Known yet Neglected - Vitamin ‘D’

In this era of awareness, we all know about the importance of vitamin D in relation to bone health. But vitamin D is much more than this. It is involved in all system maintenance and function in our body.

Let us see briefly what difficulties we can get when we are low on this master key ingredient.

Bone aches ie musculoskeletal achiness - can be felt as muscular cramps, pain in bones, muscle or group of muscles fixed pain, nerve pain, neck pain & back pain

Unexpected break in bone with little fall or hit.

Numbness, pins, and needles, increased pain as expected from minor hurt.

Generalized tiredness and feeling of fatigue, if it’s not less water in the body (dehydration), more heat in the surroundings, then it is most likely “D”.

Dizziness, unsteady feelings, feelings of falling on the side or the back (without actually falling), in an otherwise healthy person.

A type of hearing difficulty ( that occurs without nerve damage in younger people).

The shakiness of hands (called tremor).

Foggy brain , not sharp as normally it is, not as smart as it was.

We must give a good amount of attention to taking enough vitamin D in our food. Most of the common food items containing it like eggs and milk, give us the supply but it is less than what is required. Most of the items rich in it like cod liver, salmon, and tuna are not commonly eaten in the daily diet in most areas of the world. Many countries are coming up with the idea of “D” fortified foods. It is a good way to deal with this dilemma. Where it is not available or not proven enough, the last way to deal with it is with supplements.

Two great things in recent times, we got more aware of are enemies of supplying us enough “D”

1- Widespread use of good Sunblock creams/sprays/lotions: Direct sunlight is usually needed to get enough Ultraviolet light B. Leave some part of the skin to make power “D” in some days.

2- Very low-fat diet: Some communities and some patients having high cholesterol levels get into the practice of an almost no-fat diet. Cholesterol in our skin gets converted into a usable form of vitamin D. If there is no fat available, the sun is not going to help us.

Moderation is the key to all matters of life.