A Look At Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms

By Kerri Stout


Living in a fast paced society that has evolved over time many people find themselves in a position that can cause them to eat on the run or many times miss a meal completely. Eating on the run generally involves fast foods that may not contain the nutritional values necessary for a healthy body and skipping meals due to employment or family pressures carries consequences that speak for themselves. Knowing what the vitamin D deficiency symptoms are may help to prevent the problems associated with it.

Regarded as Sunshine Vitamins the average person can absorb them from exposure to direct natural sun light on a daily basis. There are also many foods that supply the necessary amounts of it for individuals. You can obtain over the counter supplements that are available at retail outlets that can help boost your levels of these vitamins.

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.

Bone density loss is one of the most dangerous features of this ailment. Women over forty are encouraged to have bone density scans to check for loss. They are also encouraged to regularly take calcium tablets that are fortified with vitamin D to strengthen their bones and help prevent fractures should they fall.

Long term issues that can arise from this deficiency include cancer, heart disease, diabetes and liver and kidney problems. It can also cause serious asthma in children. Studies are being done to determine whether there is any effect on patients who have high blood pressure with very promising results. There are also studies that indicate a link between taking this supplement and decreasing the risk of precancerous polyps of the colon, reducing the risk of falling and development of multiple sclerosis in women.

Whether you have this problem or not it may be a wise decision to supplement your diet with multiple vitamins that contain ample dosages of D. Especially if you adhere to a strictly vegan diet because most natural sources of it are animal based such as egg yolks, fish and fish oils, cheese, milk or beef liver.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment