Low Vitamin D Levels in Blood

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and is the only vitamin synthesized in the skin when exposed to the ultraviolet B rays of the sun. Thus, it is also known as 'sunshine vitamin'. Besides sunlight, vitamin D is also available for some foods such as cheese, butter, cream, fortified milk, margarine, oysters and fish. It is absorbed from the intestines like fat and is stored in the body's fatty tissues. But, what is vitamin D good for? Vitamin D maintains the level of calcium and phosphorous in the blood, thus, is essential for healthy teeth and bones. However, when the level of this vitamin D dips in the body, the body is seen to be affected negatively. Let's have a look at the consequences of low vitamin D levels in the blood.

Effects of Low Vitamin D Levels in Blood

When the levels of vitamin D in the blood is 17.8 nanograms per milliliter or lower, it is referred to as low vitamin D levels in blood or vitamin D deficiency. The sad part is that the symptoms of low vitamin D levels do not surface, until it is too late. Let's have a look at some of them.

Osteomalacia and Rickets
Vitamin D has been known to play a prominent role in skeletal health as it assists in the absorption of calcium and thereby promotes strong, healthy bones. However, vitamin D deficiency conduces to debilitation of the skeletal system. The bones become frail, weak and brittle. In children, inadequate levels of vitamin D causes a condition called rickets, while in adults it causes osteomalacia.

Decline in Overall Cognition
In a study published in July 12, 2010, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, it was said that 'Older adults with low levels of vitamin D appear more likely to experience declines in thinking, learning and memory over a six-year period'. Thus, vitamin D deficiency is linked to cognitive decline.

Triggers Type 2 Diabetes
According to research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), besides sedentary lifestyle and obesity, even vitamin D deficiency plays a major role in triggering type 2 diabetes. They found a distinct link between uncontrollable blood sugar and low levels of vitamin D in blood.

Heart disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, hypertension and depression are the other effects of low vitamin D levels in the blood.

How to Treat Low Vitamin D Levels in Blood

It's not possible to carry out treatment for vitamin D deficiency if one doesn't know its levels are low. To find out, there is a vitamin D blood test called vitamin D 25 Hydroxy level or 25 hydroxyvitamin D Level blood test. There is another test for the same called Vitamin D, 1,25 Dihydroxy level, which is also used to detect low vitamin D levels.

Exposure to the Sun
In order to supply the body with enough vitamin D for the various body's requirements, one should expose himself or herself to sunlight for 15-20 minutes, thrice a week. However, factors such as cloud cover, sunscreen, smog, skin melanin content, etc. can prevent proper synthesis of vitamin D in the body. Moreover, the amount of sun exposure will vary from one geographical location to another, the season, skin color, amount of skin exposed, etc. In winter the amount of sun exposure to the body is lesser, which is why a person will need to be exposed for longer, so that adequate synthesis of vitamin D is carried out in the body. Moreover, people living in colder regions of the globe will also have to be exposed to sunlight for longer.

Light-skinned people should not spend more than 15 to 20 minutes under the hot sun, as it will result in sunburn. Darker-skinned people should receive about 30 to 40 minutes of sun exposure three times a week, to synthesize adequate amounts of vitamin D in the body. However, increasing sunlight exposure beyond this time will not lead to more vitamin D synthesis, but will only increase the risk of sunburn and skin cancer. The best way to guage if your skin has had enough sun exposure is to get out of the sun, once your skin turns slightly pink.

There are a few points to remember while getting exposed to the sun for vitamin D synthesis. Firstly, make sure you do not apply any sunscreen before sunlight exposure, as it blocks vitamin D synthesis. Secondly, since ultraviolet B rays cannot travel through glass, do not sit in a vehicle or near the window and think your body is synthesizing vitamin D.

Eat Food High in Vitamin D
There are various kinds of foods containing vitamin D such as fish (herring, mackerel, tuna, sardines, salmon, etc.), eggs, mushrooms, cod liver oil, fortified milk, fortified ice-cream, fortified cereals, etc. By eating these foods high in vitamin D, one can raise the level of vitamin D in the blood.

Vitamin D supplements
Dietary or vitamin D supplements are good to restore the vitamin D levels in the blood. A minimal dosage of 1,000-2,000 IU is recommended on a daily basis for light-skinned people. However, dark-skinned people or people living in areas with less sunlight can even take a dosage as high as 4000 IU.

One has to be extremely careful while taking these supplements, because there are chances of vitamin D toxicity, which may conduce to vitamin D overdose such as calcification, urinary stones, muscle weakness, etc. However, to be affected by vitamin D toxicity, one will have to consume more than 50,000 IU of vitamin D supplements a day.

It is difficult to detect low vitamin D levels in blood by just waiting for symptomatic indications. It is important to get the vitamin D level test taken once in a while, to ensure you do not have deficiency or toxicity of vitamin D. You can either have a physician do it for you or get a vitamin D detection kit and check it up at home.