Eight Common Diseases Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency

Sometimes, the solution for a certain serious and common health problems may be in the simple correction of the deficiency of some mineral or vitamin. Vitamin D deficiency affects millions of Westerners and causes various health issues.

The following 8 common diseases have been scientifically related to the chronic deficiency of vitamin D:

1. Type-2 Diabetes

A 2011 study published in the journal, AIDS, found that vitamin D deficiency can exacerbate the symptoms of metabolic syndrome in patients with HIV.

Researchers also discovered that maintaining increased levels of vitamin D via sunlight exposure or supplementation lowers the risk of type-2 diabetes in general.

2. Hypertension

A study published in The Journal of Investigative Medicine showed that patients with hypertension fared better in the case of increased vitamin D levels.

High blood serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), a marker of vitamin D, were found to help modulate vascular inflammation and other indicators of high blood pressure

3. Rheumatoid arthritis

One recent Canadian study has found a “considerably strong association” between vitamin D deficiency and rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers said that subjects with the lowest blood plasma levels of 25(OH)D were up to 5 times more prone to RA-related diseases than others.

4. Asthma

Newest scientific research assumes that vitamin D, and especially its deficiency, is the major factor in the asthma prevalence. Especially in the case of children, this vitamin lowers the intensity of the asthma symptoms and also relieves the inflammation which restricts the airways and causes breathing difficulties.

5. Influenza

The influenza rates are the highest in winter when the exposure to during the ultraviolet B rays is minimal. Research has also shown that vitamin D strengthens the immune system, so maintaining it in optimal levels will fight flu and its symptoms.

6 Dental cavities

At least from the mid-1800s, experts suspected that the lack of natural sunlight exposure is the greatest reason for poor health.

The lack of this vitamin has also been related to poor dental health recently, as scientists found that optimal levels of vitamin D support the healthy calcification of teeth, while its deficiency leads to dental cavities.

7 Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Many researches  conducted in Europe, India, and the United States have identified a link between low vitamin D levels and higher rates of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and other forms of IBD. Based on this cohort of research, populations where natural sunlight exposure is limited tend to have higher rates of IBD, and vice versa

8 Cancer

It has been proven that people with vitamin D deficiency are more susceptible to cancers of all types, including gastric, breast, renal, prostate, cervical, ovarian, colorectal, esophageal, endometrial. On the other hand, people who maintain this vitamin in high levels in the body are less prone to developing cancer.

Source: healthyadd