Vitamin-D Important for your health

Vitamin D can be found in small amounts in a few foods, including few fish. To make vitamin D more available, it is added to dairy products, juices, and cereals that are then said to be “fortified with vitamin D.” But most vitamin D – 80% to 90% of what the body gets – is obtained through exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D can also be made in the laboratory as medicine.

Vitamin D is used for preventing and treating rickets, a disease that is caused by not having enough vitamin D (vitamin D deficiency). Vitamin D is also used for treating weak bones, bone pain, bone loss in people with a condition called hyperparathyroidism, and an inherited disease in which the bones are especially brittle and easily broken. It is also used for preventing falls and low calcium and bone loss in people with kidney failure. Vitamin D is used for conditions of the heart and blood vessels, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It is also used for diabetes, obesity, muscle weakness, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, bronchitis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and tooth and gum disease.

It is estimated that around 75% of the Indian population has Vitamin D levels less than normal. But without a blood test, there is just no way to know for sure if the vitamin D levels are low. Low Vitamin-D conditions are a growing concern in people around the world. It is important and safe that one gets checked-up for such deficiencies.

People who are at a general risk of Vitamin-D deficiency are People:

• with naturally very dark skin
• with little or no sun exposure
• who wear covering clothing for religious and cultural reasons
• who deliberately avoid sun exposure for cosmetic or health reasons
• at high risk of skin cancers and who therefore avoid exposure to the sun
• hospitalized or institutionalized for long periods (Old people)
• with a disability or chronic disease
• In occupations with little sun exposure, such as office workers, taxi drivers, factory workers or night-shift workers.

Therefore, low Vitamin D can put a person at risk for various diseases and Vitamin D is considered as a “Universal Risk Factor”. It is as important as sunlight, water and food. Everyone should have their Vitamin D levels checked, including children.