What Causes Low Vitamin D Levels

Vitamin D is essential for the normal functioning of our body. It increases the ability of the body to absorb calcium, which makes our bones stronger. Thus, it delays the onset of osteoporosis in older adults. It also helps in prevention of several other diseases that include cancer, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Our body can prepare this fat soluble vitamin on its own with the help of sunlight. Thus we can say that the main source of vitamin D in our body is the sun. Now, foods like milk, orange juice, cereals are available which are fortified with vitamin D and can be used to make up for its deficiency.

What Causes Low Vitamin D Levels
Low vitamin D levels can be found in people of all age group including small babies and elderly. There are several factors that can contribute to this problem. Following are some of the prevalent causes behind low levels of vitamin D in the human body:

Lack of Exposure to Sunlight
The inner layer of the skin produces vitamin D using sunlight. If one does not have enough sun exposure, he or she may develop vitamin D deficiency. For instance, absence of sunlight in certain geographical locations like in the northern hemisphere make the people living there prone to this problem. It is quite common among elderly people as their thin aging skin need more time to prepare vitamin D. If they are not exposed to sun for longer duration, the level of vitamin D decreases in their body. Vitamin D level in small babies becomes low because their bodies do not receive adequate sunlight. Those who have lupus have extremely sensitive skin and cannot tolerate sunlight for a long time. They develop this kind of deficiency as they prefer to stay out of direct sunlight.

Effects of Diseases
In Crohn's disease or colitis, an inflammation is caused in the inner lining of the intestine and colon that results in diarrhea. In this condition, large quantities of vitamins are excreted and leads to lowering in levels of vitamin D. Some diseases have an adverse impact on the body's natural ability to synthesize vitamin D. Liver disorder or kidney disorder can lead to a similar condition. In some rare occurrences, the vitamin D levels decrease because of some hereditary diseases like cystic fibrosis which impairs fat absorption capacity of the body.

Deficiency of vitamin D in Diet
There are only a few food substances that contain naturally occurring vitamin D. Some dietary sources of vitamin D are beef liver, fleshy part of the fish, egg yolk, fish oils and cheese. Therefore, vegetarians are at a greater risk to have vitamin D deficiency due to low dietary intake of vitamin D rich foods. Breast feeding infants may get this problem as vitamin D content in human milk is very low.

Other Causes
Exposure to toxic substances, harmful chemicals, side effects of certain medicines can also give rise to such condition that the level of vitamin D goes below the normal level. Physical conditions like color of the skin or quantity of body fat are also responsible for low level vitamin D. Dark skin color could also be the cause of low vitamin D levels in the body. As vitamin D is fat soluble, its absorption process often gets affected in absence of sufficient amount of fat in the body. Obesity is another factor that causes deficiency of vitamin D. It can happen even if both sun exposure and intake of vitamin D are appropriate. The reason behind this is that the vitamin D in the body becomes unusable as it is stored in excessive body fat.

Effects of Low Vitamin D Levels
Low levels of vitamin D badly affect the bones of our body. In children, it can lead to a disease called rickets. This results in slow bodily growth and deformation of long bones like the leg bones. In adults, low vitamin D levels can cause thinning of bones and the condition is referred to as osteomalacia. It causes fragility of bones and weakens the muscles so much that one can suffer from severe muscle pain. Another disease caused due to low levels of vitamin D is osteoporosis. This is more commonly found in adult women. In this condition, bone density decreases significantly and makes them fragile.

Treatment for Low Vitamin D
The normal level of vitamin D in blood is 50 nmol/L and more. When a blood test reveals vitamin D level gone below 25 nmol/L, it is considered as deficiency. The main aim of the treatment is to restore normal level of vitamin D in the body. For this, dietary supplement of vitamin D is prescribed. The dosage of the supplement and the duration of the treatment largely depends on the severity of the condition. A mild deficiency can be treated with low dose of supplement which has to be continued for 6-12 weeks. In more severe cases, higher doses of supplements are needed which may be administered either orally or through injections for several months. Vitamin D enriched foods are good for this condition along with a healthy diet that consists of plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Doctors often recommend fortified milk for children who are suffering from rickets. People with low vitamin D levels are advised by the physicians to spend more time under the sun.

This article highlighted the causes that can trigger low vitamin D levels in the body. It also clarified who are at a risk of getting it. This piece of information will help you to prevent occurrence of the condition. However, if you are already diagnosed with low vitamin D, then do not panic. Just undergo treatment under the supervision of your physician and continue with it as per his or her instructions and you will be cured.