Vitamin D Deficiency: Causes and Health Risks

Learn how much vitamin D you need and if you can get enough vitamin D from the sun.

Are you the kind of person who loves basking in the sun or do you shy away from the sun at all costs? Either way, for the sun to be beneficial for us, you have to catch sunlight early in the morning, preferably before 9 am. "Why?" you may ask. It’s simply because vitamin D is created when the body is exposed to sunlight. Only 15 minutes of exposure to sunlight a day is enough for vitamin D to be synthesized on the skin.

Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

Some of the causes of vitamin D deficiency could be lack of exposure to the sun, not consuming foods rich in vitamin D, for example fish, dairy and egg yolks, obesity or kidneys not being table to process vitamin D into its active form. If you have dark skin, the melanin in your skin could reduce vitamin D production even when you're exposed to the sun. Certain diseases of the digestive tract could also reduce the absorption of vitamin D into your system.

Importance of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that plays an important role in modulating neuromuscular function, reduces inflammation and also influences the actions of many genes that regulates the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of cells. Certain studies have even shown that vitamin D deficiency can cause depression.

Health Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency

The most common effect of vitamin D deficiency that you may know of is osteoporosis (brittle bones) or osteomalacia (bone softening) occurring in your later years. To strengthen your bones, you need vitamin D, which is used by your body to metabolize the calcium that you consume. Regular exercise also helps in ensuring that the calcium stays in the bones, further strengthening it.

Lack of vitamin D in children can cause rickets, stunted growth and even difficulty in breathing and fragile bones. In some cases, vitamin D deficiency in children can even cause heart problems due to heart muscle weakness.
For women, vitamin D has been suggested to prevent certain types of cancers, namely breast cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer and colon cancer. Vitamin D is also important for fetus development.

Another potential health risk caused by vitamin D deficiency is depression. The downside to this is that depression can ruin a person’s life by causing various other issues and hence must be treated properly.

Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin D is 600 IU (international units). If you do not get enough exposure to the sun, consider talking to your doctor or nutritionist about including foods rich in vitamin D in your diet or taking supplements. Remember that too much sun exposure can be dangerous and may cause skin cancer.

References

• Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D - Office of Dietary Supplements
• Vitamin D and Health - What Should You Eat? - The Nutrition Source - Harvard School of Public Health
• Vitamin D Deficiency: Symptoms, Causes, and Health Risks - WebMD

Your Opinion Counts

Have any questions or comments? Participate in the discussions today. Use the "Post new comment" form at the bottom of the page to ask your questions and share your ideas. Use the correct spelling and grammar.