Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency should not be taken lightly. Quite often I get clients in the clinic that pass this deficiency off as nothing and neglect to take their supplements. A vitamin D deficiency can make you feel very ill by leading to muscle weakness, high blood pressure, pain and depression. One symptom that really stands out with this deficiency is being tired during the day for unexplained reasons.

Studies have been done looking at the connection between coronary issues, heart disease, stroke and vitamin D deficiency.  It was also discovered there was a possible link between vitamin D deficiency and vitamin K deficiency. If you have a vitamin K deficiency, it is possible you bruise more easily. It was discovered that people taking both vitamin K and D had slower rates of calcification in arteries.

If you are feeling continually tired during the day you may be deficient in one or more vitamins. It’s a good idea to get a blood test and check. Often there is a deficiency in vitamin D and/or iron or vitamin B12. However, you could also be feeling tired for many other reasons. Make sure you do not have sleep apnoea as that is also dangerous. If you snore a lot, go for a sleep studies test, and, if you need the machine to assist you when you sleep, please get one.

It is important to be aware of how you feel on all levels – physically, mentally and emotionally – and to not push these symptoms under the carpet hoping they will just disappear on their own.

Other symptoms such as muscle weakness or high blood pressure can be caused by a hidden vitamin deficiency as you may have had these symptoms for some time and take it for granted that it is caused by something else. Naturally when you are not feeling 100 per cent your nerves can become frayed more easily and you are open to becoming more anxious and, in the long term, more easily depressed. It is important to be aware of how you feel on all levels – physically, mentally and emotionally – and to not push these symptoms under the carpet hoping they will just disappear on their own. They won’t just disappear.

Any one or combination of not paying attention to the foods you eat, eating too much junk food, drinking too much alcohol, smoking, not getting enough exercise, not spending at least some time daily in the sunshine and not getting enough rest or relaxation can leave you open to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Add to this the stress of overwork, a busy schedule, racing around looking after the kids and not enough spare time to nurture yourself, and this becomes a recipe for disaster regarding your health.

So it’s important to have a healthy diet and to take your supplements. Vitamin D is available from a few sources, the main one being sunshine, however it is also found in some foods such as mushrooms, milk, cereal, salmon, eggs and tuna. There has been a lack of sunshine for all of us lately with the continuous cold and rain we have been experiencing here in Sydney. This does not make for good vitamin D supplies from sunshine.

Also, we all live busy lives and it is much safer to take a multivitamin with vitamin D in it than miss out on this vitamin completely because we have not eaten properly during the week. If your blood test says you are deficient, depending on the amount of deficiency, you need to take at least 2000 IU daily for at least a few weeks. The best way to check if your levels are better is another blood test. If you know you have a tendency to be deficient, then make sure you get tested at least twice a year so that you don’t fall back into not having enough of this important vitamin in your system.