Researchers link between its good levels in the body and the optimal functioning of the immune and nervous systems

Vitamin D deficiency..Important steps to compensate

Primary hypotension, the most common type.

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Vitamin D deficiency is a common health problem all over the world, at a time when more links between this important vitamin and many chronic diseases are constantly being recognized and studied, but making up for the deficiency is not always an easy issue that can be solved by taking supplements or spending some time under Sunlight, according to a specialist doctor from the global health care system Cleveland Clinic.

"The benefits of vitamin D for the human body have only recently been recognized, although the harmful effect of insufficient exposure to sunlight in childhood has not been hidden for centuries," said Dr. Susan Williams, a physician at the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Cleveland Clinic.

Studies have increasingly linked vitamin D deficiency with the occurrence of various chronic diseases, while other studies have proven a positive link between good levels of this vitamin and the optimal functioning of the immune and nervous systems.

Dr. Williams noted that foods rich in vitamin D provide only a small percentage of the recommended daily need for this vitamin, with the rest coming from the sun or supplements.

Limited exposure to the sun, whether as a result of bad weather or the prevention of skin cancer, is a common cause of vitamin D deficiency, but there are other reasons that include dark skin color, advanced age, obesity, gastric bypass surgery, and some digestive diseases, Which leads to malabsorption, and vitamin D deficiency can occur in infants as a result of limiting their nutrition to breastfeeding and keeping them away from other sources of the vitamin.

The level of vitamin D in the body can be measured by a blood test.

Dr. Williams explained that there are two types of vitamin D supplements;

Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3.

While both types raise vitamin D levels, recent studies have indicated that vitamin D3 has a stronger effect over time.

The way you take supplements is also important;

Studies have found that supplements are most effective when taken with a meal that contains at least 15 grams of fat and taken with the largest daily meal, enhancing absorption.

The metabolic doctor stressed the need to adhere to the doses prescribed by the doctor of supplements, otherwise patients are at risk of vitamin D poisoning, pointing out that some patients may not respond to vitamin D supplements;

Because they suffer from absorption problems, including people with Crohn's disease, who have had bariatric surgery related to absorption, people with digestive disorder, cystic fibrosis, steatorrhea, short bowel disease, enteritis, and acute biliary stasis. The absorption problem can be confirmed by blood tests, through Comparison of vitamin D levels in a blood sample taken immediately before giving an oral dose of vitamin D, and a sample taken 12 to 24 hours after the dose.

If malabsorption is confirmed, light therapy, which includes accurate skin type identification and carefully considered exposure to ultraviolet B rays, can be used to increase vitamin levels.

 No to tanning beds

• Dr. Susan Williams warned against trying to increase the level of vitamin “D” by using a tanning bed or spending hours in the sun, describing these methods as “mostly not effective and bearing the risks of damaging the skin and developing skin cancer,” noting that the type of skin and the age of the person They affect the response to exposure to ultraviolet rays, but in general, exposing 5% of the body’s surface twice a week for 20 minutes in the warm months is equivalent to getting 430 international units of vitamin D per day, stressing the need to adhere to the maximum time, which is 20 minute;

Because of the dangers associated with increased exposure to sunlight.

Susan Williams:

• “Foods rich in vitamin D provide only a small percentage of the recommended daily need for this vitamin, while the rest comes from the sun or supplements.”

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