Vitamin D is an extremely important vitamin that has powerful effects on serval systems throughout the body. Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D functions like a hormone and every single cell in the body has a receptor for it. A person makes vitamin D from cholesterol when the skin is exposed to sunlight. With winter well and truly upon us now, deficiencies in vitamin D are common.
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Vitamin D deficiency symptoms: The signs in your bones you are lack…
Vitamin D deficiency is very common. It’s estimated that about one billion people worldwide have low levels of the vitamin in their blood. Not only is the lack of sunshine a key factor for deficiencies, a person can also become deficient if the body is not able to absorb the vitamin or convert it to its active form in the liver and kidneys. If you have noticed a major mood disorder, it could be a warning of a vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D deficiency occurs when the body doesn’t absorb the recommended levels.
Insufficient vitamin D levels can cause the bones to become misshapen, brittle or thin.
Having a lack of vitamin D can also affect one’s mood and leading health experts have noted a lack of vitamin D and how it can cause a person to have depression.
Researchers believe that because vitamin D is important to brain function, insufficient nutrient levels may play a role in depression and other mental illnesses.
What the studies show
Studies have shown a strong link between vitamin D deficiency and depression.
In a 2013 meta analysis, depression and its link to vitamin D deficiency was investigated.
The study noted that patients with depression also had low vitamin D levels.
The same analysis found that, statistically, people with low vitamin D were at a much greater risk of depression.
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In a study with US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, the distribution of the vitamin D receptor and how it works in the human brain was analysed.
The study identified vitamin D receptors in the sae areas of the brain associated with depression.
The studies prove that people with low vitamin D were at a much greater risk of depression.
Other symptoms that could indicate a vitamin D deficiency include aching bones, fatigue and drowsiness and weakness and pain of the muscle joints.
A vitamin D deficiency can be treated by either taking vitamin D supplements, increasing sun exposure or eating foods that contain vitamin D or that are fortified with vitamin D.
Speak with your GP about your best treatment options.
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