What Can Vitamin D Do For Your Body

How Is Osteomalacia Treated

Patients who have osteomalacia can take vitamin D, calcium or phosphate supplements, depending on the individual case. For instance, people with intestinal malabsorption may need to take larger quantities of vitamin D and calcium.

Other treatments to relieve or correct osteomalacia symptoms may include:

• Wearing braces to reduce or prevent bone irregularities
• Surgery to correct bone deformities
• Adequate exposure to sunlight

What Side Effects May I Notice From Receiving This Medicine

Side effects that you should report to your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible:

• allergic reactions like skin rash, itching or hives, swelling of the face, lips, or tongue
• breathing problems
• bloody or black, tarry stools
• signs of infection like fever or chills
• signs and symptoms of kidney stones like blood in the urine pain in the lower back or side pain when urinating
• signs and symptoms of liver injury like dark yellow or brown urine general ill feeling or flu-like symptoms light-colored stools loss of appetite nausea right upper belly pain unusually weak or tired yellowing of the eyes or skin
• trouble passing urine or change in the amount of urine
• uncontrolled, urgent bowel movements
• vomiting

Side effects that usually do not require medical attention :

• increased number of bowel movements
• oily stools
• stomach discomfort, gas

This list may not describe all possible side effects. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What Is The Prognosis For Hypercalcemia

Prognosis, like treatment, depends on the cause and severity of hypercalcemia. If the serum calcium is only slightly elevated, you will probably have few or no health complications. When hypercalcemia is the result of an underlying medical condition or disease, the prognosis depends on your overall health and your specific circumstances.

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Benefits Of Testing Your Vitamin D Levels

If youâre experiencing any of the symptoms of vitamin D insufficiency noted aboveâor are experiencing signs of too much vitamin Dâyour intake may be imbalanced in some way. Testing your vitamin D levels can help you determine if your levels are normal or if you may need to make adjustments and have a discussion with your healthcare provider.

Our at-home vitamin D test kit lets you check your levels easilyâit only requires a simple finger prick blood sample, and shipping is free both ways. Plus, youâll get to conveniently view your results on our secure, online platform just days after the lab receives your sample.

Do I Need A Vitamin D Dietary Supplement

Taking vitamin D supplements is not recommended for most New Zealanders. It is only helpful for people at risk of deficiency, such as if you:

• have reduced mobility and are housebound, such as frail older people
• have dark-coloured skin
• completely cover your skin with clothing or veils
• completely avoid the sun for medical reasons, eg, because you have had skin cancer or are using medicines that sensitise you to the sun
• live in southern regions of New Zealand, which means you may experience short-lived vitamin D deficiency between the winter months of May and August
• are receiving treatment for osteoporosis and need to take calcium supplementation because your dietary calcium intake is inadequate .

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If You Take Any Group Of Patients With Almost Any Disease Their Vitamin D Levels Will Be Lower Than In A Healthy Individual Ian Reid

Ian Reid, professor in medicine at the University of Auckland, believes that diseases cause low vitamin D levels, as being unwell often leads to spending less time outdoors exposed to sunlight, rather than vice versa. If you take any group of patients with almost any disease, their vitamin D levels will be lower than in a healthy individual. This has led some to hypothesise its low vitamin D developing the disease, but theres no evidence to prove it, he says.

Some experts believe people who are unwell have low vitamin D levels because they spend less time outdoors, not that their low levels cause health problems

Researchers have found that higher vitamin D levels are associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer it plays a role in stemming the formation of new blood vessels and stimulating better communication between cells. Vitamin D also has been found to help maintain normal levels of calcium in the colon, which slows growth of non-cancerous but high-risk cells.

Other studies, including of the link between vitamin D and liver cancer,breast cancer and prostate cancer, suggest there is good reason to think that low vitamin D plays a part in the spread of cancer cells. But taking supplements would then, surely, help stave off cancer and a recent meta-analysis failed to find that supplementation reduced cancer risk.

D for depression

Is It Best To Get Your Vitamin D From The Sun Definitely Not

David J. Leffell, MD, Yale Medicine dermatologist and chief of Dermatologic Surgery

One of the biggest challenges weve faced in dermatology and in the world of skin cancer prevention has been a lot of misinformation about vitamin D metabolism.

There are claims that one needs to get a certain amount of sun exposure every day in order to produce enough vitamin D to be healthy. Its just not true. The majority of people can get their vitamin D from nutritional supplements and from vitamin D-fortified foods.

There are some people who have advocated for tanning to get vitamin D. But we know that UVB light causes skin cancer and that protecting yourself against it makes sense. As a doctor who treats patients who have melanomas, I want the general public to be advised that under no circumstances can use of a tanning bed or tanning in general be justified on the basis of vitamin D. Take a supplement instead.

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Vitamin D Is Crucial For Immune Health

The surprising role it plays for your body’s immune system and how it can ward off respiratory infections.

Vitamin D is important for many functions in your body, not just your bone health.

The global coronavirus pandemic definitely left people wondering how to keep themselves well. You know that social distancing, working from home and staying inside in general is one way to protect yourself — but are there other measures you can take?

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Boosting your immune system is one of the best things you can do because it is your body’s key defense when it comes to fighting a virus. Even if you are exposed to a virus, the coronavirus or others, if your immune system is strong, you have a better chance of not getting sick. Vitamin C is a popular choice for supporting immunity, but another key nutrient for your immune system is vitamin D. Once thought as the vitamin for strong bones, vitamin D actually does a lot more for your body — including support your immune system.

Studies suggest that vitamin D can help prevent respiratory infections or reduce the severity of them, especially if you have a deficiency. They jury’s out on how exactly it can protect you from the coronavirus, but some medical experts recommend taking a vitamin D supplement to help boost your immune system.

Its Very Individual How Much Sun Exposure A Person Needs Roberta Bivins

Its very individual how much sun exposure a person needs during summer, depending on the pigment in the skin to the amount of fat in the body and how quickly your body makes new bone. Its incredibly complicated, she says.

Thats why the best way to determine if you have low vitamin D is not by symptoms alone, but with a blood test arranged through your medic.

Supplement levels

Then there is the question of exactly what level of supplementation people need. Reid says theres no danger in taking over-the-counter vitamin D of less than 25 nanomols per day.

US and Canada guidelines suggest taking 15 micrograms of vitamin D supplements each day, but some believe its not enough

But with supplements offering doses as high as 62.5 micrograms available over the counter, there are concerns around the risk of excessive vitamin D levels, which can, in rare cases, cause side effects, including nausea and vomiting. In the long term, some studies suggest too much vitamin D can increase risk of cardiovascular disease, although the research isnt conclusive.

But others argue that even more vitamin D is needed.

With such conflicting results, its unsurprising that medical experts themselves are deeply divided over the benefits of widespread supplementation. Some even argue that vested interests are propping up the billion-dollar vitamin industry, with Spector calling vitamin D supplements a pseudo-vitamin for a pseudo-disease.

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Can Vitamin D Help You Lose Weight

The correlation between low vitamin D and weight gain is unquestionable. But can vitamin D help you shed some weight and perhaps keep it off? If evidence from a series of recent studies is something to go by, then yes â vitamin D supplementation can indeed improve your likelihood of losing weight and decreasing body/belly fat.

In one double-blinded study involving 218 obese and overweight female participants, all of whom were on an exercise program and calorie-limited diet, 114 were given a vitamin D supplement while the rest was the control group. At the end of the 12-month study, scientists discovered that participants who met their vitamin D requirements lost more weight than those who had lower-than-required blood levels.

The findings of the above study were backed by another 2018 clinical trial whose results were published in theInternational Journal of Preventive Medicine. In this study in which similarly obese and overweight women were put on a vitamin D supplement treatment for six weeks, researchers noted a significant reduction in the BMIs, waist circumference, and overall weight.

Scientific corroboration

Together, these studies reiterated an earlier assumption about low vitamin D and weight gain. In particular, they suggest that vitamin D supplementation may, as part of a weight loss regimen combined with exercise, improve the chances of weight loss success.

The role of hormones

The advantage of lowering blood cholesterol

Vitamin D Can Help Battle Depression

The sun can brighten up your mood, and so can vitamin D. According to a 2017 review article in the journal Neuropsychology, researchers found “a significant relationship between depression and vitamin D deficiency. While they acknowledged that more research is needed to define the exact workings of itsuch as, if low vitamin D levels are a cause or effect of depressionthe authors recommend screening for and treating vitamin D deficiency in subjects with depression noting that it is an easy, cost-effective and may improve depression outcome.

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Boost Your Immunity With These Habits That Really Work Studies Show

In the COVID era, it seems a new supplement is touted to boost immunity every week. But be careful about what you see on social media and via your Amazon algorithm. The effectiveness of many of these alleged immune-boosters isn’t supported by studies. But there are simple, science-backed things you can do every day to provide your immune system with serious support. Read on to find out moreand to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You May Have Already Had COVID.

Q: Why Is Vitamin D Important

A: Research I have done in this area has found that people with low blood levels of vitamin D have a greater risk of a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, diabetes or high blood pressure later in life. In pregnant women, low vitamin D levels are linked to pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and adverse pregnancy outcomes. No matter your age or stage of life, having adequate vitamin D levels is important.

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Breaking The Old Rules

Vitamin D is one of the 13 vitamins discovered in the early 20th century by doctors studying nutritional deficiency diseases. Ever since, scientists have defined vitamins as organic chemicals that must be obtained from dietary sources because they are not produced by the body’s tissues. Vitamins play a crucial role in our body’s metabolism, but only tiny amounts are needed to fill that role.

Although vitamin D is firmly enshrined as one of the four fat-soluble vitamins, it is not technically a vitamin. True, it’s essential for health, and only minuscule amounts are required. But it breaks the other rules for vitamins because it’s produced in the human body, it’s absent from all natural foods except fish and egg yolks, and even when it’s obtained from foods, it must be transformed by the body before it can do any good.

As our habits change, most of us cannot rely on our bodies to produce vitamin D the old-fashioned way. Instead, we increasingly depend on artificially fortified foods and pills to provide this vital nutrient. Coming full circle in the modern world, this substance may actually come to fit the technical definition of a vitamin.

Im Like You: Curious And Constantly Doing My Own Research

But sometimes the research we happen upon in our quest to be well-informed can be misleading, even downright scary. This is bound to happen for many reasons, especially in the world of supplements and nutrition, because when something as important as pregnancy is involved, certainly none of us are looking to take any chances. Brands will spin information for marketing purposes, selecting specific studies to present as set-in-stone research while other studies or trials that may be less convenient to a brands product and message get pushed into the background, out of sight. This kind of subjective presentation of facts is how misinformation begins to spread.

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Q: Should People Consider Vitamin D Supplements

A: If the level of vitamin D in your blood is less than 20 nanograms per milliliter, your doctor may recommend taking a supplement. Many women already take calcium and vitamin D supplements together for bone health because vitamin D can help in calcium absorption, and they work best when taken together. Ask your doctor if supplements are right for you.

What Are The Symptoms Of Walking Abnormalities

Walking abnormalities are separated into five groups based on their symptoms:

• Propulsive gait: A slouched, rigid posture characterizes this gait. A person with this condition walks with their head and neck thrust forward.
• Scissors gait: A person with this gait walks with their legs bent slightly inward. As they walk, their knees and thighs may cross or hit each other in a scissor-like movement.
• Spastic gait: A person with spastic gait drags their feet while walking. They may also appear to walk very stiffly.
• Steppage gait: A person with this condition walks with their toes pointing downward, causing their toes to scrape the ground while walking.
• Waddling gait: A person with this gait waddles from side to side when walking.

A limp is also considered a walking abnormality. A limp may be permanent or temporary.

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Is Vitamin D Deficiency Common

For most people, itâs somewhat tricky to get enough amounts of vitamin D through diet or sun exposure alone. It is estimated that 41.6 percent of American adults are deficient in vitamin D. And this worrying figure can jump to 69% in Hispanics and up to a whopping 82% in African Americans, according to a 2011 analytic study published in the journal Natural Research.

Opting for supplements might be your best shot at meeting recommended daily intake . Taking dietary supplements helps you stay on top of your vitamin needs, especially during winter months and if you work and play mostly indoors.

Some groups are also more prone to low vitamin D levels than others, if you:

• Are obese

Reduce The Risk For Type 2 Diabetes

Observational studies in cell models suggest that vitamin D may help increase insulin sensitivity, boost beta cell function, and lessen inflammation all potential benefits for reducing the risk of and helping manage type 2 diabetes, notes an article published in March 2014 in Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America.

But vitamin D supplementation was not found to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in a randomized, controlled clinical trial involving more than 3,600 participants that was published in June 2019 in the New England Journal of Medicine, despite prior observational studies suggesting that it could. A dose of 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day did not result in a significantly lower risk of diabetes compared with a placebo.

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How Vitamin D Deficiency Affects The Body

Of the 13 essential vitamins, vitamin D might be one of the most unique.

It’s one of the few vitamins your body can produce itself. Well, almost by itself. It needs a little help from the sun hence why it’s often referred to as the “sunshine” vitamin. You can also get vitamin D through your diet.

But when you aren’t making or getting enough of it, you might feel the effects of low vitamin D.

“Vitamin D deficiency has become increasingly common over the last decade or so. And this is concerning since a deficiency in vitamin D can have lasting effects on a person’s health and wellness,” says Dr. Donald Brown, primary care practitioner at Houston Methodist.

Left untreated, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis in adults, rickets in children and adverse outcomes in pregnant women. It may also be linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer although more study is needed on the topic.

And while a little bit of sunshine may sound like the simple answer to making sure you’re getting enough vitamin D every day, be warned. It’s a bit more complicated than that.