Vitamin D is a vital nutrient for the human body.
According to estimates, about one billion people across the world suffer from Vitamin-D deficiency. That would mean that about 1 in 7 people in the world are facing this issue.
Hence, it is imperative to learn more about this problem so that you can take the necessary steps for course correction.
Benefits of Vitamin-D
01
Helps In Strengthening Your Bones And Teeth
Vitamin D is vital in the maintenance of skeletal calcium balance in the body.
Calcium is essential for strengthening bones and teeth. Vitamin D helps in maintaining the necessary calcium and phosphate levels for bone formation1 (Wikipedia).
02
Helps In Bone Remodelling
Bone remodelling or bone metabolism is a lifelong process where mature bone tissue is removed from the skeleton via a process called bone resorption. This forms new bone tissue via a process called ossification or new bone formation.
These processes also control the reshaping or replacement of bone following injuries like fractures or micro-damage during normal activity. Vitamin D plays an important role in this process1, 2 (Wikipedia).
03
Helps You Fight The Flu
A 2018 study6 (Gruber, 2018) indicated that Vitamin D may be beneficial in fighting seasonal viral infections like influenza and pneumonia.
Another study showed that the risk of influenza infection was reduced by more than 40% in children who were given 1,200 IU of vitamin D per day for four months during the winter season8, 9 (Holick, 2013; Dunne & Bell, 2014).
04
May Help Reduce Respiratory Diseases
Vitamin D can be effective as an adjunct therapy in the management of asthma.
As per a 2006 study7 (Ali & Nanji, 2017), higher levels of vitamin D reduced viral respiratory infections in children.
Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy was also observed to reduce childhood asthma rates of the new-borns10 (Hollis & Wagner, 2017).
05
Facilitate Normal Delivery In Pregnant Women
A 2009 study11 (Merewood et al., 2009) of 253 women found that women deficient in Vitamin D were 4 times more likely to have a primary caesarean section than those who had higher levels of Vitamin D.
06
Helps Prevent Skeletal Degenerative Diseases
Vitamin D deficiency can cause a wide array of skeletal degenerative diseases like Osteoporosis, Osteomalacia, Rickets, etc1 (Wikipedia).
07
Protects Against Preeclampsia In Pregnant Women
Preeclampsia is a condition that occurs only during pregnancy. Those who have this may experience high blood pressure, a significant amount of protein in the urine, gestational hypertension, etc. The symptoms of the condition are visible after week 20 of pregnancy.
Another study13 (Sasan et al., 2017) in 142 women showed that Vitamin D had a protective effect against recurrent preeclampsia.
08
Reduces risk of Type-2 Diabetes
A 2011 study17 (Dalgård et al., 2011) that was conducted among elderly people (age range 70-74) observed that consuming enough Vitamin-D can provide protection against Type-2 Diabetes.
09
Helps Reduce Depression And Mood Disorders
Depression and mood disorders are a pandemic in the modern world.
Studies19 (Penckofer et al., 2010) have shown that the prevalence of depression and mood disorders like Seasonal Affective Disorders (SAD) is linked to a deficiency of Vitamin-D in the body20 (Greenblatt, 2011).
10
Helps To Lose Weight
According to a study21 (Khosravi et al., 2018), Vitamin-D supplementation that significantly increases Vitamin-D levels in people resulted in a significant reduction in weight, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI).
You may want to keep this in mind the next time you plan to go on a weight loss diet.
11
Helps Fight Neuro-Degenerative Diseases
Vitamin D prevents the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain and helps to fight neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and schizophrenia.
Studies have shown that the risk of Parkinson’s disease decrease in subjects with a higher level of Vitamin-D22 (Ng & Nguyễn, 2012).
12
Helps Prevent Auto-Immune Diseases
As per a 2010 study23 (Zhang & Wu, 2010), Vitamin D can affect both innate and adaptive immunity and prevent autoimmune responses efficiently.
Vitamin D regulates the immune responses by suppressing T cell proliferation and modulating macrophage functions.
Associations between vitamin D and autoimmune diseases have been confirmed in multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), etc.
Factors Affecting Vitamin-D Presence in the Body
- Skin Pigmentation
Sunlight is the primary source of Vitamin D4 (Holick, 2004).
Studies5 (DeNoon, WebMD) have shown that dark-skinned people living in temperate climates tend to have low Vitamin D level. It is postulated that dark-skin absorbs less sunlight and therefore, people with dark skin do not get as much vitamin D from sun exposure as do light-skinned people.
- Overweight And Obesity
It has been observed from studies that poorer Vitamin-D status occurs with overweight and obesity14, 15 (Yanoff et al., 2006; Bodnar et al., 2007).
Other studies have also indicated that obesity may increase the risk of Vitamin-D deficiency3 (Khosravi et al., 2018).
- Distance From Equator
Since sunlight is the main natural source of Vitamin-D, this is a no-brainer. Studies conducted in subjects in temperate climates have proved this theory.
- Age
The elderly population seemed to have lower amounts of Vitamin-D, leading to the onset of skeletal degenerative diseases like osteoporosis, osteomalacia etc.
- Specific Medical Conditions
It has been observed that people with medical conditions like liver disease, celiac and renal diseases have lower levels of Vitamin-D content in their bodies.
How Much Vitamin-D Is Recommended?
The National Academy of Medicine (a non-profit NGO) made the below suggestions for Vitamin-D intake18 (UPMC):
1) For Infants in the age range 0-12 months – 400 IUs/day
2) For Children and adults in the age range 1-70 years – 600 IUs/day
3) For Adults over 70 years of age – 800 IUs/day
It is to be noted that this is to be measured in international units (IUs) as per the standard of measurement for drugs and vitamins.
Reliable Sources of Vitamin D
Vitamin-D is the only nutrient that is also a hormone. There are very few natural sources of this nutrient.
The major natural source of Vitamin-D is the synthesis of cholecalciferol in the skin from cholesterol through a chemical reaction that is dependent on sun exposure (specifically Ultra Violet radiation)1 (Wikipedia).
Other than that, there are foods that contain Vitamin D, but in lower quantities.
The food items that contain Vitamin-D are18 (UPMC):
- Cod liver oil
- Vitamin fortified milk
- Vitamin fortified Orange juice
- Swordfish, salmon, and tuna
- Liver and beef
- Egg yolk
- Yoghurt
- Sardines
- Vitamin fortified margarine
- Swiss cheese
How To Know If You Are Deficient In Vitamin D?
If you have any of the below symptoms, it would be wise to consult a medical practitioner to verify if you are suffering from Vitamin-D deficiency18 (UPMC):
-
- General, persistent tiredness
- Severe muscle and/or bone weakness or pain
- Overall body aches and pains
- Unusual occurrences of stress fractures, especially in the legs, hips, and pelvis
- Depression
- Weight gain
Can Vitamin-D Prevent Cancer?
There are researches that advocate both sides of this. Some studies say that subjects with a higher level of Vitamin-D in their blood have a lower risk of cancer.
According to a study16 (National Institute of Health) conducted in 2018 (considered as the largest clinical trial ever done on this thesis) and involved 793 participants, higher levels of Vitamin-D did not lead to any statistically significant benefit with regards to a reduced risk of cancer.
The verdict is still out there.
But then again, it doesn’t hurt to have some Vitamin D, does it?