Over-Fed and Under-Nourished:

 

As a society, we are in unprecedented times when though food is in abundance and readily available for consumption, nutritional value that we gain from food is poorer than ever. As a result we have become a society of overfed and undernourished people. Over 65% Americans are obese or overweight and over 80% lack in one or more nutritional elements. Below are the most common nutritional deficiencies, associated complications and solutions.

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Vitamin D

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Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin and due to its extensive involvement in maintaining metabolism and facilitating epigenetic expression of over 1000 genes, it is considered by many as a hormone. a and we get it from direct exposure to sunlight, food and supplements. 

 

Causes of Vitamin D deficiency:

1. Lack of sun exposure​​ - Approximately an hour of direct sunlight exposure to normally bare skin can provide with enough vitamin D. Because we do not get enough exposure and many people need to avoid excessive sun exposure due to risks associated with skin cancers, most of us lack this source. 

2. Dietary deficiency - Though we do not meet our daily dose of sunlight, we still can get enough vitamin D from healthy dietary sources. Common sources are 

   • Animal sources include - Fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines, beef liver, egg yolks etc.

   • Plant sources include - Mushrooms​ contain vitamin D2 which still has to be converted to vitamin D3 with the help of sunlight. Wild mushrooms are much richer in its vitamin D content than regular farm grown mushrooms. 

   • Fortified foods include - Cow's milk, soy milk and all other plant based milk alternatives, cereals, orange juice etc. Each of these provide about 10-15% daily requirement for vitamin D per serving.

3. Inflammation - Any type of inflammation in the body can lead to vitamin D deficiency. This is because much higher quantities of Vitamin D are consumed under stressful or inflamed conditions. 

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Complications associated with Vitamin D deficiency:

Vitamin D deficiency leads to countless complications. Some of these include,

1. Osteoporosis and Osteopenia - Vitamin D deficiency causes weak bones and increased risk of fracture. 

2. Joint pains - Body and joint aches and pains are often associated with vitamin D deficiency.

3. Fatigue - Patients with vitamin D deficiency report high levels of unexplained fatigue. 

4. Propensity to recurrent infections - Vitamin D deficiency leads to high risk of infections including flu, respiratory illnesses and various viral infections. 

5. Chronic inflammatory conditions - Several chronic inflammatory conditions are associated with vitamin D deficiency. These include, 

   1. Cardiovascular disease - atherosclerosis, erectile dysfunction 

   2. Diabetes and additional metabolic disorders

   3. Chronic lung conditions

   4. Systemic lupus and additional autoimmune diseases

   5. several types of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis

   6. Neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, dementia

   7. Psychiatric conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and many more. 

 

Treatment and monitoring of Vitamin D deficiency:

Strategies to prevent and correct vitamin D deficiency 

1. Eat a healthy and balanced diet. Look above for sources. 

2. Get enough sun exposure if possible.

3. Supplement if necessary. Generally 800-1000 IU of vitamin D3 are needed / day. Under periods of stress or with borderline insufficiency, 2000 IU of vitamin D3 should be taken.

4. If you have been diagnosed with low vitamin D levels, follow the protocol below​​

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