There is some contention in the medical community on which vitamin is actually most important for your body. The common consensus says it’s either Vitamin B12 or Vitamin D. While both deserve to be in the tops slots, We’re going to call it with Vitamin D, simply because so many people are deficient. Taking unnecessary vitamins is useless at best and harmful at worst, but studies suggest that most Americans are deficient in Vitamin D.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin” because your body produces it in response to sunlight. Vitamin D has multiple important functions, the most vital being the absorption of calcium and phosphorous. Without Vitamin D, your body won’t absorb these other important vitamins, resulting in soft bones and teeth in children or osteoporosis as an adult. Vitamin D is crucial for bone growth and some colon functions; as well as your heart, due to its role in muscular and nervous systems. It also supports the correct functioning of your immune system and may possibly help prevent cancer.

Why such Widespread Vitamin D Deficiency?

It’s very difficult to get the correct amount of Vitamin D from the foods you eat, alone. It’s found mostly in fatty fish and dairy. The best way to get Vitamin D is still sun exposure, which many Americans are short on these days. Even 15-20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure, 3 days a week, is enough to enable your body to produce the amount of Vitamin D your body needs; but people aren’t getting that much nowadays it seems. Other than these means, supplements are the only way to get Vitamin D.

Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency has a few recognizable symptoms. If you experience these symptoms, ask your doctor to run Vitamin D on your next blood test, because they normally don’t on a regular blood panel.

-Sweaty Head
-Achy Bones or Joints
-Lots of Infections or Sickness
-Muscle Weakness
-Low Energy or Fatigue
-Low Mood or Depression
-Constant Respiratory Issues

A lot of these symptoms are usually ignored or wrote off as something else, but all could be indicators of low Vitamin D levels and should be looked into.

There are receptors for Vitamin D in basically every organ in your body. Your level of Vitamin D directly affects how efficiently your body can carry out numerous other processes, and how well it absorbs other vitamins.

It basically works hand in hand with calcium absorption, and it is necessary for normal bone growth. The role it plays in so many bodily functions and the staggering amount of people who are deficient in it makes Vitamin D the most important vitamin for your body overall, and there’s a good chance that you are not getting enough.

Come see the folks at The Pharmacy in Florence SC for your vitamin supplements.