Take Sufficient Amount of Vitamin D and Avoid Vitamin D Toxicity
Many people do not have an adequate intake of vitamin D. In this video, I’m going to discuss the recommended amount of vitamin D you should take daily.
Vitamin D plays a key role in calcium absorption in the small intestine. Vitamin D helps prevent muscle cramps and spasms from low calcium. It promotes bone growth and healthy bone remodeling.
Sources of vitamin D include certain foods, vitamin d supplements and exposure to sunshine or UV light.
During sun exposure, the UV B rays enter the skin and change 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3 which in turn is isomerized to vitamin D3. In summer, approximate 15 minutes of sun exposure without sunscreen between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. 3 times a week can provide sufficient vitamin D. The vitamin D synthesized through sun exposure or absorbed from food or supplements are sequentially changed by the liver and the kidney into the metabolically active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.
There are not many foods that are rich in vitamin D. Here is a table that shows the amount of vitamin D in certain foods. The DV at the right upper corner of the table is the abbreviation of daily value. The daily value of vitamin D in this table is 800 international units. As shown in this table, obtaining sufficient vitamin D from natural food sources alone can be difficult.
Certain Groups of people are at Risk of Vitamin D deficiency. They are:
Breastfed infants
Older adults
People with limited sun exposure
People with dark skin
People with certain medical conditions such as kidney disease, liver disease, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis etc.
People who are obese or have undergone gastric bypass surgery
People with Vitamin D deficiency can have a variety of Signs and symptoms which include:
Fatigue.
Bone loss.
Bone or joint pain.
Muscle weakness, muscle aches or muscle cramps.
Mood changes, such as depression.
Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Osteomalacia is a condition in adults in which the bones become soft and deformed
An expert committee of the Food and Nutrition Board has established the Recommended Dietary Allowances for vitamin D for healthy people. The allowances indicate daily vitamin D intakes sufficient to maintain bone health and normal calcium metabolism. For infants, the amount of vitamin D is recommended for adequate intake. Higher amount of vitamin D is recommended for older people. The Endocrine Society states that adults might need 1,500–2,000 IU of supplemental vitamin D a day and children and adolescents might need 1,000 IU a day.
While many people may need to take a vitamin D supplement to maintain bone health, taking excessive amount of vitamin D can cause vitamin D toxicity. It is recommended not to take the amount of Vitamin D more than the upper levels per day. The upper tolerable levels of vitamin D for people of different age group are listed in this table.
Vitamin D toxicity causes hypercalcemia or elevated calcium level in the blood which can lead to nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, neuropsychiatric disturbances, pain, loss of appetite, dehydration, frequent urination, excessive thirst, and kidney stones.
In severe cases, vitamin D toxicity causes kidney failure, calcification of soft tissues throughout the body, irregular heart beat and even death.