A Vitamin D deficiency can have many negative consequences on your health.
Good health comes with a well-balanced diet that provides the right amount of nutrition: vitamins, essential fats, energy, protein, and minerals.
A lack of any of these nutrients can have a negative impact on the quality of life. These nutrients regulate how our body grows and functions. When it comes to nutrients that build your body, vitamin D is one of the most important ones.
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium to promote bone growth. Lack of v D can impact your overall health. A level lesser than 20 ng/ml of v D indicates a deficiency. V D deficiency is not as prominent.
However, there are a few signs and symptoms exhibited by v D deficient people.
1. FALLING SICK OFTEN
Your immune system protects you from bacteria and viruses that can cause illness. V D interacts with the cells that build the immune system. When your body runs low on vitamin D, it affects your immunity, making you more prone to ailments like cold and flu, fever, allergies, asthma, and eczema.
These are just a few among more than 80 illnesses that can be caused by problems with the immune function.
2. SUSTAINED FATIGUE
Fatigue can pretty much affect every aspect of your life. Some studies show a connection between vitamin D deficiency and fatigue in women. Vitamin D boosts energy levels and keeps you active for a long time.
Therefore, if you find yourself experiencing exhaustion in the middle of the day, you might be suffering from v D deficiency.
3. POOR BONE HEALTH
Another sign that indicates low blood levels of vitamin D is poor bone health. The right amount of vitamin D in your diet helps the body build and maintain bone health.
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Calcium and vitamin deficiency can increase bone damage and cause back pain. Weak bone health increases the risk of fractures and other injuries. Therefore, you need adequate amounts of vitamin D to build healthy bones and muscles.
4. HAIR LOSS
Hair breakage and loss are commonly attributed to stress. However, other factors can also damage your hair. A deficiency in v D can cause severe hair fall. Alopecia is an autoimmune disease that is characterized by severe hair loss.
There is not much data to support this, but there may be a connection between alopecia and v D deficiency. Studies show that people with alopecia or female-pattern hair loss have lower levels of v D, which can be associated with severe hair loss.
5. VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY – WOUNDS HEAL SLOWLY
Our body has self-healing mechanisms that help restore and optimize health. But if you observe slow healing of wounds, it indicates vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D plays a significant role in fighting infection, controlling inflammation, and ensuring proper healing. Inadequate levels of vitamin D can lead to impaired healing or even jeopardize the healing process completely.
6. SEVERE MUSCLE PAIN
It is not easy to determine what causes muscle pain, but some studies suggest that it could be a sign of vitamin D deficiency. A lack of vitamin D can cause weakness in the muscles and lead to chronic muscle aches in both adults and children. Experts don’t have substantial evidence yet, but they suggest it starts quite subtly and builds up over time. There is also a link between chronic pain in muscles and low blood levels of v D.
These are a few symptoms to look out for to determine whether you have a v D deficiency or not. These signs are not evident in the beginning and are often difficult to recognize. Start by adding more v D rich foods to your diet and increase your sun exposure to increase your v D levels. V D deficiency is not difficult to fix, and once you restore the levels, it can benefit various aspects of your health.
Image Sources
- Overhead-Squat-Lauren Fisher: CrossFit Inc
- female-athlete-squatting: RX'd Photography
- Triple-Extension: RX'd Photography
- Vitamins-and-minerals: Photos courtesy of CrossFit Inc