Health Awareness

Vitamin D (a Steroid Hormone) Is Not Just Another Supplement

Here’s why deficiency matters and the importance of adequate Vitamin D for health, according to science

Why Vitamin D

I agree that we don’t have to supplement many vitamins as most of them are abundant in our food. However, a few critical vitamins play an essential role in our health, fitness, and well-being. Their deficiency matters. Vitamin D is one of them. It is unique and very different from other vitamins.

Even though it is called a vitamin, vitamin D is a steroid hormone. It is created from cholesterol when our skin is exposed to the sun.

My understanding of medical literature and advice from my medical consultants helped me correct my deficiency.

So, when I didn’t have sun exposure for various reasons, I needed to consume food, including adequate vitamin D, or supplement it to meet the required minimum amount to maintain my health.

Since vitamin D is associated with many health conditions, I provide a few critical points based on a condensed review of the medical literature from reliable sources. First, let me give a brief background of my experience.

My Experience with Vitamin D

After suffering from many hormonal and inflammatory issues, learning the criticality of vitamin D for my health was an eye-opener and game-changer. Vitamin D, after magnesium, was one of the most effective interventions for my health transformation.

I had many blood tests. However, when I was younger, my family doctor never requested Vitamin D tests. There was not much awareness and research about the topic in those days.

The first test happened when I was referred to a rheumatologist due to excessive pain and inflammation. The rheumatologist informed me about mild arthritis, which is an autoimmune condition, and requested more tests. Not to his surprise, my blood tests showed a deficiency of vitamin D.

In my younger years, two reasons caused this deficiency. First, living in the Southern Hemisphere, I was scared of sunlight due to fear of melanoma which is common in Australia.

The second reason was I was consuming only plant-based, no animal products as a vegetarian. I did not know the importance of animal nutrients for my health. I learned that vitamin D was mainly in animal products. Poignantly, I was also deficient in another critical vitamin which was B12, as I did not consume any animal products and did not know about supplementing in those years.

In later years, I changed my lifestyle based on my health and fitness goals rather than ridiculous perceptions that I gained from others which had nothing to do with my genetic makeup and personal health requirements.

Recommended by the specialist doctor, after supplementing with Vitamin D3, I noticed an improvement in my health and overall well-being. I shared several ailments that I experienced in my younger years in a story: 12 Entangled Health Conditions I Owned & Fixed By Myself: How I transformed my problematic health and fitness situations by methodical trials & errors.

I heard and read different anecdotes from people on the benefits of vitamin D. For me, in addition to improving my inflammatory conditions and mood swings, the most significant contribution of Vitamin D was related to improvements in my hormonal balance, especially the male hormone, Testosterone.

As concluded in this study published in the International Journal of Endocrinology, “Vitamin D is important for the wellness of male sexual function, and vitamin D administration improves sexual function.”

After this brief background, I want to share a few prominent points related to the importance of Vitamin D in our health. This is a broad topic with thousands of papers.

I only selected a few to inform my readers and inspire them to investigate relevant ones for their health conditions and have meaningful conversations with their healthcare consultants. It is now possible to find a vitamin D study for many situations and health associations. Some are conclusive, some inconclusive, and some in between with partial evidence.

A brief review of prominent medical literature

If you search Google Scholar for Vitamin D, you might come up with about 3,690,000 results. However, if you check the same term on Pubmed.gov (National Library of Medicine), you may see 92,103 results.

Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) provides two fact sheets: one for medical professionals and one for consumers.

The ODS fact sheet for consumers starts with the apparent reason for Vitamin D. It states that “Vitamin D is a nutrient you need for good health. It helps your body absorb calcium, one of the main building blocks for strong bones. Together with calcium, vitamin D helps protect you from developing osteoporosis, a disease that thins and weakens the bones and makes them more likely to break.”

However, the important part of this statement mentions less known necessities and their benefits of it. The ODS fact sheet states that “our body needs vitamin D for other functions too. Our muscles need it to move, and our nerves need it to carry messages between our brain and the body. In addition, our immune system needs vitamin D to fight off invading bacteria and viruses.”

Here are the average daily recommended amounts on the ODS fact sheet.

These amounts are much lower than what my specialist doctor recommended to me when I was deficient. Nevertheless, it is always a great idea to get checked for potential deficiency and obtain advice from qualified health care professionals who can create a plan to address the shortage.

The ODS Vitamin D fact sheet for health professionals is more comprehensive, covering various aspects of this nutrient, food sources, numerous studies, and 174 scientific citations.

Sources of Vitamin D

Before touching the food sources, I want to highlight what this fact sheet — guiding health professionals — says about sunlight.

“Most people in the world meet at least some of their vitamin D needs through exposure to sunlight. Type B UV (UVB) radiation with a wavelength of approximately 290–320 nanometers penetrates uncovered skin and converts cutaneous 7-dehydrocholesterol to pre-vitamin D3, which in turn becomes vitamin D3. Season, time of day, length of day, cloud cover, smog, skin melanin content, and sunscreen are among the factors that affect UV radiation exposure and vitamin D synthesis.

Older people and people with dark skin are less able to produce vitamin D from sunlight. UVB radiation does not penetrate glass, so exposure to sunshine indoors through a window does not produce vitamin D.” [Source]

The ODS Vitamin D fact sheet for health professionals provides a table including this nutrient’s food sources. Interestingly, the wealthiest food for vitamin D is Cod liver oil, followed by fish, trout, and salmon.

A majority of food is animal-based except for mushrooms exposed to ultra-violate light.

The fact sheet points out that “most people in the United States consume less than recommended amounts of vitamin D.”

Structural Health Conditions with Vitamin D Deficiency

I want to introduce three majors reasons for vitamin D deficiency:

1 — Limited sun exposure,

2 — Not consuming vitamin D, including nutrients, and

3 — Kidney problems preventing converting the active form of vitamin D.

It is also helpful to know the risk groups.

According to the ODS fact sheet, there are five risk groups for vitamin D deficiency:

1 — Breastfed infants,

2 — Older adults,

3 — People with dark skin,

4 — People with conditions that limit fat absorption,

5 — People who are obese or have undergone gastric bypass surgery.

Here are the four common structural conditions caused by deficiency for children, adolescents, and adults.

1 — Rickets

This paper on the Lancet informs that “Rickets, historically referred to as “the English disease”, is common worldwide. The absence of phosphate at the growth plate and mineralizing bone surfaces due to inadequate vitamin D supply either from sunlight exposure or diet is the main cause. Inherited disorders causing hypophosphatemia have shown the intricacies of phosphate metabolism.”

In The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, this paper concludes, “Rickets, osteomalacia, and vitamin D and calcium deficiencies are preventable global public health problems in infants, children, and adolescents. Implementation of international rickets prevention programs, including supplementation and food fortification, is urgently required.”

This study for rickets prevention recommends 400 IU daily for all infants from birth and 600 IU in pregnancy, alongside monitoring in antenatal and child health surveillance programs.

2 — Osteomalacia

“Vitamin D deficiency in adolescents and adults can lead to osteomalacia. This means that existing bone is incompletely or defectively mineralized during the remodeling process, resulting in weak bones. Symptoms of osteomalacia include bone deformities, hypocalcemic seizures, tetanic spasms, and dental abnormalities.”

I obtained these statements from these two sources: [Source 1, Source 2]

3 — Osteoporosis

The bad news is around 2.3 million osteoporotic fractures occurred in the United States in 2015. According to the ODS fact sheet, “more than 53 million adults in the United States have or are at risk of developing osteoporosis.”

According to this NIH source, “osteoporosis is a bone disease that develops when bone mineral density and bone mass decreases, or when the quality or structure of bone changes. This can lead to a decrease in bone strength that can increase the risk of fractures or broken bones.”

The source points out that “beginning in childhood and into old age, a diet low in calcium and vitamin D can increase your risk for osteoporosis and fractures. Excessive dieting or poor protein intake may increase your risk for bone loss and osteoporosis.”

4 — Myopathy

The ODS fact sheet highlights that vitamin D is also needed for the normal development and growth of muscle fibers. In addition, inadequate vitamin D levels can adversely affect muscle strength and lead to muscle weakness and pain as myopathy or muscular dystrophy, as defined in the Journal of Clinical Neuromuscular Disease.

Systems and Conditions Associated with Vitamin D

1 — Immune System

This paper informs that “Vitamin D has a critical role in the innate immune system through the production of antimicrobial peptides — particularly cathelicidin. Vitamin D would appear to have an important role in respiratory tract, skin, and potentially gut health. A number of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Type I diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis, are associated with vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D could have an important role in the prevention and possible treatment of these conditions”.

2- Various Cancers

This study titled exploring vitamin D metabolism and function in cancer, published in the Experimental and Molecular Medicine, points out that “accumulating data suggest that the metabolism and functions of vitamin D are dysregulated in many types of cancer, conferring resistance to the antitumorigenic effects of vitamin D and thereby contributing to the development and progression of cancer. Thus, understanding dysregulated vitamin D metabolism and function in cancer will be critical for the development of promising new strategies for successful vitamin D-based cancer therapy.”

This study examines Vitamin D for prostate cancer. “Epidemiologic data indicate vitamin D signaling may be important in the cause and prognosis of prostate and other cancers. These data indicate that perturbation of vitamin D signaling may be a target for the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. Large studies of vitamin D supplementation will be required to determine whether these observations can be translated into prevention strategies.”

This study investigating the role of Vitamin D in breast cancer points out that “there are various mechanisms by which vitamin D influences the natural history of cancer. These include the role of vitamin D in the induction of apoptosis, stimulation of cell differentiation, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative effects and inhibition of angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis.”

The aim of this review is to clarify the true role of vitamin D in the onset of breast cancer and the evolution of the disease after treatment. A further aim is to suggest new research directions to identify indications and requirements for vitamin D supplementation in patients with breast cancer.”

Type 2 Diabetes

This study confirms that “observational studies have indicated an inverse association between vitamin D levels and the risk of diabetes, yet evidence from population interventions remains inconsistent.”

However, the study pointed out that “Vitamin D supplementation was shown to effectively increase serum 25(OH)D and reduce insulin resistance. This effect was especially prominent when vitamin D was given in large doses and for a short period of time, and to patients who were non-obese, Middle Eastern, vitamin D deficient, or with optimal glycemic control at baseline.”

There are several more conditions that are not possible to cover in a single article. For those who are interested in other conditions, this systemic review and meta-analysis investigating associations between vitamin D supplementation and mortality can be a good start.

Conclusions

Even though vitamin supplementation is recommended only for unique conditions for those who may need to address deficiencies, there appears to be an exception for Vitamin D, especially for the aging population.

In this article, I provided some perspectives on the importance of Vitamin D, reflecting input from the medical literature and my personal experience. As mentioned, the research is very active and not conclusive yet for numerous conditions.

It is great to see the thought leadership by many scientists who investigate the possible benefits of Vitamin D for various conditions. At this stage, the research is confident about vitamin D’s structural impact and implications, as pointed out in the above section. However, I hope more conclusive research with clinical trials can shed further light on the matter.

Even though we call it a vitamin, this steroid hormone looks essential for optimal health. However, an overdose of vitamin D supplementation is real and causes toxicity. Excessive vitamin D can increase calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and results in hypercalcemia. This study investigates the development of vitamin D toxicity from the over-correction of the deficiency.

Even though I exposed my body to the sun for around 15 minutes in summer and supplemented vitamin D in winter with medical supervision for several years, I haven’t experienced any side effects. Instead, I experienced many benefits. However, we are all different. Thus, the wise approach would be to get the vitamin D levels checked via blood tests and obtain advice from qualified medical professionals to correct if a deficiency is found.

Here’s How I Recovered from the Covid Virus Quickly with Five Lifestyle Steps. One of them was increasing vitamin D.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.

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