality through ensuring that none of us is severely vitamin D deficient, it would also have further benefits and we could change the health and well-being for thousands."
"Most of us are likely to be OK, but for anyone who for whatever reason may not receive enough vitamin D from the sun, modifications to diet may not be enough, and supplementation may well be needed."
What to Do About Your Vitamin D Level
It's a good idea to get your vitamin D level checked by your doctor annually. If your levels are low, they might recommend a supplement. According to the National Institutes of Health, adults are advised to get at least 600 IU of vitamin D each day, between food and supplements (although that number is somewhat controversial, and some doctors believe it should be higher). The NIH notes that the safe upper limit of vitamin D for adults is 4,000 IU a day.
And to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
https://www.eatthis.com/news-lacking-vitamin-can-lead-to-dementia/
https://healthticket.blogspot.com/2022/06/lacking-vitamin-d-can-lead-to-dementia.html
