[Biology Class Notes] on Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms Pdf for Exam

Vitamins are the organic compounds that help in performing the biological functions in a living organism. It is a vital nutrient which should be included in your daily diet in the required quantity. Vitamins are referred to as the organic compounds since our body cannot synthesize them and they need to be taken from external sources.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient which is responsible for your stronger bones and teeth. Generally, the exposure to the sun triggers the production of vitamin D in your body. Apart from this, vitamin D can be obtained also from the red meat, egg yolk and fatty fish such as tuna and mackerel. Vitamin D is generally available in two different forms which are vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Lower levels of vitamin D3 can have drastic impacts on human health and are abundantly found in the skin of animals. When compared to the other vitamins, vitamin D3 has a greater effect on the health of the bone, insulin control, lower blood pressure, prevention of cancer, etc. Vit D deficiency symptoms start to show when there is an imbalance in the levels of the vitamin in your body.

Vitamin D deficiency diseases arise and show low vitamin D symptoms when the body does not get enough of the vitamin. This can be either due to the lack of vitamin D in the diet, not getting the needed sunlight or even having a dark skin. In this article, we will learn about the vitamin D deficiency symptoms which include the vitamin D deficiency symptoms in men, the vitamin D deficiency symptoms in women, and the vitamin D deficiency in babies symptoms.

Deficiency of Vitamin D Symptoms

Let us learn about the vitamin D3 deficiency symptoms in detail and take a look at what they are.

Previously, vitamin D deficiency had been linked to a disease known as rickets, which is a bone disorder. This condition has a tendency to severely compromise the structural integrity of the bone and eventually leads to fractures. Apart from this disease rickets, vitamin D deficiency also leads to a host of several other diseases and disorders like asthma, several other lung diseases and a plethora of cardiovascular diseases.

Common Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms Include:

1. Hair loss

2. Fatigue 

3. Back pain

4. Bone pain

5. Slow-healing wounds

6. Frequent infections

7. Cramps and muscle pain

8. Weakness in the muscles

9. Muscle aches, or muscle cramps

10. Mood changes or mood swings

You learned about the vitamin D deficiency symptoms in adults, let us look at what are the benefits of vitamin D in the body.

Benefits of Vitamin D

Vitamin D has several roles in the human body. It helps in the following way:

1. Supports your immune, brain, and nervous system health

2. Promotes healthy bones and teeth

3. Regulates the insulin levels and helps in supporting the diabetes management

4. Supports the lung function and cardiovascular health

5. Influences the expression of genes that are involved in cancer development

Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

People can become vitamin D deficient for several reasons:

1. They don’t get enough vitamin D in their diet

2. They don’t absorb enough vitamin D from their food which is a malabsorption problem

3. They don’t get proper exposure to sunlight

4. Their liver or kidneys are not able to convert vitamin D to its active form in their body

5. They take medicines which interfere with their body’s ability for converting or absorbing vitamin D

Test for the Vitamin D Deficiency

If you notice vitamin D3 deficiency symptoms you must go for a checkup and get a test to confirm the deficiency. The most accurate way for measuring how much vitamin D is in your body is by the 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test. The level of 20 nanograms/millilitre – 50 ng/mL is said to be adequate for healthy people. A level of less than 12 ng/mL indicates that there is a vitamin D deficiency.