A true absence of vitamin D in your body is not physiologically possible. Without vitamin D, your body would not be able to maintain your bones, fight infections, manage your blood sugar or regulate your blood pressure. However, you can have a vitamin D deficiency due to poor diet or from other factors.
What Causes a Vitamin D Deficiency?
According to Oregon State University, you are more likely to develop a vitamin D deficiency if you have dark skin, are elderly, if you cover your skin when you are outside, if you have inflammatory bowel disease, are obese, have a fat malabsorption syndrome or if you did not receive vitamin D supplementation when you were an infant. An absence of the proper amounts of vitamin D in your body can lead to health problems such as muscle pain, muscle weakness and bone disease such as osteomalacia or rickets.
How Do You Get The Proper Amount?
There are three ways that you can get vitamin D. These include exposure to sunlight, eating vitamin D-fortified foods and taking vitamin D supplements. Sun exposure stimulates your skin cells to produce vitamin D naturally. Sun exposure of 10 to 15 minutes on your face, arms and neck at least three times per week is enough to meet your body's needs. If you fail to get enough sunlight or if vitamin D is absent from your diet, you will not be able to get the minimum levels that your body needs to function properly.
RDA From Food
Too much sun exposure can lead to skin cancer, so it is best to supplement your sun exposure with vitamin D from food sources. Some good sources include egg yolks, cheese, butter, cream, saltwater fish, oysters and liver. Milk and cereal and other fortified foods often have added vitamin D. The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, is the amount that your body needs from food each day to avoid deficiency symptoms. The current RDA is between 600 to 800 IUs, although the Harvard School of Public Health recommends a higher amount of at least 800 to 1,000 IUs for adults.
Considerations
Vitamin D is one of the 13 essential vitamins that your body requires for life each day. If you do not meet the minimum needs of your body, you will develop symptoms that could lead to serious health problems. If you feel that vitamin D is absent from your diet and you do not get enough sunlight where you live, consider a vitamin D supplement that can help you meet the RDA. If you are unsure of your levels, talk with your doctor about a proper diet and discuss any medications that you are taking with your doctor before you add a supplement or multivitamin.
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