Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms 101

There are different Vitamin D Deficiency Causes and most of them are associated with a person’s diet, lifestyle or other factors that results to the insufficiency.

Identifying these Vitamin D Deficiency Causes can help an individual prevent the undesirable symptoms and medical problems that are carried along in having inadequate amounts of the pro-hormone in the body.

It is imperative that any person is aware of the levels of the pro-hormone in the body as having dangerously low amounts can lead to various symptoms.

Popular Vitamin D Deficiency Causes

1. Skin Type – One of the reasons why people develop the insufficiency is because of the type of skin that they have. Individuals with darker skin are more likely to have low levels of the pro-hormone because they usually have difficulties absorbing the sunlight.
2. Limited Sunlight Exposure – The sunlight enables the body to produce adequate amounts of the pro-hormone and infrequency of or limited sun exposure lowers down the amount of the pro-hormone in the body. People who are more susceptible to the insufficiency includes:
   1. a.       Those who are living in cold climates or northern latitudes
   2. b.      Those who for cultural reasons regularly wear fully covered garments
   3. c.       Those who have occupation that requires a person to stay indoors and away from sun exposure.
   4. Poor Diet – When the body regularly take foods that don’t contain or have lesser contents of the pro-hormone it eventually results to the fluctuation or decrease of the pro-hormone. There are diets which are designed to fight the insufficiency such as those that contain beef liver, cheese, fish and fish oils or fortified milk.
   5. Aging – As a person ages his kidney becomes less capable of converting the pro-hormone to its active form and this increases the risk for the insufficiency.
   6. VDDS – This syndrome is characterized by having levels of 50 ng/ml or less of the pro-hormone in the body combined with the occurrence of medical conditions such as chronic fatigue, cancer, depression and chronic pain. It’s prevalence is among those who are dark-skinned, elderly or those who avoid the sun.
   7. Medical problems – There are certain medical problems such as coeliac disease, crohn’s disease and cystic fibrosis negatively affects the digestive tracts’ or the intestine’s ability to absorb the pro-hormones out of the foods you eat and this significantly lowers down the levels of pro-hormone.
   8. Medications – There are drugs that are associated with the decrease in the pro-hormones and it includes ulcer medications, steroids, sleeping pills and medicines used to control blood cholesterol level.
   9. Breastfeeding – The pro-hormone is not abundant in human milk and this is why infants who are exclusively breastfed are more likely to have symptoms of the insufficiency.
   10. Obesity – When a person is obese or has body mass index of 30 he is more likely to suffer from the insufficiency as the pro-hormone is extracted by fat cells from the blood. When your body accumulates more fats, the pro-hormones are gradually eaten up and this results to dangerously low pro-hormone levels.

What You Can Do To Have The Required Levels

1. You may need to change your food choices and eat more products that are rich with the pro-hormones. Supplements are also a great option to enhance the levels of pro-hormones in your body.
2. Increase your sun exposure especially if you belong to those people who are more susceptible to the insufficiency. However, you also need to limit the exposure to 20 minutes at a time to get the health effects of sunlight while preventing skin cancer.
3. If you have the above-mentioned medical conditions you need speak with your healthcare provider about how you can compensate with the inability of your intestine to function properly.
4. If you are taking the medicines that can potentially lower down your levels, speak with your doctor for other medicines that you can use.
5. Get physically fit and slimmer.

The body has regular demands that need to be satisfied such as having the right nutrients and failure to meet this requirement often leads to the development of Vitamin D Deficiency Causes. Whether you have dark skin, are living in cold climate or within the elderly age bracket there are plenty of ways in which you can compensate with the loss of your pro-hormone and maintain the required levels. You only need to be very conscious about your health and be mindful about the signs that your body is trying to convey.