Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency
Are Not Very Complicated

What are the Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency? I encourage everyone to get their Vitamin D Level checked because up to 85% of the population has a Low Vitamin D Level, and most people are absolutely shocked at HOW LOW their vitamin d level is. Then the next question from them is,

"Why Do I have Vitamin D Deficiency!"

Everyone wants to know What Causes Vitamin D Deficiency. They believe that they 'shouldn't' have Vitamin D Deficiency and so they think that something must be 'wrong' with them. But the vast majority of the time, there is nothing 'wrong' except for not getting enough vitamin D! This is the primary reason that most people don't meet their Vitamin D Requirements. 

Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

1. Not getting enough Vitamin D Foods (Hint: No one gets enough of these and Vitamin D Enriched Foods were never intended to help you meet your Vitamin D needs)
2. Not getting enough Vitamin D From Sun
3. Not taking a high enough dose of Vitamin D Supplements
4. Belief that you SHOULD get enough vitamin d from foods, sun and multivitamin supplements (Hint: You don't!)
5. Vitamin D Absorption problems 

These are by far the most common Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency, and since you actually need up to Ten Times the vitamin d that doctors and governments recommend, there's really no surprise that most people have Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency and don't even know it!!

However, there are other factors that can contribute to Vitamin D Deficiencies, that are not serious and are easy to overcome by taking higher doses of Vitamin D Supplements Some of these other Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency are:

• Taking certain medications
• Magnesium Deficiency - magnesium is required to convert Vitamin D into its active form
• Older Age- the skin is less able to convert sunlight into vitamin d
• Being very large or obese- you simply require more vitamin d the larger you are
• Having Low Cholesterol Levels- cholesterol is required to convert sunlight to vitamin d in the skin
• Eating a very low fat diet- vitamin d is fat soluble and you must have fat to absorb it
• Having very dark skin- blocks the UV rays from reaching the cells that make vitamin d in the skin
• Living in the far North (or far South in the Southern Hemisphere)

Anyone with any of these issues should have their Vitamin D Levels Tested NOW and at least once a year before you start on Vitamin D Therapy- even if you think that you 'should' have normal vitamin D levels, get 'plenty' of sun, or take 'enough' Vitamin D Supplements already!!

Serious Causes of Deficiency

Fat Malabsorption

The inability to absorb fat is one of the more common, but serious vitamin D deficiency causes. More people actually have this condition then have been diagnosed and, if you have any health conditions- especially those that involve digestion- you may have difficulty withVitamin D Absorption.

The conditions that might make you suspect this are:

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Crohn's Disease
• Celiac Disease or Gluten Sensitivity 
• Any OTHER vitamin deficiencies- particularly Vitamin B12 Deficiency or anemia!
• Visible fat in your stools (steatorrhea)

If you have any of these, you need to get a Vitamin D Level and get Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency and find out the causes of vitamin d deficiency for you. 

Your Liver is Too Toxic

Your liver makes enzymes to convert vitamin D into its active form, and if you take too many toxins IN and aren't able to effectively get rid of them, then you won't be able to CONVERT vitamin d into its usable form in the body. You may TAKE lots of vitamin d and ABSORB plenty of it, but you won't be able to USE it!!

People that have this problem will often have multiple chemical sensitivities or have several health problems. The immediate treatment of the vitamin D deficiency is to get more Vitamin D- but you REALLY need to get rid of the Environmental Toxins that are overwhelming your liver.

Parathyroid Disease

Your doctor should ALWAYS make sure that you do not have parathyroid gland dysfunction if you have a low vitamin D level. Getting a Blood Calcium Level and a parathyroid hormone level will easily rule out this problem. You can go to Parathyroid.com and read about their extensive discussion of Vitamin D and the Parathyroid Glands. If you believe that you might have parathyroid disease, then be sure that you do NOT take vitamin d!! Having parathyroid disease is one of the rare Vitamin D Contraindications, meaning that you should absolutely NOT take vitamin d unless you are specifically given the OK to do so by your endocrinologist.

Why are You Deficient?

So these are ALL of the Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency, however the most common cause is still simply that we don't get sunlight onto our skins and don't take enough supplements because people have been taught the myth that they can rely on Vitamin D Enriched Foods and other Vitamin D Foods. 

Today, the health care system tells us that the sun is going to give us skin cancer- and they have VERY effectively been able to get the vast majority of us out of the sun and into long sleeved shirts and sunscreen- with severe vitamin D deficiencies in most of us as a result.

But even those of us who DO get 'Plenty' of sunshine can have it effectively not absorbed because of all of the Vitamin D Deficiency Causes that have been mentioned above. As the people in this study show with Low Vitamin D Despite Adequate Sun showed us, even living in Hawaii and getting approximately 12 hours of sunlight exposure per week, doesn't guarantee that you will get enough Vitamin D to meet your needs.

So, please Check Your Vitamin D Level because symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency are often SO SUBTLE that they are nonexistent! But if Symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency are nonexistent, how do you know that you HAVE Vitamin D deficiency -and why should you care?

Keep reading to find the answer to the question that new Vitamin D research has the surprising answer to.

Next ---> 
Symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D Resources 

• 5000 IU Vitamin D 3 Supplements- Vitamin D3 is really the only vitamin d that you should be taking. Get Vitamin D 3 in a clinically relevant dose for adults
• Sunshine Mist Vitamin D Spray- This Vitamin D3 is GREAT for kids. Just a spray a day is all it takes.
• The Vitamin D Solution: A 3-Step Strategy to Cure Our Most Common Health Problem - Take a look at this EYE OPENING book. This fascinating account of the health benefits of Vitamin D will keep you turning pages far into the night!

Back to Top of Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency Page

Back to Easy Immune Health Home Page