Vitamin D is essential to making sure we can regulate the amount of calcium and prosphate in our bodies. These nutrients have the important role of keeping our bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
A lack of vitamin D in children can lead to a condition called rickets, a condition that causes bone pain, poor growth and soft, weak bones that can lead to deformities. In adults, a lack of vitamin D could lead to a condition called osteomalacia, which is a similar condition.
We absorb vitamin D through sunlight. According to the NHS, most people should take a daily vitamin D supplement throughout the winter, when we are likely not to be able to meet our daily vitamin D needs through the sun. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Some people are more at risk of vitamin D deficiency. If you spend a lot of time indoors, or covered up it is likely that you will need help with your vitamin D levels. If you have dark skin – for example you have an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background – you may also not make enough vitamin D from sunlight.
Most people have no symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, or only very vague signs such as tiredness and aches, but there are several signs you may have a vitamin D deficiency.
1. Aching muscles
Vitamin D is a nutrient that is key to keeping your muscles healthy. If you are deficient in the vitamin it is not uncommon to experience aching and sore muscles.
2. Bone and back pain
Vitamin D helps maintain bone health by improving your body’s absorption of calcium. As a result, bone pain - particularly in areas such as the lower back - can be a tell-tale sign of vitamin D deficiency.
3. Fatigue
Fatigue can be a sign of vitamin D deficiency because the nutrient is essential for cell metabolism. Without it, you may feel tired and run down all the time.
Low vitamin D leads to bone abnormalities which directly causes reduced muscle growth and strength. As well as this, the deficiency causes reduced functioning across the body. The results of which leave you feeling tired faster
4. Depression / low mood
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to depression, especially in older adults — although more research is needed to fully understand the relationship. The effects of vitamin D supplements have been mixed, but some reviews have found that they helped relieve symptoms of depression. Vitamin D is also thought to have a role in neurotransmitter metabolism such as serotonin, which affects people's moods.
5. Hair loss
According to medicinenet, hair loss can be a sign of vitamin D deficiency because this nutrient is essential for the follicular cycle in the hair. Without adequate vitamin D, the new hair does not emerge from the hair follicles.
6. Weight gain
Obesity is one risk factor for vitamin D deficiency because this nutrient is essential for keeping your metabolism stable. Without vitamin D, your metabolism may slow down, and you may find it difficult to lose weight.
7. Impaired wound healing and increased infections
A sign of low levels of vitamin D in the body includes the fact that your wounds heal slowly. Vitamin D’s role in controlling inflammation and addressing infections is important for proper healing because it is essential for immune system functions.
One of the most important roles of vitamin D is supporting immune health, which helps you ward off viruses and bacteria that cause illness. Vitamin D directly interacts with the cells that are responsible for addressing infections making them difficult to fight off.
8. Dizziness
While vitamin D doesn't cause dizziness alone, deficiency in the vitamin has an impact on bone structure which in turn affects dizziness.
9. Heart problems
Low levels of vitamin D can lead to an increased risk of heart disease because this nutrient is essential for keeping your heart cells healthy.
Several studies have also reported that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease.
How to get your vitamin D levels up
Sunlight is our primary source of vitamin D, especially during the spring and summer months. The body is stimulated to produce vitamin D when UVB rays in sunlight make contact with our skin.
It's not known exactly how much time is needed in the sun to make enough vitamin D to meet the body's requirements, as a number of factors can affect how vitamin D is made, such as how much skin is exposed.
It's important to get outside, as the NHS says that your body can't make vitamin D if you're sitting indoors by a sunny window because UVB rays can't get through the glass.
Lloyds Pharmacy recommends spending some time outdoors every day with your hands, forearms, or lower legs exposed and no sunscreen on your skin - but you should be careful not to let yourself burn.
There are also several good food sources of vitamin D, including:
- oily fish – such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel
- red meat
- liver
- egg yolks
- fortified foods – such as some fat spreads and breakfast cereals
Another source of vitamin D is dietary supplements. In the UK, cows' milk is generally not a good source of vitamin D because it is not fortified, as it is in some other countries.
According to the NHS, we should all take vitamin D supplements through the winter months. The official advice says: "From about late March/early April to the end of September, the majority of people should be able to make all the vitamin D they need from sunlight on their skin.
"Children from the age of 1 year and adults need 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day. This includes pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Babies up to the age of 1 year need 8.5 to 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day."
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