Vitamin D : Absorption, Deficiency, Supplements, Overdose & Research Studies

(With vitamin D supplementation, people experience increased testosterone levels)

How Vitamin D is absorbed in our body?

Vitamin D goes through several processes in our body to be absorbed. First, it converts to calcidiol in our liver. Here vitamin-D lies in the storage form. Second, it converts to calcitriol in the kidneys. Here vitamin D lies in the active steroid hormone form. Calcitriol moves all over our body and goes into the nuclei of our cells. Then it interacts there with a receptor known as the vitamin D receptor (VDR). VDR found in almost every single cell of our body. When the active steroid hormone form of vitamin D binds to this receptor, it turns genes on or off, which leads to changes in the cells.

Vitamin D Deficiency

Worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people have inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood and deficiencies can be found in all ethnics and age groups. Actually, only a handful of foods contain significant amounts of vitamin D, hence deficiency is extremely common. But the symptoms are usually subtle and may take years or decades to surface. Vitamin D found insufficient in Pregnant and breastfeeding women, especially teenagers and young women, Infants and children under 5 years of age, People of 70 and over, People with darker skin, overweight or obese and people living at higher latitudes or who get little sun exposure.

• With vitamin D deficiency weak bones diseases like osteoporosis, bone pain disease osteomalacia and bone loss disease hyperparathyroidism develops.
• An inherited disease osteogenesis imperfecta in which the bones are especially brittle and can be easily broken also develops in vitamin D deficient people. 

  

  Deficiency

• Skin issues like eczema and psoriasis may be seen in some cases. 
• Vitamin D deficiency is central to a recent 'epidemic' of disturbed sleep pattern.
• The vitamin D content of human milk is related to the mother’s vitamin D status, so mothers who deficient in vitamin D may have correspondingly low levels of this nutrient in their milk and vice versa. 
• Rickets, a disease formed in children that is caused by not having enough vitamin D. It leads to bowed legs and knock knees.
• Greater amounts of the pigment melanin in the epidermal layer result in darker skin and reduce the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight in case of dark skin people. 
• Not getting enough of vitamin D may linked to Heart conditions, Diabetes, Asthma, Cognitive impairment reducing Mineral density and risk of falls and fractures in older adults. 

Who need it religiously?

in general, people with very dark skin, obese or overweight/obese people and older adults with certain risk factors are always at risk for Vitamin D. Besides this, other cases are:-

• Low calcium and bone loss disease renal osteodystrophy in people with kidney failure required Vitamin D very much.
• People diagnose with high blood pressure and high cholesterol also need it.
• It is also used for diabetes, obesity, muscle weakness, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, bronchitis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and tooth and gum disease.
• People who are deficient in vitamin D will be deficient in calcitriol (the steroid hormone form), so in effect they are deficient in one of the body’s critical hormones.
• If one has liver or are on certain medications that affect vitamin D levels, he/she may be also at risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Supplements

Supplements

There are two types of vitamin D supplements i.e. vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Both types are good for bone health. But make sure to take vitamin D3, not D2 because D3 is more effective in comparison to D2 because it increases blood levels of vitamin D. They can be taken with or without food.

Overdose of Vitamin D

Vitamin D toxicity is very rare. It occurs rarely when one take it as insane dose for a long time. Actually, it is a myth. I personally live a sedentary life style and little exposure to the sun, so I take 1500 IU of a vitamin D3 supplement every day. I have been taking this for many years and I never have a problem of overage. As per a report of The Institute of Medicine, USA, the upper limit of vitamin D can be from 2,000 to 4,000 IU per day, and acknowledged that even at 4,000 IU per day, there was no good evidence of harm. The most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is in your body is a blood test to measure 25-hydroxy vitamin D in your bloodstream. As final words from me, always take moderate doses of vitamin D regularly, since these have a strong safety record, and avoid extremely high single doses.

Safety Precautions

• People with known allergy or sensitivity to vitamin D or any similar compounds must avoid.
• Use cautiously in pregnant women at risk of high blood pressure associated with pregnancy.
• Use cautiously in breastfeeding women.

Research studies?

• According to a study published in the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition have shown that people with low vitamin D levels have a much greater risk of heart disease, diabetes (both type 1 and type 2), cancer, dementia and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis as well as infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and even the seasonal flu.
• Several studies have shown that people with lower levels of vitamin D are performing poorly in exams, they may have poor decision making skills, and have difficulty with tasks that require focus and attention.
• Researchers found that high intakes of vitamin D supplements—of about 800 IU per day—reduced hip and non-spine fractures by 20 percent in women.
• A combined analysis of multiple studies found that taking 700 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day lowered the risk of falls by 19 percent in elderly people.
• One study found that women who had higher levels of vitamin D on a calorie-controlled diet lost more weight than those with lower levels of the vitamin.