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Public Health Corner: Vitamin D – Are you getting enough?

Vitamin D deficiency can cause your bones to become thin, brittle or misshapen. It is necessary for building and maintaining healthy bones. Calcium, the primary component of bone, can only be absorbed by the body when vitamin D is present. Vitamin D also supports neuromuscular function in the body. Though research is still being done, links between vitamin D, and cancer prevention, improved cognitive function, and risk reduction for Multiple Sclerosis do exist. Applying vitamin D as a topical preparation can treat plaque-type psoriasis in some people.

Evidence shows that adequate vitamin D helps prevent rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults. Rickets is a skeletal disorder that’s caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium or phosphate. Rickets is rare in the United States, having mostly disappeared in developed countries during the 1940s due to the introduction of fortified foods, such as cereals. Rickets is characterized by weak, soft bones, stunted growth and in severe cases, skeletal deformities

Vitamin D is not found in many foods, but you can get it from fortified milk, fortified cereal, and fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and halibut. Your body makes vitamin D when direct sunlight converts a chemical in your skin into an active form of the vitamin (calciferol). People who live in northern climates may have decreased or even absent vitamin D production during the winter months because they do not go out in the cold and clothing covers all exposed skin. Due to major public health effort to decrease the risk of skin cancer by encouraging people to limit their sunlight exposure, vitamin D is not synthesized through the skin as much as several years ago.

400 IU of vitamin D is recommended for children up to 12 months, 600 IU for ages 1 to 70 years, and 800 IU for people over 70 years. For breastfed infants, vitamin D supplements are recommended, as human milk does not contain enough vitamin D. Vitamin D should not be overdone. Very high levels of vitamin D have not been shown to provide greater benefits. In fact, too much vitamin D causes a buildup of calcium in your blood, which can cause poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, and weakness, frequent urination and kidney problems. Vitamin D toxicity usually only occurs if you take 40,000 IU per day for a couple of months or longer, or take a very large one-time dose. In most over the counter vitamin D3 supplements, each dose contains 1000 IU to 2000 IU of vitamin D. In a multiple vitamins, vitamin D amounts are usually 400 IU. Always read labels and ask your doctor before starting a supplement.

If you are concerned about whether you’re getting enough vitamin D, talk to your primary care provider about your diet and whether a vitamin supplement might benefit you. Vitamin D levels can be checked though a lab draw and is relatively inexpensive and covered by most health plans, with care provider’s recommendations. For more information on vitamin D deficiency, go to cdc.gov, or the mayoclinichealthsystem.org under “Diseases and Conditions”.

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