Do you experience tiredness, excessive weakness, joint or muscle pain?  Not able to reduce weight after all the exercise and diet planning. One of the most common reasons for these symptoms could be vitamin D deficiency. About 83% females and 85% males in India are reported to have low Vitamin D levels. Making it very important for each one of us to know and practice ways to get our daily Vitamin D.

Vitamins like C and E continue to be the darlings of many supplement lovers. But those vitamin superstars are being forced to share their throne with the long neglected vitamin D, which is finally getting the attention it may have always deserved. The role of vitamin D in promoting healthy bones, largely by promoting the absorption of calcium is well known .If you have a vitamin D deficiency, particularly in your older years, it can lead to osteoporosis or osteomalacia [bone softening],

But in recent times low levels of Vitamin D leads to increased risk of type 1 diabetes, muscle and bone pain, and, perhaps more serious, cancers of the breast, colon, prostate, ovaries, oesophagus, and lymphatic system.

 So to lower your blood pressure, vitamin D is required . If you're trying to reduce your risk of diabetes, or lower your chances of heart attacks, rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis, then vitamin D should be at the front of the line in your daily supplement regimen.

In my daily practice, I see the patients  who are obese and not able to reduce weight are very low on their Vitamin D levels .

So what are the Optimal Level of Vitamin D

A level of 20 nanograms/milliliter to 50 ng/mL is considered adequate for healthy people. A level less than 12 ng/mL indicates vitamin D deficiency. The most accurate way to measure amount of vitamin D in your body is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test.

Vitamin D deficiency can be harmful -- in fact, there are real benefits to increasing your Vitamin D.

So, where do you get your Vitamin D from:

The best source of Vitamin D is Sunlight

Most people get some vitamin D from sunlight. When the sun shines on bare skin,the body makes its own vitamin D. The paler the skin type the more easily your skin can produce vitamin D. 1 . In winters, sit under the sun closer to midday

Fair-skinned people need around 5-10 minutes on a sunny day, a few times a week. People with darker skin tone and elderly need around 20-30 minutes of sun exposure

  • Expose a large area of your skin , such as your back, rather than your face or arms, to make the most of the sunlight
  • Do not apply sunscreen when exposing your body to sunlight as this might interfere with the production of vitamin D
  • Sunlight passing through glass does not boost your vitamin D levels
  • Don’t tan or burn your skin to get the vitamin D you need

So what are the good  food sources of Vitamin D:

Get Vitamin D from Foods

Most of the foods we eat have no naturally occurring vitamin D. Some foods that have vitamin D include :

  1. Milk fortified with Vitamin D
  2. Mushrooms
  3. Fortified Cereals
  4. Egg yolk
  5. Salmon, tuna, fish oils
  6. Cheese

Get Vitamin D from Supplements

If you do not get enough sun exposure and cannot take foods that are rich in vitamin D, you may start taking vitamin D supplements. There are two kinds of supplements :

1 . D2 (ergocalciferol), which is the type found in food

2 . D3 (cholecalciferol), which is the type made from sunlight

Though produced differently, both can raise vitamin D levels in your blood. Always consult a doctor before starting any vitamin supplement.

So don’t neglect your Vitamin D levels it slows down your metabolism and leads to weight gain.

Vitamin D Benefits: Weigh Less, Smile More!