A Look At Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms

By Kerri Stout


Living in a fast paced society that has evolved over time many people find themselves in a position that can cause them to eat on the run or many times miss a meal completely. Eating on the run generally involves fast foods that may not contain the nutritional values necessary for a healthy body and skipping meals due to employment or family pressures carries consequences that speak for themselves. Knowing what the vitamin D deficiency symptoms are may help to prevent the problems associated with it.

This essential nutrient can be easily obtained by spending thirty minutes in the sunshine at least once a day. Your body metabolizes natural sunshine into the nutrients necessary to keep levels of D vitamins constant. There are food based ways of obtaining this supplement also and retail outlets carry multiple levels of dosage in the pharmacy department that are available to help boost the amount of D that is needed.

The problem can arise if a person cannot get enough sunshine through illness or obligation to others or if they have darker skin pigmentation and there are some diseases that affect the body's ability to absorb nutrients naturally. Many doctors have difficulty diagnosing this ailment. The specified levels needed vary from study to study and it is difficult to determine the proper amount necessary. The Institute of Medicine has determined what levels are safe for specific age groups according to their nutritional needs. The accepted level rises as people age and senior women are listed at the highest levels.

Doctors list the most common indications of this problem as bone pain and muscle weakness. These signs are very subtle so this malady is often not considered when diagnosis is made. The doctor must ask for specific tests when ordering blood work to determine its existence.

Those who have endured this problem are able to give a more detailed description of the problems they had. Many of them say that their joints and especially their hips are very painful. The pain is so extreme that they have trouble standing up from a seated position. They also relate that they have suffered massive hair loss, cognitive problems that cause problems focusing and thinking and chronic fatigue that sometimes leaves them with no energy to move.

Women who have reached middle age are specifically at risk for this problem. Chemical and hormonal changes in their bodies can cause a loss of calcium available for bone density. Many women report suffering from multiple falls as they age and many of these falls are attributed to a lack of D vitamins. It is important to have bone density scans and monitor the level of vitamins in the body as they age to help prevent fractures.

There are multiple studies regarding the effects of D vitamins on various long term conditions. There are links to serious childhood asthma, heart disease and some forms of cancer that have been identified as connected to insufficient amounts of D vitamins in the body. High blood pressure has also been shown to greatly improve when patients are treated with this supplement and there is evidence that suggests using them can reduce the risk of contracting multiple sclerosis or falling.

Whether you have this problem or not it may be a wise decision to supplement your diet with multiple vitamins that contain ample dosages of D. Especially if you adhere to a strictly vegan diet because most natural sources of it are animal based such as egg yolks, fish and fish oils, cheese, milk or beef liver.




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