{"id":6157,"date":"2023-06-30T12:07:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T06:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/?p=6157"},"modified":"2023-10-12T10:39:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T05:09:41","slug":"vitamin-d-deficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/vitamin-d-deficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"Vitamin D Deficiency: Causes, Symptoms, and Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overview<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the essential vitamins that we need for our overall health is vitamin D. Vitamin D is synthesized in the body when exposed to sunlight, and hence, is also called the <strong>sunshine vitamin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6158\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/importance-of-vitamin-d.jpg\" alt=\"vitamin-d-deficiency\" width=\"1200\" height=\"609\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Vitamin D has many functions, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>It regulates the levels of calcium and phosphate in your body. In order to maintain healthy bones, teeth, and muscles, it is necessary to have these nutrients.<\/li>\n<li>It helps to protect against various conditions, such as:\n<ul>\n<li>Osteoporosis<\/li>\n<li>Heart disease<\/li>\n<li>Hypertension<\/li>\n<li>Diabetes<\/li>\n<li>Infections and Immune system disorders<\/li>\n<li>Cancer such as Colon, Prostate, and Breast cancer<\/li>\n<li>Falls in older people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bone abnormalities such as <strong>rickets<\/strong> in young children and bone pains caused by a condition called <strong>osteomalacia<\/strong> in adults may result from the lack of vitamin D.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">How do you get Vitamin D?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Sources of Vitamin D include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>The body forms Vitamin D naturally after exposure to sunlight.<\/li>\n<li>Foods such as:\n<ul>\n<li>Oily fish e.g., Salmon, trout<\/li>\n<li>Cheese<\/li>\n<li>Mushrooms<\/li>\n<li>Egg yolk<\/li>\n<li>Fortified milk, cereals, juices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Dietary supplements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">What causes Vitamin D deficiency?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vitamin D deficiency is a condition wherein there is a reduced amount of Vitamin D in the body. Decreased exposure to sunlight, which may also be accompanied by low dietary sources, is a major cause of Vitamin D deficiency.\u00a0 It can also be caused by:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Medical conditions,<\/strong> such as Cystic fibrosis, Crohn\u2019s disease, or Celiac disease. These diseases do not allow the intestines to absorb enough vitamin D through supplements.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight loss surgeries <\/strong>make consuming sufficient quantities of certain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals very difficult.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Obesity<\/strong>. Fat cells keep vitamin D isolated so that it is not released.<\/li>\n<li>Diseases in the <strong>kidney and liver<\/strong> reduce the amount of an enzyme necessary for conversion from vitamin D to a form that is present in the body.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Age<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Skin color<\/strong>. Darker skin reduces the body&#8217;s ability to absorb the sun&#8217;s ultraviolet radiation B (UVB) rays.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Medications <\/strong>such as laxatives, steroids, cholesterol-lowering, and seizure-control drugs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Breastfeeding<\/strong>. Infants who exclusively breastfeed need a vitamin D supplement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">What are the symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The deficiency of vitamin D may manifest in the following signs and symptoms:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Bone and muscle pain<\/li>\n<li>Fatigue<\/li>\n<li>Muscle weakness, muscle aches, or muscle cramps<\/li>\n<li>Depression<\/li>\n<li>Regular illness or infection<\/li>\n<li>Hair loss<\/li>\n<li>Impaired wound healing<\/li>\n<li>Anxiety or irritability<\/li>\n<li>Weight gain<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">How to overcome Vitamin D deficiency?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The following can help increase the Vitamin D content in the body:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Outdoor activity for 10-15 minutes in the sun every day<\/li>\n<li>Have more Vitamin D rich foods e.g., mushroom, fish, egg yolk, fortified cereals<\/li>\n<li>Opt for Vitamin D supplements after consultation with your doctor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">How is Vitamin D deficiency diagnosed?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Doctors may order below blood tests:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/pathology-test\/vitamin-d-25-hydroxy?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=blog&amp;utm_term=vitamin-d-25-hydroxy\"><strong>Vitamin D 25, Hydroxy<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This test measures vitamin D levels in the blood. In the blood, we can measure two forms of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D which is essential to bone health and growth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This test is helpful for diagnosing Vitamin D deficiency and Hypervitaminosis D. It is also used for diagnosing causes of Rickets &amp; Osteomalacia and monitoring Vitamin D replacement therapy.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/pathology-test\/vitamin-d-1-25-dihydroxy?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=blog&amp;utm_term=vitamin-d-1-25-dihydroxy\"><strong>Vitamin D 1, 25 Dihydroxy<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">1,25-Dihydroxy vitamin D plays a primary role in the maintenance of calcium homeostasis. A part of circulating 25-hydroxy vitamin D is converted to a 1,25-dihydroxy form in the kidneys. This test may help evaluate calcium metabolism in individuals with hypercalcemia or renal failure in addition to Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy testing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Disclaimer:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>This blog is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or as a substitute for consulting a physician. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment from a healthcare professional. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview One of the essential vitamins that we need for our overall health is vitamin D. Vitamin D is synthesized in the body when exposed to sunlight, and hence, is also called the sunshine vitamin. Vitamin D has many functions, including: It regulates the levels of calcium and phosphate in your body. In order to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1055],"tags":[1634,84,86],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6157"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8995,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6157\/revisions\/8995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}