Vitamin D
Getting some vitamin D by exposing your skin to the sun is something you hear regularly. Vitamin D is a prohormone- it is converted into activated hormone. Part of the vitamin D the body needs comes from food (such as dairy products and oily fish), and the rest has to be manufactured in the skin. When sunlight hits the skin a chemical reaction is triggered and this reaction produces cholecalciferol. The liver converts it to calcidiol. The kidneys then convert calcidiol to calcitriol, which is the active form of the hormone in the body.
However most people are now deficient in Vitamin D. The reasons for deficiency include inadequate manufacture of Vitamin D in skin and poor intake of vitamin D in food. It is known that those who have dark skin have poor ability to manufacture vitamin D even when exposed to long periods of Sunlight.
Vitamin D is a hormone the kidneys produce that controls blood calcium concentration and impacts the immune system. It is also known as calcitriol, ergocalciferol, calcidiol and cholecalciferol. Of those, calcidiol is the form doctors most commonly focus on when measuring vitamin D levels in the blood.
Vitamin D has its effects by binding to a protein (called the vitamin D receptor). This receptor is present in nearly every cell and affects many different body processes.
What does vitamin D do?
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium so that blood calcium levels are at the ideal point. This helps enable the mineralization of bone that is required for strong, healthy bones. Yet this is just one function of the hormone.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a variety of health concerns, which points to a wide range of vitamin D functions, although research is still underway into why the hormone impacts other systems of the body. For instance, too little vitamin D makes an individual more prone to infections and illness, cardiovascular disease, and mental illnesses — including mood disorders like depression. Studies also show that people who have low vitamin D levels are more likely to be obese or have diabetes mellitus. Researchers have found that vitamin D helps regulate adrenaline, noradrenaline (also called norepinepherine), and dopamine production in the brain; as well as helping to protect from serotonin depletion. For this reason, low vitamin D levels increase an individual’s risk of depression significantly.
What are the Problems Associated with Vitamin D?
An indoor lifestyle as well as protection offered by the melanin in those with dark skin has led to a serious problem with vitamin D deficiency. In Vitamin D deficiency the bones will not be able to grow strong, leading to problems like rickets for children or osteoporosis for adults. Due to the weakening of bones, and the muscles individuals with low vitamin D levels are more prone to falling and fractures. Low vitamin D levels can also cause a poorly functioning immune system, cardiovascular disease, depression, development of diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. It has also been linked to certain types of cancer.
How do we assess and treat Vitamin D deficiency?
Serum levels of 25 hydroxy Vitamin D level are measured in the fasting level and our team at DHC will guide you through the interpretation of the results. In those who have deficiency correction of the Vitamin D levels can be done with simple oral supplementation of high dose Vitamin D. It is important to remember that relatively high doses are required over a long time to correct and maintain blood levels to get optimum health benefits. The team led by Dr Noel Somasundaram will guide with a plan on further tests and also the doses that are needed to maintain optimal levels even after blood levels have normalized. The mistake that most people make is that they stop the Vitamin D tablets once they get normal reports, forgetting that the levels will fall back over time.