The 9 signs of a lack of vitamin D

Many foods are rich in vitamin D: fatty fish, wild mushrooms, eggs, dairy products or even olive oil… the list goes on and on. And fortunately !

we need 10 micrograms per day on our plates: an intake deemed almost impossible to achieve by the Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board.

Before rushing to sunbathe or swallow a box of supplements, check if you have symptoms of a deficiency: here is the 9 signs of vitamin D deficiency !

1- your bones and nails are weakened

Vitamin D decreases the production of parathyroid hormone, a hormone responsible for bone resorption. It also prevents excessive bone remodeling, a phenomenon whereby bone cells regenerate too quickly.

Thus, insufficient intake of vitamin D leads to a decrease in bone mass, thus weakening the bones and promoting osteoporosis. If you are prone to regular fractures, a deficiency may be one of the factors.

Vitamin D also plays its role as a nutrient to help calcium reach its target. The small name of vitamin D is also Calciferol, from Latin “which carries calcium”!

If you are deficient, calcium can no longer play its role of strengthening the nails: they then become fragile and break for nothing.

2- Muscular side, it’s not in great shape

Historical anecdote of the day: in Ancient Greece, Herodotus recommended sunbathing to avoid having “weak and soft” muscles and the Olympians lived to the rhythm of the sun.

And they weren’t crazy: Vitamin D is an essential building block for muscle tissue! Performance and muscle mass are therefore directly impacted by the vitamin D intake provided to them. This is especially the case for the lower limbs.

The efforts are therefore more painful and trying for deficient individuals, and their endurance is lower. It is a real hormone role which is therefore played by vitamin D.

Finally, recent studies show that vitamin D has effects on muscles at the molecular level: in its presence, minerals and proteins circulate better in the body.

If your legs are begging you to leave them alone after 2 flights of stairs or 15 minutes of walking, you are probably deficient.

To read: Symptoms of a lack of magnesium

3- Irritable bowel syndrome, you know well …

Abdominal pain, bloating, transit problems… if these annoyances are familiar to you, you are probably affected by irritable bowel syndrome, like 20% of the population. What does a lack of vitamin D have to do with this?

It is not the cause, but rather the consequence! People with inflammatory bowel disease have a harder time absorbing fat. However, vitamin D dissolves precisely in these fats before being absorbed!

No digestion, no fat. No fat, no vitamin. No vitamin… no vitamin (we are revising the classics!).

4- Chronic fatigue and daytime sleepiness make your life difficult

That, you guessed a little. We always tell children that vitamins are good for getting things done! In fact, the correlation is well proven, several studies attest, but the why and how seems more difficult to highlight.

What we know: vitamin D acts on the cells of the tissues of most vital organs, a drop in overall diet is therefore normal in the event of a deficiency.

If naps are more of a necessity than a craving for you, and you have trouble staying awake all day, you are probably low on vitamin D.

5- Despite all this, you do not sleep particularly well!

Alas! being tired does not mean that you will sleep soundly. Insomnia, light sleep, sleep apnea can also be consequences of a vitamin D deficiency.

This last day plays an important role in regulating sleep cycles, so you will have a hard time finding a regular rhythm and restful sleep if you are deprived of it.

According to a study carried out on 89 individuals, the impact is visible at three levels: the quality of sleep, the duration of sleep (deficiencies = short nights) and the time to fall asleep (shorter for individuals whose intakes of saw ‘D were sufficient).

Read: How to Increase Your Serotonin Naturally

6- you are overweight

It comes back to our “no fat, no vitamin D” story. In people who are overweight, excess fat traps vitamin D.

The latter is therefore present in the body… but not in the blood! It is stored unnecessarily with fat and has no beneficial effect on the body.

If you are obese or just a little fat, you absorb vitamin D less well and are more prone to this deficiency than others.

7- You sweat profusely

There is an obvious link between excessive sweating (and night sweats), generally in the neck or in the skull, and lack of vitamin D. According to Joseph Mercola, a doctor specializing in medicinal products and food supplements, the link is as follows:

Much of the vitamin D we assimilate does not come from our diet but from the sun (so far, no scoop). When we are exposed, vitamin D is synthesized on the surface of our skin and mixes with sweat.

Where it gets interesting is that this naughty vitamin is not assimilated instantly: it can stay on our skin for up to 48 hours and be absorbed gradually.

This process is precisely close to the 2 days when the sweat beads dry and the vitamin D is redeposited on our skin (whereas without sweating, it is much faster).

The problem with all this is that in 2 days, things are happening! we are going to shower in particular, and at the same time say goodbye to our little vitamin which had taken up residence between two moles.

8- your immune system has taken an extended vacation

Vitamin D stimulates the activity of macrophages (nice cells that eat bad guys) and the production of anti-infectious peptides.

Do you catch all the dirt in the air? Do you have a hard time coping with the changes of the seasons? Do you have chronic inflammatory diseases or are allergies particularly virulent these days?

Congratulations, you’ve won your deficiency club card (we’re having fun, you’ll see).

Read: How to Boost Your Immune System: The Complete Guide

9- Depression is waiting for you

In addition to its functions on the body, vitamin D is a neurosteroid: it has an important role in the brain. One of these main functions takes place in the central nervous system, where it promotes the production of two neurotransmitters: dopamine and serotonin.

Does that remind you of something ? Well seen ! They are the hormones of happiness, they give us joy of life, good humor and satisfaction. A lack at this level, on the other hand, causes depression and mood disorders.

So it’s only natural to have the blues when the weather is not nice: the sun is good for us, and we know it! Staying locked up too long leads to the phenomenon of “seasonal depression”.

Conclusion

Vitamin D is an essential element that allows the body to function properly on many levels. Its applications are such that it is also in the process of changing category: it is now considered a “false vitamin”, a disguised hormone.

A lack of vitamin D will have global repercussions that decrease you at all levels: you are not at the top, quite simply. To find out, take the test, and in the meantime, adapt your diet!