Ads 468x60px

Sunday, September 21, 2014

What Are Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms

By Kerri Stout


The world today is fast paced and hectic for most of the people who must live in it. Many are forced to choose between the pressures of their job and the basic need to take time for nutritious meals that will help maintain their skills. Choosing fast foods or energy bars and drinks can produce adverse effects to your health. Awareness of Vitamin D deficiency symptoms and their causes can prove beneficial to health and well being of everyone.

There are several ways to supplement the intake of basic vitamins starting with sitting in the sun. The body can create D vitamins for itself by metabolizing direct sunshine it is exposed to. Many foods contain needed amounts of D vitamins and additional supplements can be purchased over the counter in most stores.

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.

Because the most common signs of this problem are so difficult to detect it often goes untreated. Bone pain and weakness are two complaints most often stated and most doctors do not request the test needed when they order blood tests for their patients. Many times the patient will suggest the doctor ask for this test.

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 a shortage of D vitamins or not it may serve you well in the long run to supplement them by sitting in sunshine or purchasing the needed dosage at your favorite store.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment

Share on Facebook

Email Newsletter