TCM, Vitamin D and Health

Vitamin D is one of the most important ones. Vitamin D is very commonly known as the 'sunshine vitamin'. The reason for this is that vitamin D is produced in the body as a result of direct exposure to sunlight. The main purpose of vitamin D in the body is to make use of the calcium available in the diet to strengthen the bones and teeth.

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Deficiency of Vitamin D Causes

  • Rickets: This is one of the biggest problems. Weak bones that get hurt easily or fractured regularly are one of the biggest effects vitamin D deficiency causes. The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D is seen mostly in elderly people.
  • Skin pigmentation: If a person regularly notices pigmentation on their skin, it is very likely that this is being caused by an acute lack of vitamin D. Depression as a result of this.
  • Inflammatory bowel disease: People experiencing inflammatory bowel movements must also be wary, as this is also widely recognized as one of the most common symptoms of low vitamin D level in the human body.
  • Obesity: People who are obese must also be very careful about their intake of vitamin D, as obese people are more prone to it.
  • Other problems include knock-kneed appearance, low blood calcium levels, high blood pressure, tuberculosis, depression, bowed limbs, chronic fatigue, type I diabetes and chronic bone pain, muscle pain or joint pain.

Reasons that lead to the presence of these symptoms.

  • Lack of foods rich in vitamin D in your diet.
  • Minimal exposure to sunlight.
  • Failure of kidneys to convert vitamin D to its active form.
  • Dark skin shade in people.
  • Inability of digestive tract to absorb vitamin D.
  • Using too much sunscreen.
  • Age and hereditary conditions.

Vitamin D is naturally obtained through exposure to sunlight and from foods such as oily fish, eggs, fortified fat spreads and some fortified breakfast cereals. But it’s difficult to get enough from food alone.

Avoid becoming Vitamin D deficient by ensuring that you include Vitamin D rich foods in your diet each day. Foods that contain a good amount of Vitamin D are: salmon, mackerel, tuna, eggs, milk, and shitake mushrooms.

Though vitamin D deficient hair loss is often overlooked when it comes to the symptoms of being Vitamin D deficient, it's important to know that it is a rather common side effect of not including this essential vitamin in your diet.

The Hair follicle cycles (The anagen phase is when your hair grows, the catagen phase is when your hair stops growing, and the telogen phase is when your hair reaches it's dead state.) can become interrupted or altered. For instance, one phase may become longer while another is dramatically shortened. This can lead to Vitamin D deficient hair loss, as the phases of hair-follicle cycling are being impeded.

If you think that you might have Vitamin D deficient hair loss, then you should begin taking Vitamin D supplement or eating vitamin D rich foods, and schedule an appointment with your doctor.