Vitamin D deficiency is becoming increasingly commonplace, despite vitamin D being added to the milk we buy at the grocery store. How do you ensure that you are getting an adequate supply of vitamin D? In addition to supplements and diet, another nutrient is also critical to address.
Vitamin D performs many functions in the body. For example, it can enhance the body’s absorption of calcium and phosphorus, as well as regulate the genetic performance of nerve cell proteins and help maintain the health of brain cells. Vitamin D also promotes normal immune system functions, fights inflammation, and improves the body’s ability to fight bacteria and viruses.
Many studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, dementia, cancer, depression, and type 2 diabetes. A significant vitamin D deficiency may also have the following results:
- Inhibited development and growth: insufficient intake of vitamin D will affect the development of bones, making children grow relatively slowly.
- Brittle bones and weak joints: a vitamin D deficiency makes it difficult for the body to absorb calcium. The result can be osteoporosis, a tendency to fracture bones easily, bone pains resulting from bone softening, joint inflammation, and weak teeth, among others.
- Depression: vitamin D has been shown to be a key regulator of serotonin synthesis in the brain, and low levels of serotonin can cause depression.
- Fatigue: defects in serotonin function may also be related to fatigue. Some studies have also found that people with low levels of vitamin D3 in their body are prone to depression and/or fatigue.
- Muscle pain: vitamin D is also needed for the normal development and growth of muscle fibers, and a lack of vitamin D may lead to muscle weakness and muscle pain.
- Cramps: a lack of vitamin D affects the absorption of calcium, resulting in hypocalcemia, which may lead to involuntary muscle contractions, thus resulting in cramps.
- Migraines: people with low levels of vitamin D in their blood have a higher chance of getting migraines.
- Common colds: vitamin D is very important for the maintenance of immunity. If you often catch colds, it may be due to a lack of vitamin D in your body, which weakens the immune system and the body’s antiviral ability.
How our body processes vitamin D
The vitamin D that we get from food, supplements, and sunlight is in a non-activated state. The liver and kidneys must metabolize it to produce the active, biologically available vitamin D3, also known as calcitriol. People with poor kidney and liver functions are prone to vitamin D deficiency.
In addition, people who have difficulty digesting and absorbing fatty foods may also have a vitamin D deficiency because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin.
Magnesium supplementation for better vitamin D absorption
Our bodies are a compilation of complex systems. It’s rare that a nutrient works in isolation. In addition to lacking lipids, some people who are deficient in vitamin D may also be deficient in the mineral magnesium if they notice that their supplementation is not bringing about improvements.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in December 2018 showed that a moderate intake of magnesium can regulate the vitamin D level in the body. High and low levels of vitamin D in the body can both cause health problems. Studies have shown that when subjects took magnesium supplements, those with low levels of vitamin D had their vitamin D levels raised, and those with high vitamin D levels had their levels lowered.
Magnesium is abundant in the human body, In addition to sodium, potassium, and calcium. Magnesium regulates many biochemical reactions in the body, including blood glucose control, blood pressure regulation, protein synthesis, and muscle and nerve functions. It also contributes to bone health.
Vitamin D needs to be bound to a carrier protein for transport in the blood, and its main carrier is the vitamin D-binding protein. The activity of vitamin D-binding protein also requires the assistance of magnesium.
Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency also seems to be a common issue. As many as 8 out of 10 Americans do not get enough magnesium to meet the RDA. According to the National Institutes of Health, the recommended dietary allowance for magnesium is 400 to 420 mg per day for men and 310 to 320 mg for women.
To fill your diet with magnesium-rich foods, be sure to add a balance of bananas, green vegetables, legumes, broccoli, brown rice, oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, flax seeds, cashews, egg yolks, fish oil, milk, mushrooms, corn, and tofu to your diet.
Getting vitamin D from foods
Vitamin D is found in the body mainly in the form of D2 and D3. The main sources of vitamin D2 are plant-based foods, such as mushrooms, vitamin D-fortified plant milks (i.e., beverages made from soy, almonds, or oats), soy products, and cereals.
The difference in vitamin D content between dried and wet fresh mushrooms can be as much as nearly 10 times. So, use sun-dried mushrooms when cooking.
Vitamin D3 can be supplemented by sun exposure and animal-based foods. Foods high in vitamin D3 include trout, salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel, egg yolks, and vitamin D-fortified dairy products.
The foods containing vitamin D are relatively limited. For people who often eat out, it may be especially difficult to get food items containing vitamin D. So, it’s recommended to take supplements directly or choose foods fortified with vitamin D.
Because vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient, if you are taking vitamin D supplements, it is better to take them after meals. At the same time, it is important to follow the daily dosage instructions on the package label, and not to take more supplements unadvised. Otherwise, excessive fat-soluble vitamins will accumulate in the body, causing nausea, vomiting, and other symptoms.
If you have a liver or kidney disease, check with your doctor before taking vitamin D supplements. You may need calcitriol instead. For those who have poor absorption of lipids and oils, it is advisable to first regulate their stomach and intestines, eat small and frequent meals of salmon and other lipids and oils, or take supplements directly.