Beyond Bone Health: Vitamin D Deficiency and the Rest of Your Body

It's common to feel lousy this time of year. The excitement of the holidays is over but the bills from holiday presents linger. While this post-holiday letdown may be just that, you may want to consider looking at a map and not a calender to uncover the possible cause of your winter blues. Start at Boston and then draw a line all the way to Northern California. If you live anywhere above the imaginary line, there is a chance that your malaise may actually be caused by a Vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that helps control Calcium metabolism. Traditionally, when we think of Vitamin D deficiency symptoms, we think of children with rickets and elderly people with osteoporosis. However, it has been recently postulated that Vitamin D deficiency also plays a role in many diseases such as asthma, depression, diabetes and cancer.

How do you know if you're getting enough Vitamin D? The only surefire way is to have your blood levels tested by your physician. However, if you are living in the North during the winter, regularly wear sunscreen, are obese or have any disorder that alters absorption and puts you at risk for malnutrition such as Chron's or celiac disease, there is a good chance that you may be deficient in Vitamin D. Others who are at risk for general malnutrition such as gastric bypass patients, people with food allergies and vegetarians also place themselves at risk for Vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency symptoms include muscle weakness, weak bones that fracture easily, fatigue, frequent illness, mood swings and sleep irregularities. These Vitamin D deficiency symptoms mimic the symptoms of many other disorders and should be evaluated by a doctor. Vitamin deficiencies also often occur in groups so there is a chance that if you are deficient in Vitamin D, you may also be deficient in other things. Malnutrition of this nature can be prevented by taking supplements and eating a balanced diet. Vitamin D only naturally occurs in a few foods such as fish oil and yeast but is added to many fortified foods such as cereal and milk. So the next time you feel a little down, try a glass of milk or better yet, go to the doctor and get yourself checked. It's the only way to know for sure if your symptoms are caused by Vitamin D deficiency.