What Causes Vitamin D Deficiency?

What Causes Vitamin D Deficiency?

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is one of the important vitamins that the body needs to do its functions. Most tissues and cells in the body contain vitamin D receptors, and UV rays that are released from the sun are the main cause of vitamin D production. The body produces these when the skin is touched. Vitamin D is stored inside fat cells, so it is used when needed.

The Importance of Vitamin D

  • Plays a vital role in bone formation.
  • Maintain the balance of minerals in the body.
  • Contributes to balance the level of phosphorus and calcium in the body.
  • It facilitates the absorption of minerals in the intestines.
  • Regulates cell growth.
  • Increases the activity of the immune system and helps suppress the growth of cancer cells.

What Causes Vitamin D Deficiency?

  • Dark skin color, because it contains a large amount of melanin, which has the ability to absorb the sun, but limits the production of vitamin D3, a type of vitamin D.
  • Insufficient exposure to sunlight.
  • Aging As the age increases, the basic vitamin D substance in the body is reduced.
  • Infection of the person with bowel disease, which leads to reduced absorption of vitamin D in the small intestine.
  • Weight gain, which leads to the accumulation of vitamin D in fat, and malnutrition also leads to vitamin D deficiency.
  • Infants are exposed to vitamin D deficiency because of their low levels of breast milk.
  • Kidney and liver disease.
  • Some medications lead to vitamin D deficiency such as: epileptic drugs, antifungal drugs.
  • Infection of certain genetic diseases in children due to increased phosphate secretion in the kidney.
  • Women’s Access to Menopause.

Damage caused by vitamin D deficiency

  • Delay bone growth in the body.
  • Pain is severe and persistent in many organs of the body.
  • The occurrence of rickets in children, and the retardation of normal growth, such as late emergence of teeth, sitting and walking, and wasting.
  • Hair loss.
  • High blood pressure, which causes heart attacks.
  • Spasm of the body’s various muscles.
  • Feeling headache, poor concentration.
  • Bladder problems occur.

Treatment of vitamin D deficiency

  • Adequate exposure to sunlight.
  • Eat foods rich in vitamin D such as: animal-derived foods, as well as plant foods, and some special types of food such as liver, fish oil and yolk; vitamin D is abundant in these foods.
  • Taking medications containing vitamin D
  • Intravenous vitamin D injection.

Amount of vitamin D required daily

  • Newborns up to one year of age need 400 IUs.
  • Children above the age of the year as well as adults require 600 IU.
  • Older people aged 71 and over need 800 IU with exposure to sunlight, but in the absence of exposure to sunlight they need 1000 IU.