Vitamin D
When vitamin D was first discovered, it was considered a vitamin, but now, despite the vitamin’s name, vitamin D is a primary hormone. It works in the body after activating the hormone However, vitamin D is one of the vitamins that are soluble in fat, and can be obtained naturally by exposure to the sun, where the ultraviolet light transforms an initial compound made by the body from cholesterol to vitamin D, hence the vitamin D was named the vitamin sun rays, Eat it as essential as other vitamins , As adequate exposure to sunlight eliminates the intake of this vitamin from any food sources .
The importance of vitamin D in the body
Vitamin D plays its functions in the body in the form of a steroid hormone called dihydroxyl coli such as cephirol or calcitriol , Whose functions include:
- Calcium and phosphorus balance and maintain their level in the blood accurately. Perhaps this role of vitamin D is the most prominent and famous functions, as it does this by stimulating the formation of protein linked to calcium, which plays a key role in absorption in the wall of the intestine, and it stimulates calcium channels to absorb , And also contributes to the absorption of phosphorus, which re-absorbs calcium and phosphorus in the kidneys , So it maintains the level of these minerals in the blood to allow the bones to accumulate and maintain health, and also plays an important role with thyroid hormone thyroid gland in the withdrawal of calcium from the bones, and put phosphorus in the urine if the level of calcium in the blood , So getting adequate amounts of vitamin D and calcium prevents the high level thyroid hormone thyroid gland that causes the calcium out of the bones .
- Vitamin D plays an important role in the growth, differentiation and proliferation of normal cells in many tissues, such as skin, muscle, immune and thyroid tissue Brain, nervous system, genitals, cartilage and pancreas Breast and colon, which prevents abnormal growth in them, which reduces the risk of cancer .
- Vitamin D plays an important role in metabolic processes in the muscles, affecting its strength and contraction, and the lack of muscle weakness, especially in the heart muscle .
- Vitamin D may play an important role in type 2 diabetes. Some studies have found that its blood level is inversely proportional to insulin resistance and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes .
- Vitamin D has been found to play a role in regulating immune responses, reducing the potential for autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes, sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease And some rheumatic diseases resulting from autoimmune disorders .
Daily needs of vitamin d
The Institute of Medicine has raised the daily needs and maximum vitamin D intake in its 2010 reviews. The following table shows the new values for the age group.
| Age group | Daily needs (microgram / day) | Upper limit (microgram / day) |
|---|---|---|
| Infants 0-6 months | 10 | 25 |
| Infants 6-12 months | 10 | 38 |
| Children 1-3 years | 15 | 63 |
| Children 4-8 years | 15 | 75 |
| 5-50 years | 15 | 100 |
| 51-70 years | 20 | 100 |
| 71 years and over | 15 | 100 |
| Pregnant and nursing | 15 | 100 |
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency causes various imbalances according to the age at which it occurs. In general, if the deficiency is reduced, the absorption of calcium decreases due to the role of vitamin D in its absorption. Therefore, vitamin D deficiency causes calcium deficiency even if the amount Vitamin D deficiency causes the teenagers’ bones to reach the highest bone mass that can be reached, it causes rickets in children, and causes osteoporosis and osteoporosis in adults , In addition to other influences, we will talk about each of these cases separately.
Ricks
In the absence of vitamin D, this causes the lack of bone calcium, and therefore delayed growth, which in this case grows weak and may be affected by some of the abnormalities, and become the bones of the child with vitamin D deficiency is weak and unable to bear the weight of the body and the pressures of the bones This condition is called a rick, and its symptoms also include the appearance of protrusions in the chest bones due to the inability of the bones to correlate normal cartilage, where these nuts are in the form of rosary , In addition to the emergence of the frontal bones, and muscle spasm, any continuous spasm, due to lack of calcium (Hypocalcemic tetany) with a feeling of pain in the bones and muscles , And rickets cause a delay in the growth of children’s teeth with the possibility of growth is weak and distorted .
Osteoporosis
Vitamin D deficiency in adults causes a general deficiency in bone mass, causing the appearance of fractures, especially in the bone of the spine, femur, and humerus , Bone density is reduced to a degree that may cause curvature of the feet and curvature of the back , It also causes muscle weakness and increases the risk of fractures, especially in the bones of the wrist and pelvis .
Osteoporosis
This condition is not limited to Vitamin D deficiency. Osteoarthritis is most common in women after menopause, a multi-factor disease in which bone loss , And lack of access to sufficient amounts of vitamin D loss of calcium of bone, which increases the risk of fractures, and found a study that half of women with osteoporosis and pelvic fracture and residents of the hospital had a lack of vitamin D .
Other effects of vitamin D deficiency
- Vitamin D deficiency can raise the risk of body fat accumulation and obesity, according to the results of several scientific studies .
- Scientific research has found a link between vitamin D deficiency and high rates of depression. It also found that eating vitamin D supplements contributes to the treatment of patients with depression .
- Vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of bacterial and viral respiratory infections .
- Vitamin D deficiency can increase the chance of asthma , And a link was found between hypoxia and severe asthma in children .
- Vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of certain cancers .
- Vitamin D deficiency may increase the chance of cognitive retardation in older adults .
- Vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease .
- Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of high blood pressure .
- Vitamin D deficiency increases overall risk of death .
- Vitamin D deficiency increases the chance of high cholesterol .
Causes of vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency has many causes, most notably lack of exposure to sunlight , And the frequent use of sunscreen prevents the use of the access to this vitamin , And there are many factors that increase the chance of a person to be deficient in this vitamin, including:
- Dark skin color .
- Aging .
- Gastrointestinal problems that weaken the ability to absorb vitamin D, such as Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis and celiac disease .
- Obesity, as vitamin D is stored in the fatty tissue, and the larger the size of this tissue, the withdrawal of vitamin D from the blood more .
- Infection with certain health conditions, such as heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease .
Food Sources of Vitamin D
Food sources are not the primary source of vitamin D, as adequate exposure to the sun is the basis , However, some people can not be exposed to sunlight because of their lifestyle or because the sun does not appear bright in their place of livelihood, and therefore can rely on these sources to compensate for vitamin D , And its food sources include:
- Fish liver oils, which are the richest sources of food, and they are found in good quantities in fatty fish .
- There are simple and varying amounts of egg yolk, butter, cream and liver .
- Vitamin D can be obtained from fortified foods, which are a major dietary source, including fortified breakfast cereals, fortified juices and fortified milk .
- Breast milk is a poor source of vitamin D, so babies should be given vitamin D under the supervision of a doctor, and infant formula is always supported by formula .
Treatment of vitamin D deficiency
Care should be taken to treat vitamin D deficiency under doctor supervision and not to try to treat it with individual attempts, as this can produce toxicity with serious symptoms Vitamin D deficiency is treated with diet, dietary supplements and exposure to sunlight .