The alphabet of vitamins that we're supposed to make sure we take in each day support your body from head to toe, and they’re an essential part of healthy living.
Unfortunately, our modern diets have veered toward processed foods that are long on calories, but fall short on nutrients, leaving many people deficient. As an example, about 35% of adults in the United States, as well as half of infants, are deficient in vitamin D. On a global scale, about one billion people are vitamin D deficient, which can lead to some serious health issues.
Dr. Scott Lafferty and the team at Lafferty Family Care spend a good deal of time focusing on the benefits of good nutrition and why getting the right amount of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients is paramount for good health.
To illustrate this point, we’re going to focus on one key vitamin — D — and what can happen if you’re not getting enough.
A big role that vitamin D plays in your body is in maintaining strong bones. In brief, vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps your body regulate the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, which are essential for bone strength.
In order to keep a constant amount of calcium in the blood, your body can take it from your bones, which leads to demineralization in your bones. In adults, this can lead to soft bones and low bone density, which leaves you at greater risk for fractures and osteoporosis.
In kids, prolonged vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets and poor bone formation.
Vitamin D and fatigue
Another common side effect of a vitamin D insufficiency is overall fatigue and tiredness. Some research shows that taking vitamin D supplements can help with improving fatigue.
If you’re not getting enough vitamin D, you may get sick often. That’s because you need enough vitamin D for your immune system to work properly to protect you. Low vitamin D levels may be linked to respiratory and viral illnesses like colds, the flu, and COVID-19.
There are more ways a vitamin D deficiency can affect your health, but the ones we outline above are some of the common signs. If you suspect that you might be vitamin D deficient, it’s a great idea to come see us so we can run a quick blood test.
Some people are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, including anyone over age 65, people with darker skin, those who don’t spend much time in the sun, and people with certain medical conditions. If you fall into one of these categories, it’s especially important to get your vitamin D level checked.
If we find that you could use some more vitamin D, we will likely recommend a few routes that can boost your levels of this critical compound, such as:
This last treatment is important — rather than just taking general vitamin supplements, we prefer to test you to figure out which vitamins and minerals you need. From there, we target your supplements so you only get what you need and in the amounts that are beneficial.
To get started on optimizing your nutrient intake, we invite you to contact our office in Rogers, Arkansas, to schedule a consultation.
