A study, conducted last year, revealed that almost 70-90 per cent people in India are vitamin D deficient. Another survey states that 50 per cent of the worldwide population has an insufficient amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for healthy heart, brain, lungs, and teeth. It also keeps your immune system strong and helps regulate insulin levels apart from keeping your energy levels up. On the other hand, its deficiency is linked to chronic disease, including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency
There are often very subtle symptoms of vitamin D deficiency and many of us have none. However, some of the effected of the deficiency are:
- Fatigue or tiredness
- Bone pain
- Joint pain
- Muscle pain
- Sour mood
- Low energy
- More frequent illness
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Weight gain
- Hair loss
Who needs to be more careful?
People who stay indoors a lot have increase risk. Apart from them, people with light skin or darker skin are also at risk.
How much vitamin D is required?
You need to discuss it with your doctor to find out the exact figure but in general 2,000 international units per day is the recommended dose for adults.
Include these foods in your diet
Include these foods in your diet to have plenty of vitamin D – Fatty fish like tuna, salmon, herring, or sardines, cheese, milk, egg yolks, beef liver, cod liver oil, shrimp, mushrooms.
Can you get sufficient enough vitamin D from the Sun?
Yes, you can get vitamin D by simply spending some time outside in the sunshine. 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight is sufficient to reap the benefits for those who use it as a vitamin D boost. It should be remembered that too much sun is not good for your skin. Also, don’t forget to use sunscreen to get your daily dose.
