Recent studies have shown that many people are not getting enough vitamin D. This can have direct health consequences such as depression, asthma, other respiratory illnesses, diabetes, and obesity. Vitamin D is important in strengthening the immune system and preventing tooth decay and bone disease.
With that in mind, let know about six warning signs that your body needs more vitamin D.
1. Frequent infections
Are you prone to infections and mild diseases? Vitamin D plays an important role to regulate your immune system by activating immune cells, which fight infections and diseases caused by viruses and bacteria.
A 2020, study in the journal Nutrients explain that the presence of vitamin D triggers an increase in immune system activity and may lead to greater toleration for infection and fight against viruses.
On the other hand, the lack of vitamin D may lead to a slower-than-average immune response and activities. In other words, there is a big chance to catch colds or infections more often than most people. Though vitamin D deficiency is not the cause of an infection or other diseases, studies have proved that there is a huge link between respiratory infections like the common cold and low levels of vitamin D.
Unfortunately, preventing infections and illnesses is not as simple as getting more sun. More frequent sun exposure may increase the quantity of vitamin D in your body. However, low immune activity is usually a more complex problem.
If you're prone to illnesses or disorders, your immune system may not be functioning properly as well as it could, and your deficiency of vitamin D may be the cause why.
2. Mood Fluctuations
The effects of vitamin D aren't always physical. If your body needs more vitamins, you may change your emotional or psychological state. Vitamin D has been shown to affect cognitive function and brain health.
A deficiency of vitamin D can expand the likelihood of experiencing negative emotions like sadness, hopelessness, or overwhelming feeling of emptiness.
Some studies have even shown links between vitamin D shortages and major and minor
mood disorders like depression. Luckily, there's an easy pattern to increase your daily intake of vitamin D and potentially enhance your mood. Just go into the sunshine to get the vitamin D your body needs.
But keep this in mind there's no confirmation that the sunshine will improve your mental health. Increasing levels of vitamin D is not a confirmed remedy for mood disorders of any kind.
When your the body needs vitamin D, stepping out into the sunshine may lift your spirits, but it's not going to change your state of mind.
3. Sleep disruptions
Multiple studies have identified an association between sleep disturbances and low levels of vitamin D. According to 2020 research from the National Library of Medicine, vitamin D receptors regulate several parts of the brain involved in your nightly sleep cycle.
It instantly affects the quality and duration of your sleep by interacting with your circadian rhythm, a natural process that regulates your body's sleep-wake cycle. The same study identified other ways that vitamin D indirectly impacts both sleep quality and duration. For example, chronic pain caused by bone or muscle damage makes it difficult for many people to sleep soundly throughout the night, whether directly or indirectly.
Low levels of vitamin D can disturb the sleep cycle and even lead to more serious sleep disorders. If you've seen a sudden change in your sleep routines, a nutritional deficiency may be affecting your sleep.
4. Bone injuries
Overall, one of the most important functions of vitamin D involves calcium, an an important mineral that creates and strengthens your bones and teeth.
When you consume calcium-rich foods like milk, yogurt, soybeans, cereals, and leafy vegetables, your body absorbs a percentage of that calcium to strengthen the health of your bones, contract your muscles, and regulate your heartbeat. A 2021 study clarifies how calcium absorption changes in the existence and lack of vitamin D.
Without the sunshine vitamin, your body absorbs approximately ten to 15% of the calcium in your food. With vitamin D, that percentage nearly triples, averaging 30% to 40%. if you have a vitamin D shortage, your body may not be absorbing sufficient calcium.
Too little calcium can make your bones weak, which may lead to a loss of bone density. Studies have shown that individuals with a deficiency of vitamin D have an increased risk of arthritis, bone fractures, and muscular pain.
5. lack of exposure
Your lifestyle selections can also affect the quantity of vitamin D your body makes each day. For example, people who consistently work indoors, like students, education staff, office workers, and even healthcare professionals don't spend much time outside where they would be exposed to the sun. So it's more common among these occupations to find low levels of vitamin D.
This pattern was documented by a 2017 study that investigated the relation between vitamin D deficiencies and various kinds of occupations.
They found that people who work inside or on night shifts were roughly 30% more likely to have low levels of vitamin D compared to someone who works outside during the day.
While your occupation doesn't ensure that you will experience a nutritional deficiency, it is important to assume how your lifestyle impacts your general health. Even if you're active and athletic, spending too much time inside may take away your body of vitamin D.
6. High Anxiety
As your anxiety just increased, have you seen a sudden change in your ability to cope with stressors in your life?
According to a 2015 study in the journal research, vitamin D deficiencies are common among people struggling with anxiety disorders. Not only does vitamin D affect your mood and understanding, but it also has a direct relation with stress, poor sleep quality, and mental fatigue.
To be clear, a lack of vitamin D will not cause an anxiety disorder, but it may cause fatigue, sleep disruptions, or symptoms of sadness, all of which can increase your tension and worsen the anxiety that you face regularly.
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