Are you feeling tired, lethargic, and sore? Does the cold winter of Grahamstown wrap itself around you, making you want to hibernate until the promise of sun finally arrives? You may have a vitamin D deficiency.
Are you feeling tired, lethargic, and sore? Does the cold winter of Grahamstown wrap itself around you, making you want to hibernate until the promise of sun finally arrives? You may have a vitamin D deficiency.
Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced by the body in response to sunlight. It is also occurs naturally in a few foods – including some fish, fish liver oils, and egg yolk – and in fortified dairy and grain products.
If you shun the sun, suffer from milk allergies, or adhere to a strict vegan diet, you may be at risk of a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is essential for strong bones because it helps the body absorb calcium from the food you eat.
Traditionally, vitamin D deficiencies have been associated with rickets, a disease in which the bone tissue doesn't properly mineralise that leads to soft bones and skeletal deformities. But research is increasingly revealing the importance of vitamin D in protecting against a host of other health problems.
A vitamin D deficiency can happen for a number of reasons:
– You don't consume the recommended levels of the vitamin over time. This is likely if you follow a strict vegan or vegetarian diet because most of the natural sources are animal-based, including fish and fish oils, egg yolks, cheese, fortified milk and beef liver.
– Your exposure to sunlight is limited. The body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight and you may be at risk of a deficiency if you spend most of your time indoors, live in northern latitudes, wear long robes or head coverings for religious reasons, or have an occupation that prevents regular sun exposure.
– You have dark skin. The pigment melanin reduces the skin's ability to produce vitamin D in response to sunlight exposure. Some studies show that older adults with darker skin are at high risk of a vitamin D deficiency.
– Your kidneys cannot convert vitamin D to its active form. As people age their kidneys become less able to convert vitamin D to its active form, increasing their risk of vitamin D deficiency.
– Your digestive tract cannot adequately absorb vitamin D. Certain medical problems, including Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis and celiac disease can affect your intestine's ability to absorb vitamin D from the food you eat.
– You are obese. Vitamin D is extracted from the blood by fat cells, altering its release into the circulation. People with a body mass index of 30 or greater often have low blood levels of vitamin D.
Dr S Dwyer, a Grahamstown physician, is a strong believer in being tested for this deficiency. It can have a huge effect on your quality of life and how you engage with the world. So if you're feeling glum, perhaps it’s time to get a little light or enlightenment from the sun, your doctor or the local pharmacist.
Dr Dwyer: 046 622 4846 RET Butler’s Pharmacy, 110 High Street: 046 622 7305 Wallace’s Pharmacy, Pepper Grove Mall: 046 622 7320
