Vitamin D Deficiency: Know the causes to prevent the consequences!

Vitamin D is a very important substance and plays a leading role in the proper functioning of the body. A vitamin D deficiency is common both in adults than in children. What are the causes, what can be the consequences? Here are the answers.

Vitamin D is a vitamin mainly manufactured by the body from cholesterol, with the effect of ultra-violet rays of the sun. Thus, vitamin D is also considered a hormone because it is primarily synthesized in the skin with several stages of processing in the liver and kidneys. However, a small portion is provided by food (meat, salmon, egg, cow's milk, soy milk ...). For food intake and drug intake, vitamin D is stored in the liver and used as needed by the body.

We're talking about a vitamin D deficiency when the blood levels below 75 nmol / l. Of the fact that over 80% of vitamin D in the body involves the action of sunlight, the primary cause of vitamin D deficiency is the absence or lack of sun exposure. This is particularly

- People with darker skin

- Guests staying in a country with a high latitude and low intensity of sunlight

- Persons whose exposure to the sun is impossible because of the existence of a disease (cancer of the skin) or disability.

However, there are other causes that can lead to vitamin D deficiency:

- A diet low in meat, fish, dairy products (milk, butter, cheese ...)

- Diseases resulting from improper use or decrease the absorption of vitamin D such as celiac disease, intestinal malabsorption, cystic fibrosis, liver disease, pancreatic disease, renal failure, hyperparathyroidism

- The body of the elderly have difficulty synthesizing vitamin D, and these people are at risk

- Obesity increases the risk of deficiency because the body, in this state requires a surplus of vitamin D in relation to a person of normal weight

The main function of vitamin D is to regulate calcium levels in the body, it controls the absorption (in the intestines) and elimination (the kidneys) of calcium, according to the needs of the body. Through the action of calcium, vitamin D is involved in the health of an individual bone by helping to bind the calcium in the bones. Thus, the main condition linked to vitamin D deficiency is the absence or deficiency of bone calcification. It is rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. These conditions are the cause of bone fragility, facilitating the occurrence of fractures and bone diseases such as osteoporosis or osteoarthritis. The vitamin D deficiency also affects dental health. The occurrence of these disorders is usually determined by a lower threshold of 25 nmol / l. exclusive breastfeeding because breast milk contains very little vitamin D.

In addition, vitamin D is involved in several other functions such as muscle function, metabolism, kidney function, immune system and its deficiency causes many diseases and increases the risk of

- Cardiovascular diseases including hypertension

- Cancers: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer

- Diabetes

- Autoimmune Diseases

The role of vitamin D in these diseases and conditions are still unclear, but the admission of these diseases as the consequences of vitamin A deficiency was determined after numerous research and clinical trials.