Vitamin D deficiency can cause many health problems like osteoporosis, depression, cancer, diabetes, immune problem, weight loss and heart disease. It can also cause parathyroid problem and stroke. Children who have Vitamin D deficiency suffer from rickets while adults suffer from osteomalacia.
Vitamin D helps in keeping the bones and teeth healthy and strong. It helps in cell growth as well as differentiation. When you are taking treatment for curing Vitamin D deficiency, you should also take calcium. Premenopausal women should take 1000 mg calcium daily while postmenopausal women should take 1200 mg calcium daily.
Fighting the Vitamin D deficiency is not very difficult if we get the vitamin through its sources. You should take steps to get enough Vitamin D and prevent its deficiency. The best ways to prevent Vitamin D deficiency are as follows.
Preventions For Vitamin D Deficiency
Sun Exposure
The human body cannot manufacture Vitamin D by itself. We can prevent Vitamin D deficiency by getting the vitamin through sun exposure. A few hours of sun exposure per week is enough for producing the required amount of Vitamin D in our body. If you have a light colored skin, you can expose your body to the sun for fifteen minutes. The best time for sun exposure is in early morning. You can also sit in the sun in the late afternoon. You should apply a sunblock product like sunscreen when you expose yourself to the sun. If you have a dark colored skin, you should expose yourself to the sun for forty minutes.
If you are sitting in the sun during 11 am to 2 pm, you should apply a sunblock with SPF 15, especially on the face. You should also protect the scalp from sun exposure during this time. Get sun exposure for maximum 15 minutes two times daily. If the skin becomes red before this time, go inside and avoid further sun exposure.
Testing To Detect The Deficiency
You should get testing done to measure the amount of Vitamin D in your body. This will help in finding if you have the Vitamin D deficiency. The deficiency can be diagnosed through blood test.Adults who are 19-50 years of age need 200 IU vitamin D daily, while those in the age group 51-70 need 400 IU and those who are above 70 years old need 600 IU of Vitamin D daily.
Food Sources
You can prevent Vitamin D deficiency by eating foods that contain Vitamin D. Fatty fish like tuna and sardines, fortified foods and wild salmon are the best sources of this vitamin. You can take cod liver oil. Include whole foods in your diet. Eat foods that contain antioxidants. Eat blueberries and raspberries. You should eat egg yolks and dairy products. Eat goji berries as well as pomegranates. You can get Vitamin D through fortified organic milk. You can drink fortified orange juice. Organ meats such liver are good sources of Vitamin D.
Multivitamin And Supplements
You can take multivitamin to fight Vitamin D deficiency. Take the multivitamin daily. Prefer a multivitamin that contains fish oil. You can also take 1000-2000 IU of Vitamin D supplements daily. Take additional Vitamin D3 supplements. You can also take Vitamin D2 supplements.It is important to take Vitamin D supplement especially in the winter season. Take the supplements after consulting a doctor.
