My fourth day into the A- Z blogging challenge and am blogging the letter D. What better topic to blog about than Vitamin D ? When I was diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency, I was quite surprised. I soak up the sun to get my D rays and am quite conscientious about drinking my milk and getting my food source of D , so why was I deficient ? Doc told me 1 out of 5 people end up with vitamin D deficiency. Reasons could be anything from lack of exposure to sun, not being absorbed by the body or the increased melanin content of skin which prevents absorption. The best treatment is a supplement. When I took supplemental Vitamin D , I lost weight, and felt healthier. If you have a diagnosed D deficiency the best way to bring up your D levels quickly is to take a supplement . Doctors usually prescribe anywhere between 1000 iu to 5000 iu. If you have a mild or borderline deficiency, food sources are fine. Making sure you eat a diet rich in vitamin D is good insurance against preventing a deficiency and will help to boost absorption of Vitamin D.
Conditions related to lack of Vitamin D
Obesity:Vitamin D deficiency is frequently linked to obesity, as the insufficient level of vitamin D holds back the production of hormone leptin, which regulates the fat in the body.
Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Severe asthma in children.
Rickets : Softening of the bones in children.
Cognitive impairment in older people
Osteoporosis
Depression and fatigue : associated with a lack of sunlight. This is called D depression and seen to occur mainly in the winter. A supplement of Vitamin D has been seen to improve the condition.
Food sources of Vitamin D
Milk, eggs, tuna, salmon, cod liver oil, yogurt,
orange juice, cheese, enriched breads,
enriched cereals.
To read more posts and recipes in this challenge click here . Check back tomorrow to check out my post on the letter E 🙂 !
Hi there! I’m Sunithi, AKA Sue, a registered dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy (quite a combo) currently working as an independent consultant in the DC Metro area. I’m also a blogger, health nut, nutrition geek who jogs to keep sane :)! I love to revamp recipes and add some ‘Nutrition Bytes’ to them. All my recipes are gluten free! I also blog on natural health and fitness! Visit often and drop me a note if you have any nutrition queries!
Here in the Pacific Northwest this is a huge issue. I’ve been taking extra D for years, eat D-rich foods, and get out in the sun whenever it decides to appear.
Food sources are very weak sources for Vitamin D – when you need 2000+ IU/day, food sources don't make the cut.
Nice post really Healthful for our Health.Keep writing sir….