In 2012, the percentage of American citizens who take vitamin D reached about 20% of the total population, according to a statistic conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2016, which is four times the previous number in a period of no more than ten years. This is justified in marketing, as it has been promoted, as being able to prevent many diseases, including some types of cancers.
Accordingly, it has become expected that the consumer / patient will ask about the importance of taking vitamin D, the extent to which this matter is commercialized, and the fact that manufacturers exaggerate it, as some doctors cite research indicating that the body does not need replacement tablets, and suffices with proper food, while the other team doubts In that research, he cites various studies that talk about the importance of vitamin D, and that it is not only a vitamin, but it is also an important hormone for vital body functions.
So why is vitamin D important? How dangerous is its deficiency? How can this be avoided?
Why is vitamin D important?
It is one of the vitamins important for vital body functions, the most important of which are:
1. Building bones:
Vitamin D controls the level of calcium and phosphorous in the blood, and helps them deposit inside the bones for the sake of building processes, so its deficiency causes what is known as rickets, which leads to bone deformities for children, weakness and easy exposure to fracture, with exposure to many body pain for adults.
2. Calcium absorption:
Vitamin D, in its active form, contributes to the absorption of calcium from the digestive system, to be used in various building processes, and calcium is an important element of the body, apart from its importance in the formation and building of bones, it plays the main role in muscle contraction, including the heart muscle.
3. Control the level of calcium in the blood:
Vitamin D, in addition to the parathyroid hormone, controls the level of calcium in the blood by absorbing calcium from the digestive system, controlling the secretions of the kidneys, and in order to understand the relationship more clearly, the lack of calcium or vitamin D results in the activation of the parathyroid hormone to "borrow" calcium from the bones to maintain A stable level of calcium in the blood, which causes soft and brittle bones.
What are the main factors causing vitamin D deficiency?
Malnutrition and digestive system diseases: which directly affect the absorption of vitamins and the vital building processes.
Liver and kidney diseases: As a result of a lack of enzymes essential for the conversion and activation processes of vitamin D.
Surgical operations: for bypassing the digestive system and removing parts of it.
Some medications such as: cortisone, cholesterol lowerers and some antibiotics.
Skin color: Melanin, responsible for eye color, hair and skin color, affects the skin's absorption of the sun's ultraviolet rays and thus the synthesis of vitamin D. Therefore, people with dark skin are more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency.
Age: The body's ability to synthesize vitamin D, through exposure to sunlight, decreases by about 25% after the age of seventy.
Sun exposure: Residents of the tropics are less prone to vitamin D deficiency, due to the presence of sunshine most of the year compared to cooler regions further from the equator.
Obesity: A body mass index (BMI) of more than 30 exposes a person to a risk of vitamin D deficiency and a compensatory need for it.
Vitamin D deficiency is mainly observed in countries and cities where there is no sunlight for long periods of time.
What are the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency?
Vitamin D deficiency causes clear symptoms in children, the most common of which are rickets and growth abnormalities, and to a lesser extent it causes joint and muscle pain.
But for adults, vitamin D deficiency causes unclear symptoms such as general weakness, bone and joint pain, muscle weakness, and may even lead to depression, so the specialist may request a vitamin D test (25-hydroxyvitamin D) to confirm the lack of vitamin D level in the blood, and to give the therapeutic supplement in a way. Correct without overuse.
What is the risk of vitamin D deficiency for a long time?
Apart from its importance to the bones, the vitamin is important in preventing heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some types of cancers such as colon, prostate and breast, weak immune system, and multiple sclerosis.
Doctors see many fractures resulting from weakness and osteoporosis, especially in the elderly and children, which result from simple trauma that leads to a fracture of the pelvis or wrist that requires surgical intervention.
And about a case I read about the case of Mrs. Sama, a 55-year-old woman who suffers from osteoporosis for a long time, where she works at a desk job, and her nature of life does not enable her to be exposed to sunlight continuously, and she was subjected to a fall on her side, which led to a fracture of the thigh neck that requires a surgical change of the joint .
Sama is among the conditions that represent many people who may suffer fractures resulting from osteoporosis, for which vitamin D deficiency is one of the factors that cause it, knowing that Sama is considered young to perform such surgery, which requires many precautions and a lot of physical therapy and all That consumes money from Sumaya and others.
Therefore, lack of vitamin D continuously for long periods of time deprives the bones of their strength, as well as the immune system of a defense means to prevent many diseases.
How do we avoid vitamin D deficiency?
Obtaining vitamin D requires the following factors:
Exposure to sunlight:
Continuous exposure to sunlight for a period of 15 to 20 minutes for at least three days a week is sufficient to convert vitamin D, made through the skin, from the inactive form to the active form, which is the compound the body needs for all vital functions.
Therefore, vitamin D deficiency is noticed mainly in countries and cities that do not have sunlight for long periods of time, such as northern European countries, where the sun's rays disappear for a period of up to six months.
Food containing vitamin D:
Foods rich in a source of vitamin D (such as fatty fish, egg yolks, liver, meat and dairy products with all their products) contribute mainly to maintaining the level of vitamin D naturally, and consuming them continuously contributes to avoiding vitamin D deficiency, or resorting to replacement pills.
Therefore, it is recommended to read the food ingredients when buying them to know the concentration of vitamin D, as it is possible to easily calculate the amount that the body needs, children up to the age of 12 months need at least 400 units, and the need increases to 600 units from the age of one year to seventy, and up to 800 units for those who are about The seventy, which can be obtained naturally by eating healthy foods on a daily basis.
Prophylaxis for compensatory treatment:
After many researches, the American Pediatric Association issued its advice on vitamin D, and it has recommended that children, starting from the age of two months, eat at least 400 units of vitamin D, and because of the difficulty of providing this amount through breastfeeding or supplementation, it is recommended to obtain vitamin D in a compensatory way. Liquid image up to two years old.
In analogy with it, the importance of vitamin D replacement therapy for all ages in order to prevent deficiency, if it is not possible to obtain it through food.
There are two types of replacement pills, active vitamin D3 and inactive vitamin D2, and representatives of drug companies and commercial advertisements may promote active vitamin D, which is the most expensive, as the best and appropriate alternative, and after taking it can dispense with exposure to sunlight, and that talk is what I find the case for the controversy raised about the importance of vitamin D, but the reference in this matter is medical research and scientific books that recommend with most doctors, including myself, taking inactive vitamin D with constant exposure to sunlight, as it is safer and more effective, as for the vitamin in its form The active ingredient has limited uses in the medical field, and it should not be taken without consulting a specialist.
The goal of treating vitamin D deficiency is to reach the normal level of vitamin D in the blood while maintaining it, continuing exposure to sunlight on a regular basis and increasing the intake of foods rich in vitamin D as an alternative source of treatment, as an increase in it above normal levels causes nausea, general weakness and joint pain, which are similar to symptoms of deficiency. Vitamin D.
Great information about Vitamin D. This is one of my supplement as well. I know how important it is as in my body and health.