Description
Vitamin D is important for strong bones Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium that your body can pick up from the intestines into the bloodstream. Low vitamin D levels could increase your risk of osteoporosis and broken bones. Women are at a higher risk in menopause as a result of the bone-building hormone estrogen (also known as oestrogen ) reducing, in combination with deficiencies of important vitamins and minerals. People who have anorexia are also at high risk because they tend to have nutritional deficiency, including a lack of vitamin D, and low levels of estrogen. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, stress and physical activity are also risk factors. Do you need to supplement Vitamin D if you spend a lot of time in the sun? The World Health Organization estimates that about 1 billion people suffer from vitamin D deficiency, especially those who live in all-year cloudy areas. When we are exposed to sunlight (UV radiation), cholesterol in the body is converted to Vitamin D (D3 as the active form is called). It is well known that UV radiation increases the risk of skin cancer and causes the skin to age faster, it is however this type of radiation that is required for active vitamin D to be formed in the skin. How much radiation you are exposed to, and thus how much transformation the skin can make, depends on how much skin surface is exposed and what skin colour you have (how much melanin you have). It also depends on the season, geographical residence and how much time you spend outdoors. People with darker skin have a harder time forming the vitamin than people with lighter skin and therefore need to be exposed to more sun to achieve the same amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is common A normal level of vitamin D is important for cell production in the body and can lead to fewer white blood cells which makes us less resistant and more susceptible to infections. Vitamin D deficiency can also lead to muscle and skeletal breakdown as well as high blood pressure. There are also studies that point to a strong link between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease, depression, and certain forms of cancer. Particularly vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency are older people who have a reduced ability to produce the vitamin in the body. Older people usually also spend less time in sunlight. Dietary sources are mainly fatty fish (such as salmon and mackerel), dairy products, egg yolks and animals. Active vitamin D is not found in vegetables at all, so for those who completely exclude animals and dairy products, the risk is even greater of having a vitamin deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency symptom Vitamin D deficiency manifests itself with many nonspecific symptoms: Fatigue / exhaustion Bad mood Sleep disorders Pain in the head and neck Muscle weakness Increased susceptibility to infections How does the Vitamin D Test work? The vitamin D test is a test performed from the blood (serum). After you have placed your order, we will send you a test kit that contains everything you need to be able to take the blood test at home. It is a capillary blood test, which means that you do it via a small poke in your finger. Your sample is then sent to our lab for analysis and you receive the test result digitally. Quick, easy and simple!
