Are you suffering from Vitamin D Deficiency? (A Topic from Health Geography)

For the complete growth of our body, we surely needs these five elements: Carbohydrates, Fats, Vitamins, Minerals, and Proteins. But in today's toing and froing we hardly gets the time to have everything in our daily diet.

This situation has completely changed since the occurrence of lockdown. due to the less movement or sitting in the same position, little or no physical movement our body starts telling us something which we often ignores and have ignored for sure. As, our muscles do the entire work of our body and so our bones and joints we need to give them something in return which is Vitamin D.

Vitamin D simply means more exposure in the sunlight. On an average a person should sit 15-30 min under the sunlight of morning which is from 8am-11am, because the sunlight after 11am without applying sunscreen may result in skin cancer and sunburns like problems.

Now the question is how to identify deficit of Vitamin D?

 

There are 2 forms of Vitamin D, i.e. D2 (Ergocalciferol) and D3(Cholecalciferol).

D2 includes the problems like, constipation, weakness, fatigue, joint pain, while D3 has direct relation with calcium in our body. if our D3 is low, our body no matter what we eat, how much dairy products we are taking, the absorption would not take place. therefore, it should be increased via supplements and diet. D3 is preferred over D2 as it is more potent in nature. 

The overall signs of Vitamin D  Deficiency are:

• Regular Sickness
• Slow healing of fractures
• Not able to sit crossed legs
• Tired after walking for few minutes
• Shaking legs after stairs climbing
• Muscles tightening

Or simply you can go to have a test of Vitamin D3 in your nearby health lab.

Why this happens?

1. Lack of sunlight exposure-

a) In some areas, people wear full sleeves, or burkhas especially in colder regions or sun deficit areas. Which results in little/no sun exposure.

b) Believe in color complexion - people thinks that if someone a boy/girl will go outside in the sun, then they may become more dark. therefore, dark complexion, or dusky skinned people should avoid sunlight. But they forget this fact that the color of the skin is due to the melanin in our body (which is god-gifted and beautiful) and not due to some sunlight exposure or having tea or coffee.

c) No outdoor activity - Due to the inventive technologies, kids or adults hardly go outside to play, also in pandemic situation people were locked inside the house. 

2. Due to gastro-intestinal diseases- if you are facing gas, heat strokes, indigestion, constipation on regular basis.

3. Not having enough diet- here you can add foods in your diet which has Omega 3 because our body does not originally produce it. 

4. Due to advancing lifestyle- women pregnancy leads to fetal demands and increased urinary calcium excretion, which means calcium goes out from the body through urine and stool.

What should you Eat to overcome the Deficiency?

Apart from that you can have:

• cheese
• fortified cereals
• supplements

What else to do?

You can try:

• Yoga
• Acupuncture or Acupressure
• Meditation
• Light stretching exercises