Vitamin D Deficiency Causes
You do not take the prescribed levels of the vitamin in additional time. This is possible if you obey a strict vegan diet because many of the natural sources are animal base products, consisting of egg yolks, beef liver, fortified milk, fish, and fish oils. The limitation of sunlight exposure. Because the body forms vitamin D when the exposure of your skin to sunlight, you might be vulnerable to the deficiency if you are just bound to your home, lives in northern latitudes, wear long head coverings, robes for religious reasons, or have an occupation that stops the exposure of sunlight. In the winter, vitamin D deficiency can be more frequent because there is little sunlight available. The causes of vitamin D deficiency might not be the same in different people.
If you have dark skin, the pigment melanin minimizes the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D in response to sunlight exposure. Some cases show that older adults with darker complexions are at high risk of deficiency of Vitamin D. Your kidneys cannot divert vitamin D into its active form. As people get older, their kidneys are less able to divert vitamin D to its active form, thus higher their risk of vitamin D deficiency. Your digestive system cannot absorb vitamin D adequately. Few medical problems, consisting of Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and cystic fibrosis can affect the ability of your intestine to absorb vitamin D from the food you consume. And if you are obese, Vitamin D is taking out from the blood by fat cells, changing its release into the circulation. People with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher sometimes have low blood levels of vitamin D.
- Older adults
Older adults are at higher risk of getting vitamin D insufficiency, partly because the ability of the skin to synthesize vitamin D minimizes with age. In addition, older adults are likely to pass more time than younger individuals indoors, and they might have not sufficient dietary intakes of the vitamin.
- People with restricted sun exposure
Homebound people who wear long robes, dresses, or head coverings for religious reasons; and people with occupations that restrict sun exposure are among the groups that are unlikely to get sufficient amounts of vitamin D from sunlight. The utilization of sunscreen also restricts vitamin D synthesis from sunlight. However, because the frequency and extent of sunscreen use are not known, the part that sunscreen may play in limiting vitamin D synthesis is not clear.
- People with dark skin
Higher amounts of the pigment melanin in the outer layer of the skin affect darker skin and minimize the ability of the skin to make vitamin D from sunlight. Black Americans, for instance, typically have low serum 25(OH) D levels than white Americans. However, whether these lower levels in persons with dark skin have important health circumstances is not clear. Those of African American ancestry, for instance, have low rates of osteoporosis and bone fractures than do Whites.
- People with a state that restrict fat absorption
Because vitamin D is fat-soluble, its absorption relies on the gut’s capability to retain dietary fat. Fat mal-absorption is linking with medical conditions that consist of few forms of liver disease, celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis. In addition to having a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, people with these situations might not consume certain foods, for example, dairy products (many of which are fortified with vitamin D), or consume only minute amounts of these foods.
- Certain medications
Certain medications can lead to lower levels of vitamin D in some people. Some of these medications include the following:
- Laxatives
- Weight-loss drug (Orlistat)
- Steroids (Prednisone)
- Tuberculosis drug (Rifampin)
- Seizure-Controlling drugs (Such as phenytoin and phenobarbital)
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs (Colestipol and cholestyramine)
Always ask your doctor about the medications that you are taking and if there is any need to take vitamin D supplements.
- Obesity
Individuals who are obese and have undergone gastric bypass surgery.
People with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more have low serum 25(OH) D levels than healthy individuals. Obesity does not act on the capacity of the skin to synthesize vitamin D. However, higher amounts of subcutaneous fat seize more of the vitamin. Obese people might require higher consumptions of vitamin D to gain 25(OH) D levels same as those of people with normal weight.
Obese people who have undergone gastric bypass surgery can become vitamin D deficient also. In this process, a piece of the upper small intestine, where vitamin D is retained, is bypassed, and vitamin D that is deployed into the bloodstream from fat stores might not get high 25(OH) D to sufficient levels over time. Many expert groups containing the American Association of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society, and The Obesity Society. It has make guidelines on vitamin D screening, replacement, and monitoring after and before bariatric surgery