After you have been confirmed that you are affected by vitamin D deficiency, there are several ways to increase your levels of vitamin D in the blood.
Sunlight exposure for 10-20 minutes every second day is usually enough to get the daily dose of vitamin D. Unfortunately, there are several factors, which can affect the synthesis of vitamin D in our body like: the use of sunscreens, smog, skin pigmentation, age, etc.
However, the exposure to direct sunlight can be affected by the geographical location, the seasons, skin pigmentation, etc. For example, during the winter period it is normal that the sunlight exposure is much smaller. Accordingly, you will have to spend more time to get enough vitamin D.
People with lighter skin don’t have to spend much time to get the adequate dose of vitamin D, when compared to people with darker skin. However, it is good to know the following. The body stops to produce vitamin D when it gets enough. This means that if we spend several hours a day exposed to direct sunlight, we won’t get too much vitamin D. The only thing that will increase are the chances to get sunburns, or in some cases skin cancer.
Another good source of vitamin D is food. There are lots of different foods rich in vitamin D: fish, eggs, cod-liver oil, mushrooms, fortified milk or ice-cream, fortified cereals, etc. The use of these foods can slightly increase your vitamin D levels, but for a more significant increase, we have to use vitamin D supplements. Depending on the skin color the recommended amount of vitamin D is between 1,000 IU to 4000 IU.
When you use vitamin D supplements, you have to be very careful. We have to say this because there are cases of vitamin D toxicity, which can lead to health complications like calcification, weak muscles, urinary stones, etc. Luckily, the doses have to be very high for a person to be vitamin D overdosed.
If you are looking only at the symptoms, you will have to know that vitamin D deficiency can often be confused with other diseases. The best thing is to test your levels of vitamin D every year. By doing this you will definitely know whether you suffer from vitamin D deficiency or toxicity, or your levels of vitamin D are optimal. Taking care of your vitamin D levels should become your habit, because it can save you from certain diseases connected with vitamin D later in life.
This article written by John Washington, founder of The Vitamin Mag.com
