Vitamin D is not really a vitamin, but a hormone made by your body in a series of steps primarily involving the skin, liver and kidneys. The synthesis begins with exposure to sunshine, or by ingesting supplements or foods that contain vitamin D. Very few foods are good natural sources, however, with fatty fish, such as salmon, being the best. It is generally agreed that a blood level of 20-25 nmol/L of a form of vitamin D called 25-hydroxyvitamin D indicates severe deficiency, while a level of approximately 80 nmol/L is considered necessary for optimal health.
Children and Bone Development
Vitamin D is needed for calcium absorption. When a severe deficiency exists, bones enlarge, but do not mineralize properly. The result is soft, easily deformed bones, a condition called rickets. A child with rickets often has bowed arms and legs; in infants, the "soft spot" in the skull may not close when it should and the rib cage may be deformed. Seizures can also result from a severe deficiency. If a breastfeeding mother is low in vitamin D, her infant will also be deficient. For this reason, pediatricians often recommend vitamin D supplementation for breastfed babies.
Adult Bones
The adult body is constantly breaking down and replacing bone tissue. Without enough vitamin D to aid calcium absorption, bones can become soft. In adults, this condition is called osteomalacia. People with osteomalacia experience bone pain, especially in the hip, and can easily break a bone. A vitamin D deficiency can also cause thinning of bones, resulting in osteopenia and eventually osteoporosis. With osteopenia and the early stages of osteoporosis, there are no symptoms. Later, there may be bone pain, loss of height, neck and low back pain, a hump on the back and fractures.
Muscles
Symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency can include muscle weakness and pain. By determining vitamin D status and supplementing as needed, pain can be reduced and falls prevented. People taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs sometimes experience muscle pain as a side effect. Harvard Health Publications reports that a study of 128 men and women experiencing this side effect showed that two-thirds of them were deficient in vitamin D. Muscle pain disappeared in 90 percent of those when they took a vitamin D supplement while continuing the statin therapy.
Artery Disease, Blood Pressure and More
Arteries stiffen when calcium deposits form in them. The Health Professionals Follow-Up Study at Harvard found this was more likely to happen with low blood levels of vitamin D. In addition, vitamin D is needed to regulate the kidneys' production of renin, a hormone that increases blood pressure. Low vitamin D can also increase the risk of infection. A deficiency may contribute to the development of cancers-- particularly breast, prostate and colon cancers -- and to the development of diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Since every kind of tissue requires calcium and vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption, it's easy to see how a vitamin D deficiency can impact your entire body.
Member Comments