Many people don’t know it, but vitamin D is essential for your health! This article discusses all the amazing vitamin D benefits and why you should never deprive yourself of it. Keep reading to find out more!
Vitamin D is a hormone introduced into your body when your skin is exposed to the sun. It allows your body to consume calcium and maintain healthy amounts of phosphorus. Certain supplements and foods, such as fatty fish, help your body produce vitamin D, but sunlight is the best way to get enough.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the recommended amount of vitamin D is 400 international units for children up to 1 year old, 600 international units for people aged 1 to 70, and 800 international units for people over 70. . However, a larger amount may be needed for healthy adults, according to a 2008 study.
Vitamin D deficiency, as defined by the study, occurs when a person has less than 20 nanograms per milliliter in their blood. To regain sufficient levels of vitamin D, people in the study had to take 5,000 international units to reach 30 nanograms per milliliter, according to Healthline.
Read on to know the risks of vitamin D deficiency.
Your head may begin to sweat excessively.
Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University Medical Center told HuffPost that excessive head sweating is “one of the classic early signs of vitamin D deficiency.”
You might be much more tired than usual.
A 2015 study of nurses found a strong link between fatigue and vitamin D deficiency. Another study found that taking a vitamin D supplement may help.
“There is growing evidence that vitamin D deficiencies are associated with fatigue and sleep disturbances,” Catherine Jackson, a professor at California State University, Fresno, told Reader’s Digest.
You are more likely to be depressed.
A 1998 study found that vitamin D can also affect your mood. Other studies have also found links between vitamin D deficiency and depression, although some controlled trials have not found this same link, according to Healthline.
You could be suffering from heart problems or high blood pressure.
According to research presented at the American College of Cardiology, people with lower vitamin D levels were more likely to have coronary heart disease, and to have it more severely. A 2013 study established a causal link between hypertension, or high blood pressure, and vitamin D deficiency.
Your bones are more likely to fracture, and children can develop rickets.
Because vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, if you don’t get enough of it, your bones could weaken, putting you at an increased risk of fractures.
If adults are vitamin D deficient, they also have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis and osteomalacia, according to MDMag. Osteomalacia causes bone pain, and osteoporosis makes bones thinner and easier to fracture. In children, severe vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets, which can lead to skeletal deformities such as bowed legs or a projected sternum.
The risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia may be higher.
A 2014 review of eight observational studies concluded that people with vitamin D deficiency were twice as likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, but more clinical trials are needed to confirm this review.
You may have a harder time surviving cancer.
According to another 2014 study, people with cancer who have higher vitamin D levels have a higher survival rate than people with cancer who have vitamin D deficiency.
“The results suggest that vitamin D may influence the prognosis of people with breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lymphoma, in particular,” said Dr. Hui Wang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai.
You could die prematurely.
People with low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the main circulating form of vitamin D, are more likely to die earlier than people with healthy levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, according to a study published in The American Journal of Public Health which analyzed 32 studies to establish a correlation between all-cause mortality and vitamin D.
