Vitamin D Deficiency: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Vitamin D Deficiency: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin essential for health. It keeps your bones strong, can improve your mental health and helps you sleep. According to the National Institutes of Health, almost 1 in 4 U.S. adults are considered low in vitamin D. Symptoms depend on how severe the deficiency is and the person. Vitamin D deficiency occurs when the body doesn’t get enough vitamin D from sunlight or diet. Vitamin D deficiency can cause loss of bone density, osteoporosis, and broken bones. Vitamin D is sometimes called the sunshine vitamin because your body makes it from cholesterol when your skin is exposed to sunlight . This vitamin has recently garnered a lot of attention for its role in immune health, specifically regarding COVID-19. It’s also critical to bone health and many important functions throughout your body . Most adults should get 1,500–2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily. While certain foods, such as fatt...