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Correct This Deficiency, Feel Better
Most people have insufficient levels of vitamin D. Are you one of them? Here's how to know without a blood test.
Do your supplements work? It's a tricky question. For example, several supplements have anti-cancer properties, but how do you know they're working? You don't "feel" the actions of those kinds of supps. All you know is that they're beneficial and, well, you don't have cancer.The same is true for supplements that correct deficiencies. When you don't have a nutritional deficiency, you don't "feel" anything. You just feel how a healthy person is supposed to feel. However, if you are deficient, you'll notice something… if you know what to look for.
One of the most common problems? Vitamin D deficiency. Here are the symptoms to watch out for, and how to fix the issue.
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Vitamin D Deficiency: Signs and Symptoms
At least 50% of the American population is deficient in vitamin D, and that's using some very low standards. The rate is even higher among blacks and Hispanics because higher melanin levels in the skin reduce vitamin D synthesis. Using more progressive standards, around 80% of all Americans have suboptimal levels.Interestingly, vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency tends to present mental symptoms first, with physical signs following later. Here's what to look out for:
Mental/Psychological Signs
- Depression: Persistent sadness even when life is going well, low mood, or a lack of motivation. This includes SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder.
- Anxiety: General irritability and mood swings.
- Cognitive Impairment: Difficulty concentrating, forgetting things, brain fog, mental sluggishness.
Physical Signs
- Muscular Issues: Weakness, aches, and cramps, especially in the legs.
- Fatigue and Low Energy: Chronic fatigue even when sleep is adequate, tiredness, lethargy.
- Weakened Immune System: More susceptible to frequent colds, flu, or even COVID.
- Hair Loss: Severe vitamin D deficiency is linked to alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition.
- Sexual Issues: Poor bedroom performance, including puny (or no) orgasms for females.
- Easier Fat Gain: It's easier to gain body fat if your vitamin D levels are low. (More info here.)
- Severe Issues: Bone pain and fragility, slow wound healing.
How to Fix It
"Get just the right amount of sunlight" is good advice, but a few things get in the way, like winter. Also, middle-aged skin doesn't kickstart the conversion process as well as it used to, and vitamin D absorption from foods declines with age. Genetics play a role too.That's probably why many people can't get their blood levels of vitamin D up, no matter how many capsules of grocery-story vitamin D they take. It's made by encapsulating vitamin D3 molecules in solid lipid nanoparticles. The vitamin is protected from moisture, oxidation, pH, and temperature. It's stable, water-dispersible, and highly bioavailable – you can actually absorb it.
How Much to Correct a Deficiency?
It depends on several factors, like how low your blood levels are. The medical literature is tricky too, because most studies aren't using the bioavailable microencapsulated form of D3. (Note: Avoid taking vitamin D2. This plant-derived form isn't naturally aligned with human biology and, in short, doesn't work well.)But here's one thing we know: you can correct the issue slowly by taking smaller doses of D3 for longer periods, or you can correct the issue quickly with larger dosages taken for shorter periods. Either way, once the issue is corrected, you can take a smaller or less frequent maintenance dose.
Very generally, without blood testing, most people could safely double-dose microencapsulated D3 for a week or two, then move down to a single dose for continued elevation or maintenance. Since microencapsulated D3 stays active longer in the body, you could also take it daily in the winter and only once or twice weekly in the summer months when you get more sunshine.