Even if you don’t know much about general health and medicine, you probably know that vitamins are important. There are a number of vitamins which are important to human health, so it is important to supply your body with an appropriate amount of those vitamins on a regular basis. If you wind up becoming deficient in one or more of the necessary vitamins, negative health side effects could result.
In this article, we are going to talk about vitamin D deficiency. There are a variety of potential causes for this deficiency, which will get into in a moment, and it can lead to or contribute to various health issues. It’s not known exactly what conditions can result from this issue, but some possibilities include diabetes, hypertension, and glucose intolerance.
Spotting Trouble
If you are like most people, you probably don’t check in on your vitamin levels very often. When you are feeling healthy, this just isn’t something that you will think about in day to day life. However, if you start to feel poorly in one way or another, it may be worth considering the possibility that vitamin levels are to blame.
The list below represents some issues that could be associated with low vitamin D. Of course, there are also other potential causes for these issues, so you can’t assume that it is a lack of vitamin D that’s to blame. Ultimately, the best thing to do is check in with your doctor for a proper evaluation.
- Muscle cramps. One of the possible signs of low vitamin D is persistent muscle cramps. The key here is to pay attention to any changes from what is normal for you. If you don’t usually deal with muscle cramps, but suddenly are getting them frequently, that’s a sign that something may have changed.
- Are you dealing with ongoing fatigue despite getting plenty of sleep and not changing any of your other habits? While several different things could be leading to that fatigue, low vitamin D is one of the possibilities on the list.
- Mood changes. Sometimes, mood changes can be a signal of an underlying issue that needs to be addressed, whether it is a vitamin D deficiency or another issue.
What Could Be Causing Your Vitamin D Deficiency?
The first thing you’ll want to figure out when you discover that you are vitamin D deficient is what is causing the problem. This is the same kind of thinking that applies to virtually everything in the medical field – to treat a problem, you really need to uncover the underlying cause first. Some of the potential causes of vitamin D deficiency include the following points –
- Lack of sun exposure. This is the first place to start on this topic, and a likely cause for many people facing this issue. Vitamin D is produced by the body when it is exposed to the sun. Of course, there is a careful balance to be struck here, as too much sun exposure can have a negative impact on your health. As long as you are getting a modest amount of sunlight on a regular basis – even just a half-hour or less three times a week or so – you should be okay on this point. With that said, in some climates, it’s hard to get much sunlight at all during the cold part of the year.
- Deficient diet. The food you consume can also be a source of vitamin D, but only if you are eating the right things. If you don’t regularly eat foods that are rich in vitamins, you may not be getting enough supply to supplement what is provided to you by the sun.
- If you are currently overweight or obese, that could be a contributing factor to a lack of vitamin D. With excess fat cells in the body, the vitamin D might not be released as it should be, and extra vitamin D supplementation may be required.
Of course, human health is a complex topic, and the whole picture can’t be provided in a simple blog post. It’s good to gain a basic understanding of an important topic such as this, but ultimately it will be working closely together with your doctor that can help you make progress and find a solution.
Options for Improvement
There are a variety of possibilities to deal with your lack of vitamin D, including the points below.
- Getting more sun. If it is an option where you live, getting out in the sun a little more often may be all that is needed to up your levels of vitamin D.
- Improving your diet. By incorporating more foods that are rich in vitamin D in your diet, you could take a step in the right direction. Options include some types of fish, orange juice, milk, and more.
- Adding a supplement. Vitamin supplements are not hard to find and taking extra vitamin D in supplement form may wind up being a good plan for your case.
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