Vitamin D deficiency provokes the development of various diseases both in adulthood and in infancy. Calciferol is essential for the normal functioning of all vital organs and systems in the human body. Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble vitamins that strengthen the human skeletal system, promote normal blood clotting, skeletal muscle contraction, and the central nervous system. Its lack leads to serious disruptions in the functioning of the body.
Causes of vitamin D deficiency
Deficiency of vitamin D, according to statistics, is observed in every fourth person in the world. The reason for this is the lack of solar radiation, unbalanced diet, stress and unwillingness to take care of their own health.
Causes of vitamin D deficiency in adults
There are two forms of this vitamin. Vitamin D2 is a synthetic type that is formed in the body when direct sunlight hits the skin. Vitamin D3 is a natural substance found in animal products. Any form of vitamin promotes absorption and assimilation of calcium and phosphorus, which improves phosphorus-calcium metabolism. Deficiency of the "sunshine vitamin" in people of mature age is primarily due to the way of life. They themselves are responsible for their diet, decide whether or not to load the body with physical exercises, and as a result they get problems with well-being and a lack of vitamin D. Of course, there are a number of reasons, independent of the way of life, which also affect the content of this substance in the body.
Main reasons:
- Age after 50 years … During this period of life, the body's ability to quickly absorb vitamin D is disrupted. The fact is that in summer this vitamin has the ability to accumulate and enter the body as needed. Over the years, it does not come in the right amount, because there are problems with its assimilation.
- Vegetarian diet … It is known that today many people adhere to this way of eating, limiting themselves in meat, fish, dairy products. Just in products of this kind, namely milk, liver, fatty fish and eggs, there is a sufficient amount of natural vitamin. If you exclude these products from the diet for a long time, the body will be depleted, there will be general weakness and vitamin deficiency. Of course, this substance is also found in plant products - certain herbs and bread, but in smaller doses, and in this form it is less digestible.
- Unwillingness to be under the sun … It happens that people are contraindicated to sunbathe for health reasons. For example, with cancer of the skin. However, in other cases, it is necessary to sunbathe, choosing for this in summer the optimal time when the sun does not shine aggressively - before 10.00 and after 18.00. It is advisable to sunbathe even in winter. But only in the fresh air, and not through glass - this way the vitamin will not be produced.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding timing … During pregnancy, the vital organs of the unborn child are laid, therefore, the woman's calcium-phosphorus metabolism is disturbed in the last 2 months of pregnancy, many useful substances go to the development of the baby. Often women are prescribed taking vitamin tablets or drops in order to establish processes in their body and to prevent rickets in children of the first year of life. It is known that during breastfeeding, all trace elements from the body of a young mother go to the child.
- Dark skin … This factor works against the absorption of the vitamin. Dark skin, as it were, protects it from UV rays, interfering with the synthesis of vitamin D.
- Diseases of the liver, kidneys and stomach … In diseases associated with these organs, there is often a lack of calciferol, since the formation of the most active forms of this vitamin is disrupted.
Thus, in order not to feel a deficiency of this important trace element in the body, it is necessary to eat right, include meat, fatty fish, eggs, cod liver in the diet, and also be sure to sunbathe under the sun. An adult should receive 25 mg of vitamin D per day.
Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency in Children
Children from birth to two years old very often suffer from a lack of vitamin D and as a result of a lack of calcium in the body. Among the main reasons for this are:
- Insufficient exposure of dermal surfaces to sunlight … This reason is the most common. A lack of vitamin D can be seen in children who do not walk much in the fresh air or live in conditions of short daylight hours.
- Improper nutrition … After a year, the child should eat fully, and his diet should include vegetable and animal fats, carbohydrates, proteins. So, a child whose diet contains mostly vegetables, and there is not enough dairy products, will probably suffer from a lack of vitamin D. To prevent this, be sure to feed the child with eggs, cottage cheese, fish and meat.
- Dysbacteriosis … If a child suffers from this disease, absorption and metabolic functions of the body will be impaired. As a result, vitamin D will not be absorbed. It is necessary to resolve the issue with disruption of the stomach and restore the supply of vitamin.
- Hereditary factors … Lack of this vitamin and problems with calcium absorption are often inherited from parents.
- Colds … When a child often suffers from viral diseases, his need for "sunshine vitamin" increases, but due to weakened immunity, the ability to qualitatively assimilate the substance decreases. That is why it is important, even during colds, to go out with a child to the fresh air under the sun in order to get a portion of this vitamin.
- Low physical activity … It happens that a child does not like to exercise, because he does not have an appropriate upbringing. This is a parent's mistake. The more the baby moves, the more actively all its organs work, the ability to assimilate important microelements, including vitamin D, increases.
Children are in dire need of vitamin D during the period of active growth, and this phase lasts up to 3 years. The daily dose of the vitamin should be: from birth to four years old - 10 mgc, and from 4 to 10 years - 2.5 mgc. Therefore, in early childhood, it is important to monitor the diet of the crumbs.
Be sure to go for a walk! Remember, this vitamin accumulates and is better absorbed through the skin when the sun's rays touch it. A couple of hours a day in the sun will ensure that your child is protected from the lack of this substance.
Causes of vitamin D deficiency in infants
Vitamin D for babies is an indispensable vitamin, it is he who is responsible for the formation of the skeletal system. If in the case of children after a year it is possible to resolve the issue of vitamin deficiency by adjusting nutrition and additional walks, then with babies a lot depends on the behavior of the mother and her diet during pregnancy.
Causes of vitamin D deficiency in infants:
- Malnutrition of a woman in the third trimester of pregnancy … The fact is that calcium, phosphorus and a number of other vitamins and minerals necessary for the formation of the skeletal system begin to enter the child in large quantities at 8 and 9 months of pregnancy. It is very important at this time to eat foods rich in calcium so that the child receives these substances from the outside, and does not take important trace elements from the mother's body. Women, due to a lack of information, believe that in the last months of pregnancy they can relax and allow themselves sweets, carbohydrates, but not fish and cottage cheese. As a result, the baby may be born with a vitamin D deficiency due to its lack in the mother's body.
- Prematurity of the fetus … If a baby is born in the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy, he may also simply not have time to assimilate a number of important vitamins that pass through the placenta. For this reason, premature babies are born with an incompletely formed skeletal system, and they require large doses of vitamin, which can only be prescribed by a doctor.
- Large fruit … Children with a large weight - more than four kilos - require additional intake of vitamin D.
- Artificial feeding … Formulas for infants must necessarily include components containing vitamins of group D. The ideal food option for infants is mother's breast milk. However, women cannot always breastfeed for certain reasons. In this case, it is important to attend to the selection of a high-quality mixture.
- Incorrect introduction of complementary foods … It is necessary to transfer the baby to adult nutrition gradually and very carefully. It is recommended to start from six months. And first of all, it is better to offer the child kefir, cottage cheese or vegetables. Porridge and fruits should be introduced secondarily. It is cottage cheese and vegetables that include vitamin D in their composition, which is also important in the transition to adult nutrition.
Vitamin in infants is perfectly produced during walks in the sun. Just keep track of the time of these walks. Naturally, it is not necessary to take such a baby out in the sun at two o'clock in the summer - this can provoke burns.
Pay attention to the doctor's recommendations and monitor the condition of your baby in order to replace the signs of a lack of this substance in his body in time!
The first signs of vitamin D deficiency
The lack of calciferol is accompanied by certain signs that cannot be overlooked. You need to react to them quickly in order to prevent irreversible processes that can occur in the skeletal system.
Signs of Vitamin D Deficiency:
- Dental problems … In the case of adults, this means increased softness of the enamel, loosening of teeth, and their early loss. For children, this symptom manifests itself in the case of a delay in the appearance of the first teeth.
- Joint pain … Such a concept as "aching bones" is familiar to many people suffering from a lack of vitamin D. At this time, the absorption of calcium slows down, which provokes weakness of the bone framework. Some people find it difficult to even get out of bed when the weather changes. In advanced cases, doctors fix limb fractures due to the fact that the bones become too fragile.
- Weight loss … A person may suffer from a lack of appetite, complain of digestive problems.
- Muscle cramps … This is already a reaction of the central nervous system: in this way, a signal is given about the lack of a useful element.
- Slouching and general weakness … Because of pain in the bones, back, it becomes difficult for a person to align it. And stoop is often a sure sign of vitamin deficiency.
- Slowdown in development … This sign is more typical for children. If a child has a calciferol deficiency, it is likely that he will develop more slowly than his peers. That is why pediatricians are so closely monitoring the developmental norms of infants in the first year of life.
Middle-aged people living in normal conditions and leading an active lifestyle rarely complain of a lack of this vitamin. At risk are people over 50 and children under three years of age.
If you suspect a vitamin D deficiency, it is important to see a specialist in order to prevent the development of serious diseases.
Major diseases with vitamin D deficiency
An insufficient amount of vitamin D in the body or a violation of the process of its assimilation entails problems with all internal organs of a person. The absence of calciferol is fraught with calcium deficiency and poor absorption of phosphorus.
Diseases with a lack of vitamin D in men and women
Due to the fact that more than one deviation from the norm accumulates in a mature organism over a certain period of life, several diseases develop at once in an adult against the background of a lack of calciferol:
- Osteoporosis … This is the most common and serious disease. This is a complex disease of the skeletal system associated with metabolic disorders. The disease develops rapidly due to a lack of calcium. As a result, human bones become very sensitive to any injury, and their fragility increases. In general, the integrity of the entire skeletal system is disrupted. A person can experience discomfort of a very different nature at this time - from brittle nails to the occurrence of intervertebral hernias. Banal back pain can be a serious reason to see a doctor.
- Type 2 diabetes … This disease arises as a consequence of osteoporosis, and it is triggered by the same lack of vitamin D.
- Hypertension and disruption of the vascular system … Lack of calciferol slows down many processes in the body and can even provoke the appearance of blood clots in the vessels and surges in intracranial pressure.
- Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease … If important micronutrients are not supplied to the brain, some of its functions will be impaired. Because of this, chronic diseases associated with memory lapses can develop, and over the years these processes will only progress. Naturally, such deviations are observed in elderly people, but this can be avoided if you monitor the intake of calciferol in the body throughout life.
- Depression and frequent headaches … Lack of vitamin D for the body is like a lack of a breath of fresh air for a person who stays in a closed room for a long time. The body feels discomfort, the work of blood vessels is disrupted, therefore it is so important sometimes to respond to the call of the body to go outside and sit under the sun. This way you will fill the lack of vitamin in the body, and it will help with headaches better than any pill.
- Breast and ovarian cancer … Doctors from all over the world have come to the conclusion that if a sufficient amount of calciferol is supplied to the body, this reduces the risk of tumors by 50 times. Accordingly, the lack of vitamin puts half of women at risk. Bone fragility and a weakened body is a suitable environment for the onset of cancer.
Note! A lack of the usual vitamin can provoke a number of serious illnesses. To protect yourself from this, it is enough to sunbathe in the summer for at least 30 minutes a day without sunscreen and in the winter to take vitamin complexes, which, in addition to other useful microelements, also include vitamin D.
Diseases with a lack of vitamin D in a child
Without phosphorus and calcium, namely vitamin D is responsible for the assimilation of these microelements, the child will not form a full-fledged bone skeleton, and the correct formation of teeth will not occur.
In children, there are two forms of complications due to a lack of calciferol:
- Vitamin D vitamin deficiency … Most often, this form manifests itself by the sixth month of life. The kid becomes lethargic, capricious, whiny. Together with these symptoms, the crumbs may lose hair, peel off the skin, the child begins to lose weight, does not grow, his teeth do not erupt. You should not close your eyes to these signs, you urgently need to contact a pediatrician, take a biochemical blood test and begin to fill the lack of a vitamin, if it is confirmed.
- Rickets … This is a serious disease characterized by impaired bone formation. Signs of this ailment can be seen in an infant already in the second month of life. It is characterized by soft edges of the fontanelle, deformation of the bones, namely, the wrists and the back of the head become convex, and the legs can take the shape of a wheel. Also, a lack of body weight is often observed, at 5-6 months the baby still does not turn over on his tummy, and after 8-9 months he does not sit. These are clear signals that he is experiencing a developmental delay. If you do not pay enough attention to this, after a year, the child may have problems with speech.
In order to prevent such terrible complications, parents must monitor the diet of the crumbs. It is important that up to a year he receives a certain amount of useful products (through the mother's breast milk or as part of a mixture), which is necessary for this age.
The main source of vitamin D is sunlight, do not be afraid to walk with your baby in the sun, just choose the right time. If the doctor prescribed the baby to take vitamin drops, do not neglect this wish, especially for babies born in winter, when you can wait for the sun for weeks.
Watch the video on vitamin D deficiency:
Adults, in turn, should also not forget that it is important to feed the body with "solar vitamin" in order to avoid problems with bone deformation, brain disorders and the appearance of cancer after 50 years.
