Vitamin
D deficiency is normal during the autumn and winter months and leads to
depressive symptoms. In the past, doctors thought that vitamin D was only
important for healthy bones and teeth, but more recents research has shown that
the substance has more extensive functions: A lack of vitamin D plays a role in
a variety of health problems, including heart disease, depression and
even cancer .
Helena, an affected person, writes: “I had a gradual decline in
my performance over the last 2 years, which finally ended in massive memory and
concentration problems, inner restlessness and exhaustion. I constantly
felt irritable and increasingly overwhelmed, also in my private life. I
increasingly had phases of depression. At the same time, I was chronically
irritated inside. Back pain plagued me for many months. My co-workers
were seriously worried, so they approached my boss, who put me on a forced
break. I tried to recover. After a 2-week phase in the sun, I felt
better. "
The sunny mind
People have known since time immemorial that the sun (in moderation)
brings positive feelings, and many Germans flee to Spain during the cold season
or now to Thailand. Popular stereotypes suggest that “southerners” have a
“hot temper”, while Russians and Scandinavians are considered melancholy and
“cold”. These ideas inspired both obscure and dangerous racial
theories. The allegedly ill with schizophrenia, the founder of the
irrational “anthroposophy”, fantasized that “the negro” had black skin “because
the heat in his blood was boiling”.
In fact, the suicide rate is high in northern Russia and Scandinavia, as
is alcohol abuse: Depression is widespread in countries where there is no sun
for months, and those who live there help themselves today with UV rays from
the solarium. Cod liver oil or cod liver are considered the aspirins of
Norway and the Arctic - and not without reason.
The organism produces vitamin D mainly with the help of sunlight on the
skin. Food also contains vitamin D, but this is only a fraction of what we
get from the sun.
Vitamin D is not a vitamins in the strict sense, because vitamins are
organic substances that the body absorbs - vitamin D, on the other hand, is
produced by the organism. Few foods contain vitamin D, especially high-fat
fish like eel, herring, salmon and especially cod liver, but even dietary
supplements cannot give us enough vitamin D to keep us healthy.
How much vitamin D the body needs varies with age, body weight, the
percentage of body fat, skin color, latitude, the use of sun blockers,
individual exposure to the sun, and basic illnesses or general physical
constitution.
Vitamin is fat-solubles and is stored in the liver and adipose
tissue. Therefore, people with a lot of body fat have the ability to store
a lot of vitamin D and at the same time keep it from being converted in the
body,
Ultraviolet rays in sunlight change cholesterol in the skin into vitamin
D. For a fair-skinned person, 20-30 minutes of sunlight a day on the face and
forearms around noon two to three times a week is enoughs to help them during
the summer months in Germany or Great Britain to produce enough vitamin
D. People with dark skin and / or older people, on the other hand, need a
lot more time to have enough vitamin D available.
A simple blood test can determine the level in the blood. Vitamins
are measured in nanograms per milliter. 20 ng / mL to 50 ng / mL is a
reasonable level for bone and general health, while a level below 12 ng / mL
implies vitamin D deficiency. Many experts consider a higher level of
35-40 ng / mL to be necessary to permanently stabilize health. Higher
levels have no additional benefit.
Vitamin D responsible for skin color?
In 2003, George Chaplin and Nina G. Jablonski put forward the thesis
that people's black and white skin emerged as an adaptation to too much and too
little sun. This would have been a balancing act.
UV rays could have a devastating effect on bare skin, and red-brown to
black melanins are a natural sunscreen and prevent skin cancer. People
with light skin in regions with strong sunlight such as Anglo-Australians are particularly
at risk of skin cancer.
However, people with fair skin also have low levels of folic acid in
their blood after exposure to strong artificial sunlight. If you irradiate
human blood serum with artificial sunlight for one hour, the content of this B
vitamin will drop by half.
Folic acid deficiency in turn leads to severe physical disabilities in
newborns, in which sections of the spinal cord are exposed, as well as the
cleft lip and palate. To prevent this from happening, pregnant women in
the US and Europe are advised to take folic acid supplements. B vitamins
are found primarily in egg yolks, liver, wheat germ and leafy vegetables.
According to the research couple, dark skin was created to protect the
folic acid in the body from UV radiation. In the sunless north, however,
hardly any UV-B penetrated the skin anyway. However, this did not bring
any relief, but a problem, since UV-B rays are dangerous, but also vital
because they trigger the synthesis of vitamin D and are therefore of elementary
importance for the calcium and phosphate metabolism, which in turn the bone
structure controls.
The skin in the northern latitudes therefore had to become light in
order to absorb enough UV-B rays for people to be able to produce the
vitamin. Without D vitamins, the body cannot absorb calcium from the
intestines, which make up bones, and the skeleton cannot develop
normally. Without calcium, the immune system also collapses. Michael
Hollick from the University of Boston (Massachusetts) and his colleagues have
underpinned these relationships through their medical studies over the past two
decades. They also showed that there is insufficient sunlight for
production at higher latitudes in winter because too few UV B rays reach the
skin. North of the 50th parallel, i.e. near Frankfurt am Main, according
to Chaplin and Jablonski,
That is why people in the far north never really get tan, because their
skin should always catch as much sun as possible, people in mid-latitudes, on
the other hand, become dark in summer, in winter their skin takes on a pale
color because of the little sunlight at this time of the year to store, and to
protect from the strong sun in summer. In the tropics, on the others hand,
the radiation is so strong that enough vitamin D is produced even with
protected pigments.
Inuit in Alaska, Greenland and Northern Canada have darker skin, but
they only immigrated to the Arctic for about 5000 years, and on the other hand
they have made themselves largely independent of the sun: Traditionally, the
Inuit ate extremely high-fat sea fish and thus the food with the highest
concentrations of vitamin D.
In Africa, the Khoisan, the Bushmen in southern Africa, have a much
lighter skin than the Bantu peoples near the equator, according to Chaplin and
Jablonski it is probably an adaptation to the lower UV radiation in South
Africa.
Today, according to Chaplin and Jablonski, people often do not adapt
quickly enough to the solar conditions in a new home, and this usually out of
ignorance. This leads to diseases from which the respective groups of
people have not previously been affected. Many Indians who came to Great
Britain as citizens of the Commenwealth suffered from rickets and other
symptoms of vitamin D magel in the north of England and Scotland.
The skin colors of people have nothing to do with biological races, but
only with adaptations to different environments and are the least significant
characteristic for recognizing groups of people.
Pale nobles and coal children -
vitamin D in modern times
The main story of vitamin D is rickets, a disease in which bones soften
and deform, and the cause of which our ancestors did not know.
However, the disease itself was described in England as early as the
17th century and was considered a disease of the noble people. Back then
it was mainly high society that got this disease: the poor, when they weren't
working in the mining industry, worked outdoors and were therefore given enough
vitamin D. The nobility, however, defined themselves precisely by not having to
work physically and valued this with a pale one Demonstrate skin
color. Because of this, her skin did not take in enough sunlight.
The industrial revolution made scarcity and with it rickets a mass
phenomenon - especially among children. Children were preferred in mines
because they fit into the narrow tunnels. In addition, there was poor
hygiene and completely inadequate nutrition, which weakened the body.
Some of these child slaves buried underground saw no sun for weeks in
winter and pulled the coal carts for up to twelve hours a day.
Rickets at that time was known as “children's bone
disease”. Affected infants had "pits" on the back of the head
from softening of the skull bones and enlarged hydrocephalus. As the
disease progressed, the skull rounded off, it lost its oval shape and looked
like a ball. The base of the skull rose as a result of the softening and the
entire skull sank down. A typical symptom was a head of water with
increased intracranial pressure and an exceptionally wide face.
The axes of the legs bent and a bulbous belly developed, the chest
deformed, and the spine crooked, as did knees and joints. In the second
year of life, the body weight acted so strongly on the soft bones that the
femoral neck sagged. The internal structure of the bones was rotten and
incomplete, the hips without strength, the abdominal muscles could not function
without the hips, and those affected suffered from chronic constipation.
By pulling the diaphragm on the soft chest, a “chicken breast” was
created. The wrists became swollen, especially the ends of the forearm
bones - the growth zones. The distance between the neck and shoulders was
shortened by the diseased cervical spine. In the end, the children's bones
broke regularly.
In 1822, the Polish doctor Sniadecki realized that farm children were
less likely to suffer from rickets than those in Warsaw. In the late 19th
century, Theodore Palm, a missionary, also observed that children near the
equator did not develop rickets and already suspected sunbathing as a possible
cure and strategy of contraception.
In 1918, Sir Edward Mellanby successfully caused rickets in dogs by
feeding them only porridge and keeping them indoors without sun, while healing
rickety dogs with cod liver oil - the most vitamin D-rich food. This cod
liver oil was then known as a remedy for blindness and bone fractures.
McCollum realized that the antirachitic properties in cod liver oil were
a new substance and named it vitamin D. Hudshinsky discovered that the sun
cured children with rickets. In 1924, Steenbock and Black noticed that
food exposed to UV rays could also cure rickets, leading to the great discovery
that UV light was able to convert a substance stored in food and skin into
another form. The discoveries suggested a close relationship between sun
exposure and vitamin D.
The importance of vitamin D for
babies
Vitamin D deficiency in babies has the same causes as in adults:
insufficient vitamin D intake through food and lack of sun exposure, disorders
that limit vitamin D absorption or impair the transmission of vitamin D in the
liver and kidneys.
Deficiency in babies can quickly have worse effects than in adults
because the first year of a child is characterized by rapid growth, bone
structure and spinal formation. They are therefore particularly affected by rickets .
Children with chronic illnesses, particularly those of the liver, and
children who take anti-seizure medication can sometimes have poor absorption of
vitamin D and the risk of rickets increases. Vitamin D deficiency also
makes babies more susceptible to infectious diseases .
Children who are suckled at the breast do not get any vitamin D because
its content in breast milk is minimal. If a nursing mother is vitamin D
deficient herself, it becomes even more difficult for the infant to get enough
of the substance. Children who are given commercial infant formula usually
do not need additional vitamin D, as this is already contained in it.
Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency
People with dark skins are at higher risk than fair-skinned
people. People who spend little time outside in the daytime lack vitamin D
because they receive too little sunlight: This affects people who are tied to
the house, night workers or long-term hospital patients.
People who covers their skin all the time with sunscreen or clothing are
also at risk. This applies, for example, to women in Islamic countries who
are forced to wear the niquab or burqa.
Even people who lives in the far north - in Finland, northern Russia or
Alaska can build up little vitamin D. Their skin receives no sunlight at
all for months.
Elderly people with muscle weakness have difficulty producing vitamin D
in their bodies, and seniors are generally exposed to many risk factors: thin
skin, little sunlight and limited absorption of vitamin D in the liver and
kidneys.
Obesity increases the risk of a low level, because the more weight a
person has, the more vitamin D a person needs. Conversely, a lack of
vitamins increases the risk of becoming overweight. Vitamin D and calcium
suppress your appetite.
Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency
Depression and Anxiety Disorders
Vitamin D receptors are found in many parts of the brain. These receptors
are also located in the parts of the brain where depression develops. This
is why a vitamin D deficiency is also linked to depression and other
psychological problems.
An additional problem arises when those affected and the doctors are
unaware of the deficiency. They then logically look for psychological
reasons for their psychological complaints: relationships, professional
problems or psychological disorders. But if a vitamin D deficiency
triggers the depressed mood, this has very little to do with clinical
depression. Those affected need neither behavioral therapy nor psychoanalysis,
but UV-B rays and vitamin D supplements.
Excessive sweating
One of the first sign of vitamin D deficiency is a sweaty
head. Doctors ask mothers of newborn babies if they are sweating profusely
for this reason. In the babies themselves, too, excessive sweating is an
indicator of underproduction of the vitamin.
Bone pain
A lack of vitamin D shows up as pain in the bones, muscle spasms, and
pain in the joints. People who don't have enough vitamin D can only
consume 10 to 15% of the calcium they eat daily, according to a study published
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
But this is necessary for strong and healthy bones. The result of
the lack of calcium is weak, soft, and painful bones.
osteoporosis
This disease is characterized by low bone mass and a decline in bone
tissue - the bones become fragile and bone fractures result. The cause is
an insufficient intake of calcium, but a vitamin D deficiency can mean that
enough calcium is not absorbed.
Osteoporosis is an extreme consequence of vitamin D deficiency and is
rarely directly traceable to it, but: Older people, postmenopausal women and
people who do not exercise can prevent osteoporosis with adequate levels of
vitamin D and sufficient calcium .
Erectile dysfunction
The deficiency also leads to an increased risk of erectile
dysfunction. Vascular problems cause about half of all erectile
dysfunction, and vitamin D deficiency weakens the blood vessels. UV light
is not only the main source of vitamin D, it also increases the concentration of
nitric oxides in the blood, which in turn lowers the risk of erectile
dysfunction.
Thyroid problem
Thyroid problems can be associated with vitamin D deficiency, but there
is scientific controversy about cause and effect. In any case, genetic dispositions,
diet, and general health also play a role. Autoimmune diseases play a role
in thyroid complaints, and in the case of vitamin D an insufficient supply as
well as a genetic predisposition for not being able to produce it.
Frequent infections
Vitamin D plays a crucial roles in the immune system. It
strengthens the body's defenses to fight viruses and bacteria that cause
disease. It interacts directly with the cells responsibles for fighting
infections. If someone gets sick often, especially if they have colds or
flu, vitamin D deficiency can be the trigger. Several meta-studies have
shown that a deficiency is related to infections such as the common cold,
bronchitis, pneumonia.
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