Lack of vitamin D is very common but initially has no characteristic symptoms. Vitamin D deficiency is usually suspected only when this deficiency is very high, after a prolonged period of vitamin D deficiency, i.e. when signs and symptoms may appear, such as:
Situations that promote vitamin D deficiency are the lack of adequate and healthy sun exposure, increased skin pigmentation, an age greater than 50 years, a low intake of vitamin D-rich foods and living in cold places, where skin is rarely exposed to the sun.
- Light-skinned people need about 20 minutes of sun exposure a day.
- While people with darker skin need at least 1 hour of direct sun exposure.
- Without sunscreen early in the morning or late afternoon.
Your doctor may suspect that the person may have vitamin D deficiency when he or she discovers that she is not adequately exposed to the sun, still using sunscreen, and does not eat vitamin D-rich foods. In the elderly, vitamin deficiency can be suspect. D in case of osteopenia or osteoporosis.
Diagnosis is made by a blood test called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and the reference values are:
This test may be requested by your family doctor or pediatrician, who may evaluate whether a vitamin D supplement is necessary.
Your doctor may recommend taking vitamins D2 and D3 when the person lives in a place with little sun exposure and where vitamin D-rich foods are not very accessible to the general population. In addition, it may be indicated to supplement pregnant women and newborns up to 1 year, and always if vitamin D deficiency is confirmed.
Deficit supplementation should be performed for 1 or 2 months, and after this period, your doctor may order a new blood test to assess whether it is necessary to continue taking the supplement for longer, as it is dangerous to take too much vitamin D, which can significantly increase calcium levels in the blood, which also promotes bone degradation.
In addition to low consumption of vitamin D-containing foods, lack of adequate sun exposure due to excessive use of sunscreen, brown, mulata or black skin, lack of vitamin D may be related to certain situations, such as:
Thus, in the presence of these diseases, medical follow-up should be done to monitor vitamin D levels in the body through a specific blood test and, if necessary, take vitamin D supplements.
Vitamin D can be obtained from food by eating foods such as salmon, oysters, eggs and sardines, or through the body’s internal production, which relies on the sun’s rays on the skin to activate.
People with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to develop diseases such as diabetes and obesity, so they should increase their sun exposure or take vitamin D supplements according to medical advice.
See more examples of vitamin D-rich foods in the video below
Lack of vitamin D increases your chances of developing serious diseases that affect bones such as rickets and osteoporosis, but it can also increase your risk of developing other diseases such as:
Sun exposure is important to prevent vitamin D deficiency because only about 20% of the daily needs of this vitamin are met with diet. Adults and light-skinned children need about 20 minutes of sun exposure per day to produce this vitamin, while blacks need about 1 hour of sun exposure. Learn more about how to sunbathe safely to produce vitamin D.