You're Experiencing Weight Gain In fact, according to a Medical News Today article, an increase in overall body fat and low vitamin D seem to go hand in hand. If you're looking to lose weight, it's time to up your vitamin D intake, either through sun exposure and/or a high-quality supplement.
Takeaway. There's def a correlation between vitamin D levels and weight. Though experts don't know for sure what's at work, people with obesity are more likely to have lower levels of vitamin D. Meanwhile, those who increase their vitamin D levels seem to be more likely to lose fat and weight.
“We found that those women who received vitamin D and whose blood levels got up to normal lost more weight than women whose blood levels remained low,” says McTiernan. “This suggests that keeping vitamin D in a healthy range could indeed help with weight loss.”
Besides boosting mood and promoting calcium absorption, recent studies have shown that vitamin D may also aid in weight loss. For people with extra belly fat, a vitamin D supplement may be beneficial.
When vitamin D levels are low and the body isn't able to properly absorb calcium and phosphorus, there is an increased risk of bone pain, bone fractures, muscle pain and muscle weakness. In older adults, severe vitamin D deficiency (levels less than 10 ng/mL) may also contribute to an increased risk of falls.
Low vitamin D and weight gain are related in other ways too – Studies have suggested that vitamin D plays a major role in releasing leptin, the hormone controlling the hunger senses and fat storage in the body. Vitamin D deficiency affects both senses, leading to weight gain.
According to the National Library of Medicine, vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density, which can contribute to osteoporosis and fractures (broken bones). Severe vitamin D deficiency can also lead to other diseases.
Symptoms when vitamin D is low
"Most patients with vitamin D deficiency are asymptomatic, however if you're exhausted, your bones hurt, you have muscle weakness or mood changes, that's an indication that something may be abnormal with your body," says Dr. Lacey. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may include: Fatigue.
Losing weight and gaining strength
The key to weight loss is lifestyle changes. A healthy diet and exercise will do far more for long-term weight loss than vitamins alone. Vitamins are meant to be a support to weight loss, not the only cause. Vitamin B, D, iron, and magnesium are 4 popular supplements for weight loss.
Turns out, a vitamin D deficiency is not just responsible for poor bone health but also excess fat in the abdominal region.
IBS and Vitamin D deficiency
Symptoms include a combination of diarrhoea or constipation, bloating, urgency (the need to use a restroom in a hurry), white or yellow mucus in the stool and the sensation of incompletely passing stools.
In general, the two main causes of vitamin D deficiency are: Not getting enough vitamin D in your diet and/or through sunlight. Your body isn't properly absorbing or using vitamin D.
“Adding an over-the-counter vitamin D supplement can make improvements in just three to four months time. Vitamin D with a strength of 1000-2000 international units daily is the recommended dose for most adults,” Dr. Ropte says. Most multivitamins contain vitamin D, so extra supplementation isn't always necessary.
According to the National Institutes of Health, vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and helps regulate the concentration of calcium and phosphorus in the blood, which supports building and maintaining healthy, strong bones and helps regulate skeletal and neuromuscular function.
Vitamin D deficiency and loss of bone density
Low bone density is often related to low vitamin D levels, and so are other bone disorders like osteoporosis. Loss of bone density not only puts you at risk of fractures, bone pain, and joint issues, it can also make it difficult to lose weight or stay active.
Not eating enough calories. If your body doesn't have enough fuel to sustain your level of activity, you can actually stop losing weight. Overtraining. If you exercise too much, the body sometimes responds by decreasing the amount of calories you burn during the rest of your day.
When to take vitamin D. It just plain doesn't matter, as long as you take it with food, says Dr. Manson. Her advice: Take it when you'll remember to take it — morning, noon or night — and take it with a meal, she says.
How Long Does It Take To Recover From Vitamin D Deficiency? It can take a few weeks for your vitamin D levels to rise once you start taking supplements. Expect a 4-6 week recovery time if you don't have any underlying health issues that could slow down the recovery phase.
Furthermore, Vitamin D deficiency leads to dysbiosis of gut microbiome and reported to cause severe colitis. Vitamin D supplementation is low cost and available and can be a therapeutic option.
Left untreated, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis in adults, rickets in children and adverse outcomes in pregnant women. It may also be linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer — although more study is needed on the topic.
The majority of patients with vitamin D deficiency are asymptomatic. However, even mild chronic vitamin D deficiency can lead to chronic hypocalcemia and hyperparathyroidism which can contribute risk of osteoporosis, falls and fractures especially in the elderly population.
Iron plays a role in metabolism, which affects the number of calories you burn. It's also necessary to produce hemoglobin, a substance that transports oxygen in red blood cells. An iron deficiency may cause fatigue and reduce the body's ability to burn calories.
Core tip: B vitamins are a known fat gain promoting factor. Food fortification-induced high vitamin consumption is followed by a rapid increase in obesity prevalence.