"Understanding Vitamin D Deficiency: Causes, Symptoms, and Solutions"

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that your body uses for normal bone development and maintenance. Vitamin D also plays a role in your nervous system, musculoskeletal system and immune system. Did you know that their are several biological and environmental factors increasing the risk of developing vitamin D deficiency!

Symptoms and Causes

What causes vitamin D deficiency?

Not getting enough vitamin D in your diet and/or through sunlight.
Your body isn’t properly absorbing or using vitamin D.
Certain medical conditions.
Weight loss-surgeries.
Certain medications.
Age (those older than 65-yrs old)
Person's with dark skin

Medical conditions that can cause vitamin D deficiency include:

Cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease and celiac disease: These conditions can prevent your intestines from adequately absorbing enough vitamin D through supplements, especially if the condition is untreated.
Obesity: A body mass index greater than 30 is associated with lower vitamin D levels. Fat cells keep vitamin D isolated so that it’s not released. Obesity often requires taking larger doses of vitamin D supplements to reach and maintain normal levels.
Kidney disease and liver disease: These conditions reduce the amount of certain enzymes (hepatic enzyme 25–hydroxylase from your liver and 1-alpha-hydroxylase from your kidneys) your body needs to change vitamin D to a form it can use. A lack of either of these enzymes leads to an inadequate level of active vitamin D in your body.

Certain medications can lower vitamin D levels, including:

Laxatives.
Steroids (such as prednisone).
Cholesterol-lowering drugs (such as cholestyramine and colestipol).
Seizure-preventing drugs (such as phenobarbital and phenytoin).
Rifampin (a tuberculosis drug).
Orlistat (a weight-loss drug).

Signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include:

Fatigue.
Brain fog
Bone pain.
Muscle weakness, muscle aches or muscle cramps.
Mood changes, like depression.

How is vitamin D deficiency diagnosed?

Healthcare providers don’t usually order routine checks of vitamin D levels, but they might need to check your levels if you have certain medical conditions or risk factors for vitamin D deficiency and/or have symptoms of it.

Your provider can order a blood test to measure your levels of vitamin D. There are two types of tests that they might order, but the most common is the 25-hydroxyvitamin D, known as 25(OH)D for short.

How is vitamin D deficiency treated?

The goals of treatment and prevention for vitamin D deficiency are the same: to reach and then maintain an adequate vitamin D level in your body.

While you might consider eating more foods containing vitamin D and getting more sunlight, your healthcare provider will likely recommend taking vitamin D supplements.

Vitamin D comes in two forms: D2 and D3. D2 (ergocalciferol) comes from plants. D3 (cholecalciferol) comes from animals. Your body more easily absorbs D3 than D2.

Who is most at risk for vitamin D deficiency?

Aside from medical conditions that can lead to vitamin D deficiency, biological and environmental factors that put someone at an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency include:

Age: Your skin's ability to make vitamin D decreases with age, so people over the age of 65 years are especially at risk for vitamin D deficiency. Infants are also at risk of not receiving enough vitamin D. This is especially true for infants who are only fed breast milk, as it contains only a small amount of vitamin D.
Skin color: It’s more difficult for dark-colored skin to make vitamin D from sunlight than light-colored skin, so people with darker skin are at a higher risk for vitamin D deficiency.
Mobility: People who or rarely go outdoors. Sun exposure is a source of vitamin D. Thus, they’re at a higher risk for vitamin D deficiency.

How can I prevent vitamin D deficiency?

The best way to prevent vitamin D deficiency is to ensure you’re getting enough vitamin D in your diet and/or through sun exposure. But be careful about being in the sun for too long without sunscreen. Excessive sun exposure puts you at an increased risk for skin cancer. The amount of vitamin D you need each day depends on your age.

There are a few foods that naturally have some vitamin D, including:

Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel and sardines.
Rainbow trout.
Beef (cow) liver.
Mushrooms.
Egg yolks.
Cod liver oil.