Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases And Vitamin D Deficiency Causes

Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases

Low levels of vitamin D creates Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases. According to the severity of the deficiency and the signs, some diseases can start. Let's discuss about "Whats are the Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms?" and "Whats are the Vitamin D Deficiency Causes?"

Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms

Vitamin D Deficiency is one of the most common types of vitamin deficiency. This is a vitamin that is produced with the help of the sun, hence why it is also called the sunshine vitamin, although the deficiency is common, a lot of people are not aware of it, this of course can bring problems when we talk about pregnant women or children, two of the types of people who are at greater risk.

Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases

What are the Symptoms of Vitamin D deficiencies?

There are different conditions that are symptoms of a deficiency in vitamin D, but the most common ones involve soft bones; you see, vitamin D help in strengthening our bones and muscles, thats why children with this deficiency commonly develop curved legs or lack of strength in the lower body. These disorders vary according to the age of the patient: rickets, osteomalacia and osteoporosis. Not only can the bones be deformed, but they also are easily broken and have less bone density.

It also good to know that this deficiency can go unnoticed to many people, so you should stay in the lookout for any of these other deficiency symptoms:

• Depression
• Diabetes Type I
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Periodontal disease
• Bowed limbs
• Chronic muscle, bone or joint pain (most noticeable in the back and knees)
• Low levels of calcium in the blood
• Chronic fatigue
• Tuberculosis

Keep in mind that these additional symptoms don't necessarily mean you have a problem with vitamin D but they can serve you to go check your Vitamin D Levels to discard any problem that can get more serious in the future, especially if you have relatives with problems of osteoporosis or if you do not go out to much to get the help of sunlight.

Hypothyroidism and Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms

Numerous articles that have appeared in the last 20 years suggested that people with hypothyroidism have Low Vitamin D levels, which can result in different bone problems linked to hypothyroidism.

Vitamin D and thyroid hormones are connected to similar receptors, known as steroid hormone receptors. Another gene in the vitamin D receptor suggests inclination of people to develop such autoimmune thyroid disease, as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or Graves’ disease.

Adequate Vitamin D Level is vital for the general health of the body, particularly for those with thyroid problems. If you are not exposed to plenty of sunlight or not regularly consuming Vitamin D Rich Foods, it is highly recommended to have the Vitamin D Level checked for patients with thyroid problems.

Vitamin D Deficiency Causes

Many people have an insufficient Vitamin D Level, thus it best for them to have their Vitamin D Level checked. Vitamin D Deficiency occurs when the body fails to get an adequate amount of vitamin D from exposure to sun, Vitamin D Rich Foods and various Vitamin D Supplements. Most people are convinced their body gets plenty of Vitamin D Sunlight from exposure to sun, food and supplements, but in fact they don’t.

These are only the most important causes of Vitamin D Deficiency, as other factors are also responsible for Vitamin D Deficiency. Luckily, in most cases, these vitamin D deficiencies are not severe and can be easily treated with increased doses of Vitamin D Supplements.

The other causes that can contribute to Vitamin D Deficiency are:

• Low cholesterol level (the skin needs cholesterol to create Vitamin D Sunlight from Sun).

• Certain medications. Obesity (a bigger body needs more vitamin D).

• Magnesium deficiency (magnesium is also required for vitamin D to reaches its active form). 

• Age (older people convert less vitamin D from exposure to sun).

• Low fat diet (vitamin D is fat-soluble, thus, the body requires fat to absorb vitamin D). 

• Dark skin (it blocks ultraviolet light to reach the cells of the skin that make vitamin D). 

• Living in the remote North or South.

There are other more serious causes that lead to Vitamin D Deficiency.

Fat malabsorption is one of these causes, which the inability of the body to absorb fat. People with different health conditions, mainly digestion problems, are predisposed to have Vitamin D Absorption problems.

A too toxic liver – liver that is unable to effectively get rid of the accumulated toxins – is incapable of effectively converting vitamin D into its active form.

What Causes Vitamin D Deficiency

What Causes Vitamin D Deficiency? Vitamin D is on of the most common types of vitamin deficiency. This condition appears as a result of not ingesting enough preformed vitamin D (found in eggs, fish, fortified milk and cod liver oil), lack of sun exposure (the sun helps us produce this vitamin), and malabsorption (due to conditions that keep vitamin D from converting into active metabolites).

Certain conditions keep us from getting enough sun exposure, people who live near the north pole, people with dark skin, old and young people who do not go out too much, and people who cover their skin frequently (like for example in some Muslim countries) can suffer of Vitamin D Deficiency caused by inadequate sun exposure. Sun exposure is the deciding factor in our levels of vitamin D, since we do not get too much of it from food.

Having said that, it is also good to keep a healthy diet to supplement any lack of Vitamin D Production. Infants for example may benefit greatly from a diet with fortified milk, since this type of milk has added vitamins that common milk does not have.

The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) can help us determine the amount of vitamin D needed to avoid deficiencies. On adults, the RDA is 200 IU a day (IU stands for International Units). It is wise to choose food containing higher levels of this vitamin, or else we will need great amounts of one food to get to the needed levels.

Now that you know the causes, know that it is greatly a matter of prevention. You should go out everyday for a few minutes at least to get the help of the rays of the sun and ensure that you have a good, healthy diet that meets your nutritional needs.

If a Vitamin D Deficiency is prolonged it will have an impact on your bones and will develop bowed legs. This luckily is not as common as before, there are fewer cases. This condition is called rickets or osteomalacia (varies according to the age of the patient) and the symptoms include weakness in muscles, easily fractured bones, reduced bone strength and waddling walk.

Excessive sun exposure can also be dangerous, making us run risk of developing skin cancer. It is good to also ask a doctor what the ideal sun exposure time is in your specific case to help the production of vitamin D in a responsible, healthy way.

Whats Are The Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases

Low levels of vitamin D in our body cause what is called Vitamin D Deficiency, according to the severity of the deficiency and the signs, Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases can start, and since this vitamin mostly has to do with the strength and density of our bones our muscles, they are the ones who will be most affected. In this article we take a look at the Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases that are caused by deficiency of this vitamin.

Rickets. This disease occurs when there as Vitamin D Deficiency In Children. This problem was big during some years on the US but now it has become uncommon, yet it is highly present in other developing countries. Basically it means bone softening. Infants whose mother does not get enough sun exposure or those who do not get sun exposure themselves are at more risk of developing and it can be worse if there is bad nutrition present.

Osteomalacia. Osteomalacia is the same as rickets, but it is called that way when the patient is adult. This is a disease that occurs when there is an inadequate mineralization in the bone matrix. Vitamin D is essential to absorb the calcium in the intestine.

How to avoid these Vitamin D Deficiency Diseases?

The best way to avoid these problems is by proper prevention and by giving our body enough Vitamin D. This vitamin can be found in:

Food. There is special food such as vitamin D fortified milk, and few foods that can give you an increase in levels such as fish oil and fatty fish.

Sunlight. This is the primary way to get vitamin D. The UV rays coming from the sun start the vitamin D synthesis in our skin. Solar protection higher than 8 SPF will block UV rays and thus, block the synthesis, but still it is necessary to use it if we are staying under the sun for more than 15 minutes.