The weather is absolutely gorgeous lately; it's the type of day that makes you want to ditch everything, find the nearest park, and just lie in the grass with a simple picnic of bread and cheese and grape juice (random I know, but I'm craving it at the moment), along with a gripping novel that you can enjoy for hours while soaking in the sun. If only we weren't burdened with the responsibility of having to work in an office all week to make a living...
Daydreaming aside, it's actually quite important to fulfill your daily intake of sunlight. And by this, I'm specifically referring to the vitamin D that sunlight helps us absorb. Now if your levels are below 20 ng/ml, then it means you have a deficiency. Sadly, most Koreans (93.3% of women, 86.8% of men) have a vitamin D deficiency, which is 9 times more than the statistics from 5 years ago. What!!! ...well, on second thought actually, it's not so surprising. We spend most of our time indoors, finish work after the sun has gone down, and prefer not to tan. In fact, we probably use more sunscreen than most other people, in order to main translucent, youthful, milk-white, pearly perfect skin. Although UV protection is definitely required, sometimes we can take it too far and keep away the good components of sunlight as well. Which might not be such a good thing.
How so? Let's take a look at what can go wrong if you have a vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D helps our bones absorb necessary calcium and nutrients - it's a crucial factor for maintaining healthy bones. The most common result of a vitamin D deficiency is osteoporosis, a condition in which your bones become weak and brittle, and therefore more susceptible to serious injury/fracture. This doesn't just apply to older people - plenty of people in their twenties and thirties can have the same condition, more so when an unhealthy diet or extreme weight loss accompanies the vitamin D deficiency.
Another condition related to weaker bones is rickets, which is found more often in children. Rickets can cause pain in the spine, growth delay, and skeletal deformities. It may be additionally caused by muscle weakness, fatigue, chronic pain, depression etc.
Vitamin D deficiencies can also increase the risk of atopic dermatitis in children. Though other factors come into play, children who live in the countryside and are exposed more to sunlight suffer less from dermatitis than those who live in the city.
More problems that can occur from vitamin D deficiency include cardiovascular disorders, metabolic diseases, and premature birth. Furthermore, vitamin D levels under 20 ng/ml can mean 30-50% higher risk of getting breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer.
Yeah. Better go buy some vitamin supplements, right? On the bright side, a sufficient intake of vitamin D, besides preventing all the problems mentioned above, can strengthen your immune system, as well as help treat psoriasis, vitiligo, and atopic dermatitis.
What are some other measures we can take to prevent vitamin D deficiency?
The obvious thing to do, of course, would be to spend more time in the sun. Try taking a walk 2 or 3 times a week - you'll find that this can lift your spirits as well. Everyone needs a little more sunshine in their lives. ^_^
Certain foods, such as mackerel, salmon, eggs, milk and mushrooms might help, but foods generally contain/produce very little vitamin D.
Another option you might want to consider is taking vitamin D supplements or injections. This is a particularly recommended treatment for patients who regularly receive skin treatments. Many laser treatments require patients to avoid sunlight as much as possible as to prevent further pigmentation or to increase the effects of treatment. Therefore, a simple injection on the butt might make up for all that missed sunlight. Injections are required once every three months - just a few days after this injection you'll find yourself more energized. Try for yourself, and experience the wonders of vitamin D!
Some extra tips you might want to keep in mind:
-Obesity can also be cause of vitamin D deficiency, since fat absorbs and restricts vitamin D.
-Oral antifungal drugs and anticonvulsants can also reduce vitamin D, so if you're taking such medications, you might want to take some vitamin supplements as well.
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