What Are Symptoms of Low Vitamin D?

  • By Performance Lab
  • 4 minute read
What Are Symptoms of Low Vitamin D?

Whether it’s for regulating immune function, enhancing wound healing, keeping your bones strong, or boosting mood, vitamin D is your go-to. It’s a multi-functional vitamin (prohormone) that has a role in nearly every body system.

For people that live near the equator and have sunshine day in and day out, getting enough vitamin D is no problem! But for people that live in Northern countries or experience seasonal weather changes, vitamin D levels can fall below normal, which can be problematic.

It’s thought that over 1 billion people worldwide are deficient in vitamin D, with prevalence increasing in Hispanics and African-Americans because of darker skin pigmentation 1.

Although many of the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are pretty subtle and you may not even realize it’s a problem, if you’re experiencing persistent symptoms and can’t find the cause, it may be because you’re in need of some sunshine!

It’s time to listen up and take notes—we’re talking about the most common symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency.

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Vitamin D Deficiency

Several factors can interfere with vitamin D levels, but some of the most common culprits are:

  1. Lack of sun exposure: Roughly 50%-90% of vitamin D is absorbed through the skin via sunlight, and lack of sun exposure means low levels of endogenously synthesized vitamin D 2.
  2. Poor diet (or plant-based diet): Because vitamin D is concentrated in animal sources like oily fish, organ meats, and dairy, people following a plant-based diet or one high in processed foods aren’t taking in enough through food.
  3. Fat malabsorption: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means an adequate supply of dietary fat is needed to absorb vitamin D through diet or supplementation.
  4. Obesity: Studies suggest that body weight and BMI play a role in vitamin D levels due to their influence on adipocyte activity, but also vitamin D distribution within the body—more serum, muscle, and fat all mean more distribution and lower levels 3, 4.
  5. Age: As you get older, there are a few factors that influence vitamin D levels—decreased vitamin D receptors, decreased renal production of vitamin D due to aging kidneys, decreased skin production of vitamin D, and lack of vitamin D substrate (cholesterol).

7 Symptoms Of Low Vitamin D

The symptoms of low vitamin D won’t be consistent from person to person, and depending on how low you are, they may change. In general, some of the most common symptoms experienced are:

Mood changes ➔ Vitamin D receptors are present in areas of the brain associated with mood regulation, and studies show that supplementing with vitamin D improves symptoms of depression, but also helps to boost levels of serotonin, your happy hormone 5, 6.

Poor immune function ➔ Because vitamin D interacts with many of the immune cells responsible for fighting infection, low levels impairs cell function and increases susceptibility to illness and infection 7.

Fatigue ➔ While the causes of tiredness and fatigue can be attributed to many factors, studies suggest that low vitamin D levels can increase feelings of fatigue 8.

Bone pain ➔ Because of its essential role in maintaining bone health via calcium and phosphorus regulation, research finds that people with low vitamin D levels are more likely to experience bone pain and chronic lower back pain, especially for women 9, 10.

Muscle weakness, pain or cramping ➔ Like fatigue, the cause of muscle pain and weakness can be attributed to many things, but vitamin D deficiency may alter pain sensitivity due to stimulation of nociceptors in muscles, thus causing you to be more sensitive to pain 11, 12.

Bone loss ➔ Vitamin D is perhaps one of the most critical nutrients involved in regulating calcium levels, and studies have consistently found that low vitamin D levels are linked with bone loss, which increases the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures 13.

Poor wound healing ➔ Slow wound healing may indicate an underlying vitamin D deficiency because of the vitamin’s role in producing compounds involved in forming new skin 14.

Final Thoughts

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies, and most people aren’t even aware of it. Because the symptoms are nonspecific, it’s difficult to tell if it’s vitamin D or something else.

If you think you may be deficient or are experiencing any of the symptoms we listed, getting yourself a good vitamin D supplement or a multivitamin like Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi is key to keeping your levels up. And if you want to take it a step further, get out in the sun and get active!

References

  1. O Sahota. Understanding vitamin D deficiency. Age Ageing. 2014;43(5):589-591.
  2. O Sizar, S Khare, A Goyal, et al. Vitamin D Deficiency. [Updated 2021 Jan 3]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532266/
  3. XM Mai, Y Chen, CA Camargo Jr, A Langhammer. Cross-sectional and prospective cohort study of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and obesity in adults: the HUNT study. Am J Epidemiol. 2012;175(10):1029-1036.
  4. L Vranić, I Mikolašević, S Milić. Vitamin D Deficiency: Consequence or Cause of Obesity? Medicina (Kaunas). 2019;55(9):541.
  5. DW Eyles, S Smith, R Kinobe, M Hewison, JJ McGrath. Distribution of the vitamin D receptor and 1 alpha-hydroxylase in human brain. J Chem Neuroanat. 2005;29(1):21-30.
  6. RP Patrick, BN Ames. Vitamin D and the omega-3 fatty acids control serotonin synthesis and action, part 2: relevance for ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and impulsive behavior. FASEB J. 2015;29(6):2207-2222. doi:10.1096/fj.14-268342
  7. M Hewison. Vitamin D and Innate and Adaptive Immunity. Vitamins & Hormones. 2011; 86:23-62.
  8. K Johnson, M Sattari. Vitamin D deficiency and fatigue: an unusual presentation. Springerplus. 2015;4:584.
  9. B Heidari, JS Shirvani, A Firouzjahi, P Heidari, KO Hajian-Tilaki. Association between nonspecific skeletal pain and vitamin D deficiency. Int J Rheum Dis. 2010;13(4):340-346.
  10. B Ghai, D Bansal, G Kapil, R Kanukula, S Lavudiya, N Sachdeva. High Prevalence of Hypovitaminosis D in Indian Chronic Low Back Patients. Pain Physician. 2015;18(5):E853-E862.
  11. KV Knutsen, M Brekke, S Gjelstad, P Lagerløv. Vitamin D status in patients with musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and headache: a cross-sectional descriptive study in a multi-ethnic general practice in Norway. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2010;28(3):166-171.
  12. SE Tague, GL Clarke, MK Winter, KE McCarson, DE Wright, PG Smith. Vitamin D deficiency promotes skeletal muscle hypersensitivity and sensory hyperinnervation. J Neurosci. 2011;31(39):13728-13738.
  13. A Bener, NM Saleh. Low vitamin D, and bone mineral density with depressive symptoms burden in menopausal and postmenopausal women. J Midlife Health. 2015;6(3):108-114.
  14. J Ding, P Kwan, Z Ma, et al. Synergistic effect of vitamin D and low concentration of transforming growth factor beta 1, a potential role in dermal wound healing. Burns. 2016;42(6):1277-1286.
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