What Are the Signs Of a Vitamin D Deficiency?

At least half of American children under 12 years of age, are deficient in vitamin D.

We are in the darker months in the Northern Hemisphere and now is the perfect time to be aware of the signs, symptoms and risk factors of a vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is referred to as the Sunshine Vitamin. We produce vitamin D in our skin from exposure to sunshine. Vitamin D performs many functions throughout your body and can turn off and turn on thousands of genes. Vitamin D, along with vitamin K2 and phosphorous, help to bring calcium into the bones and teeth. If there is a vitamin D, or a vitamin K2 deficiency, this can lead to calcium be deposited into the wrong areas, such as in blood vessels and soft tissue.

Vitamin D is found predominantly in animal-based foods, such as:

1. Oily fish, such as mackerel, tuna and salmon

2. Egg yolks

3. Cheese

4. Beef liver (get organic)

5. Fish oil

6. Fortified foods, such as milk

An extreme lack of vitamin D, can cause a disease called rickets. When someone has rickets, their bone tissue fails to fully mineralize. Their bones are soft, can bend and distort. Most people in the Western world won’t develop a vitamin D deficiency that is extreme enough to cause rickets, however, suboptimal Vitamin D levels can still affect our bone formation to a lesser degree. Vitamin D assists with a huge range of biological functions, such as cell growth, immunity, neuromuscular activities and reduced inflammation.

A Chronic Vitamin D Deficiency Can Lead To:

1. Heart disease

2. Some cancer, particularly bowel

3. Asthma in children

4. Cognitive impairment in the elderly

5. Mental health issues, including depression and schizophrenia

6. Malfunction of the immune system

Having Ample Vitamin D Can Help to Prevent:

1. Glucose intolerance

2. Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

3. High blood pressure

4. Hip fracture and broken bones

5. Osteopenia and osteoporosis

1. It is winter and you live in the northern latitudes

2. You have achy bones

3. You have a gastrointestinal disease, or issues with absorption

5. You have the blues

6. You follow a strict vegan diet

7. You are frequently catching colds or the flu

8. You spend a lot of times outdoors

9. When you are outside, you have very little exposed skin

10. Your body mass index (BMI) is over 30. Your BMI is your weight in kilograms, divided by your height in meters, squared. This BMI Calculator can use height in feet and pounds.

11. Your skin is naturally dark

12. You are over 70 years old

13. Your forehead sweats a lot

A great way to test your vitamin D level is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test. A level of 20 nanograms/milliliter to 50 ng/mL is considered adequate for healthy people. A level less than 12 ng/mL indicates an extreme vitamin D deficiency. I prefer levels between 50 - 100 ng/mL. I have seen vitamin D deficiencies in the single digits.

What To Do If You Are Vitamin D Deficient:

By far, the sun is the best source of vitamin D. As soon as your skin turns the lightest shade of pink. your vitamin D production plummets. Start off with just a few minutes of exposure. If your skin turns pink, you have a sunburn. Sunburns can lead to skin cancer. You are better off starting with just a few minutes a day and gradually increase your exposure. The greater the amount of skin that is exposed, the greater the vitamin D production will be. If you use a sunscreen, you will prevent the production of vitamin D.

Doctors will often prescribe 50,000 IU of vitamin D once a week for adults with vitamin D deficiencies. They rarely include vitamin K2.

It makes more sense to me to take 10,000 IU of vitamin D Monday - Friday. That spreads out the 50,000 IU dose throughout the week. There should also be 10 micrograms of the MK7 variety of vitamin K2, for every 1,000 IU of Vitamin D. So a 10,000 IU dose of vitamin D, should have 100 micrograms of the MK7 variety of vitamin K2. I recommend a liquid D3 plus K2 that is in that exact ratio, which is in each drop of the supplement. It is made by Ortho Molecular Products.

Children should have lower doses than adults to treat a vitamin D deficiency, depending on their weight.

Once you have the right vitamin D levels, maintenance doses are dependent upon how much vitamin D you are ingesting a day in your food, as well as your sun exposure.

If you have any questions on this information, feel free to contact my office.

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