Vitamin D deficiency is more dangerous to your health than you think

Vitamin D deficiency is the cause of some of the diseases below, according to Health.

People with vitamin D deficiency are three times more likely to die from heart failure and five times more likely to die from sudden cardiac death. Photo: Shutterstock

Obesity

Obese men, women and children are 35% more likely to be vitamin D deficient than those of normal weight, and 24% more likely to be vitamin D deficient than those who are overweight, according to a 2015 meta-analysis.

A study published in 2000 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that obesity limits the body's ability to use vitamin D from both sunlight and food sources, because fat cells bind to the vitamin and do not release it effectively.

Diabetes

People with diabetes or prediabetes have lower vitamin D levels than those with normal blood sugar, according to a Spanish study published in 2015 in the journal Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The authors believe that vitamin D deficiency and obesity increase the risk of diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

Heart disease

A 2009 study found that people with vitamin D deficiency were three times more likely to die from heart failure and five times more likely to die from sudden cardiac death. However, experts say there is no evidence of a direct link between higher vitamin D levels and reduced cardiovascular risk.

Hair loss

Women with hair loss have significantly lower vitamin D levels than those without hair loss, according to a study in Dermatology and Pharmacology. The vitamin is important in promoting hair from the resting phase to the growing phase.

Patients with alopecia areata — an autoimmune disease that attacks follicles and can cause hair loss all over the body — had significantly lower vitamin D levels than people without alopecia areata, and the lower their vitamin D levels, the more severe their disease, according to Turkish researchers.

Premenstrual Syndrome - PMS

According to a study in Women's Health, women between the ages of 27 and 44 who had higher levels of vitamin D had a lower risk of PMS symptoms. The study found that higher calcium intake was also associated with a lower risk of PMS.

A 2010 study found a link between vitamin D levels and PMS in young women. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen are often the first choice for treating PMS symptoms, but researchers believe vitamin D supplements are a promising option.

According to TNO