The Importance of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a necessary vitamin for your bone health. It is vital in its ability to both build your bones and maintain the strength of your bones. It is pivotal in the regulation of calcium and phosphorus in your body because these vitamins can only be absorbed if Vitamin D is present. 

Even if you know very little about Vitamin D, you more than likely know that exposure to sunlight will improve low Vitamin D levels. This is because sunlight is converted by your body to Vitamin D. According to WebMD, "Just 6 days of casual sunlight exposure without sunscreen can make up for 49 days of no sunlight exposure." Your body will store Vitamin D in fat when it is exposed to sunlight to make up for times when your body has no sunlight exposure.

Vitamin D is important to your body not only because of bone health, but because it can prevent osteoporosis, help with brain development, stimulate your immunity, and more. 

Vitamin D Deficiency can be a common occurrence and signs can be subtle, so often people will not realize they may be deficient. According to ZRT, "Statistics show a third of Americans have insufficient levels of vitamin D, with a leading cause being lack of sun exposure." There are some varying risk factors other than just staying indoors for Vitamin D deficiency such as age, obesity, lack of dairy in diet, or even always wearing sunscreen, as well as other factors. 

Some signs of being Vitamin D deficient are:

• Getting Sick Often
• Fatigue
• Bone Pain
• Depression
• Slow Healing of Wounds
• Bone and Hair loss
• Muscle Pain

Some Extra Tips for Increasing Your Vitamin D Levels:

• Get at least 15 minutes a day of direct sunlight exposure (being mindful that too much sun exposure can lead to other problems such as sunburn and skin cancer.)
• Eat Vitamin D Rich foods
• Fatty fish, such as tuna, egg yolks, and mushrooms are all good natural sources of Vitamin D.
• Foods fortified with Vitamin D, such as milk, yogurt, orange juice, and even some cereals.

If you think you might be Vitamin D Deficient, Kara Kelly, NP has many different options to get your levels back to where they need to be. 

Fixing this deficiency can have overall big health benefits and a huge impact on your everyday life.