The 8 best food sources of vitamin D to add to your diet
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If you are 65 or older and feel a little blue, it may be because you are low on essential vitamins for seniors; specifically vitamins D and B12. In a study, published in 2017 in the journal Nutrients, researchers sought to understand the impact of environmental factors, lifestyle, and genes on health. When they checked 1,000 blood samples taken from participants aged 65 to 93 years, they found that more than half of the seniors did not receive enough vitamin D. One in four had a vitamin B12 deficiency.
They were not entirely surprised. The physiological changes that come with aging can affect the nutritional needs of older adults. As a result, older adults may be at increased risk for specific micronutrient deficiencies unless they adjust their diet.
How to get more vitamin D and B12
The body makes vitamin D when sunlight hits your skin. Most people meet at least some of their vitamin D needs this way, according to the National Institutes of Health. Among the foods that are naturally high in vitamin B12: salmon, liver, mussels, and dairy products.
“Older adults are envious of a vitamin D deficiency due to changes in their skin’s ability to convert this vitamin into the active form used by the body,” says Steven Starks, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Houston College of Medicine. “Seniors are more likely to develop a vitamin B12 deficiency because their stomachs produce less acid. It is the acidity that helps our bodies absorb this vitamin.”
These are crucial vitamins for seniors: Low levels of vitamin D can lead to health problems, including bone and muscle pain, high blood pressure, and depression. A B12 deficiency can cause fatigue, weakness, constipation, loss of appetite, weight loss and anemia.
“Doctors will typically check your levels if there is an identifying change in your health,” says Dr. Starks. “A change in your memory or thinking, and differences in your mood – depressed, low or sad moods – can lead your doctor to check your vitamin D levels. Unusual sensations, stupidity or tingling, a difference in your gait, fatigue, and memory problems can lead them to check your B12 levels. “
If you are deficient, your doctor may recommend that you take vitamins as a dietary supplement, he adds.
Cooler temperatures can bring gloomy moods. Whether you call it the winter blues, cabin party, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), doctors often deepen cold-weather moods due to lack of sunshine. “Basically, it comes down to levels of the hormone serotonin in your brain,” explains Wesley Delbridge, RN, spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “With exposure to bright light, such as sunlight, serotonin will increase.” Translation? Catch a little sun, and your disposition could also be more sunny. You can also benefit from light therapy during the coldest, darkest months.
Cooler temperatures can bring gloomy moods. Whether you call it the winter blues, cabin party, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), doctors often deepen cold-weather moods due to lack of sunshine. “Basically, it comes down to levels of the hormone serotonin in your brain,” explains Wesley Delbridge, RN, spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “With exposure to bright light, such as sunlight, serotonin will increase.” Translation? Catch a little sun, and your disposition could also be more sunny. You can also benefit from light therapy during the coldest, darkest months.
Signs that you need more sunlight
The post If you’re over 65, you’re almost definitely low in 2 essential vitamins first appeared on The Healthy.
Gallery: 11 sneaky causes of vitamin D deficiency (the healthy one)
Understanding of vitamin D deficiency and risk factors
It can be difficult to measure if you are deficient in vitamin D. The reported signs of a vitamin D deficiency range from fatigue to fear of stress fractures. But, what about the causes? You probably know that not getting enough sunlight when not consuming vitamin D-rich foods, such as salmon, can contribute to this vitamin deficiency, but there are unexpected causes that can put you at further risk.
Now it is important to note that a blood test can help determine if you are low in vitamin D: Normal levels of vitamin D are around 30 ng / ml. Between 20 and 30 ng / mL is considered insufficient, and a level below 20 ng / ml is considered deficient. If you are low, Niket Sonpal, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City, recommends taking a daily supplement of 1,000 International Units (IU). Keep in mind that too much D can be toxic, and can lead to bone pain, intestinal pain, constipation, nausea, and vomiting. Do not try to diagnose yourself, he says. “See a doctor who can tell you how much to take for how long.”
Here are some of the causes of vitamin D deficiency that can affect your health.
Not enough sun
If your skin is exposed to sunlight, it prevents vitamin D synthesis. But some people do not get the sunlight they need to make this happen. This includes people living in northern climates, office workers who spend hours a day behind a desk, and even children who play indoors or outdoors. “Not getting enough vitamin D affects bonus health, as well as many other metabolic processes in the body,” says Dr. Sonpal.
Getting older
“Everyone has an increased risk of developing low vitamin D levels as they age because the skin cannot synthesize the vitamin as efficiently,” said Ginger Hultin, a Seattle-based registered dietitian and spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Older adults may also spend more time indoors.
Dark error
Having a dark skin pigment can be one of the causes of vitamin D deficiency. “Higher amounts of the pigment melanin in the epidermal layer of the skin cause both a darker skin tone and a reduced ability of the skin to produce vitamin D from sunlight,” says Hultin. “This may mean lower blood levels of vitamin D.” (These are the best sunscreens for dark skin tones.)
Kidney disease
People who have kidney disease have a higher risk of a vitamin D deficiency. But why? A family of proteins known as fibroblast growth factors increase as the disease progresses, and they interfere with the body’s metabolism of vitamin D, explains Dr. Sonpal. One big problem: Only 10 percent of people with kidney disease know they have it.
Celiac disease
While sunlight is a key to getting vitamin D, other important sources include fortified foods such as milk and breakfast cereals. People with digestive problems such as celiac disease, an autoimmune condition that causes damage to the small intestine when gluten is consumed, may not absorb enough vitamin D from their food, which could explain why many children with the condition are deficient. have added vitamin D, according to Beyond Celiac, a patient advocacy and research-driven celiac disease organization. “Some patients end up developing long-term effects of vitamin deficiency before we even know they have celiac disease,” says Dr. Sonpal.
Cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that causes the body to produce thick suction and can damage the lungs and intestines, can affect the absorption of fat molecules. Because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, people with cystic fibrosis will not get much vitamin D from food. “If you can’t absorb fat, you can’t absorb fat-soluble vitamins like D,” says Dr. Sonpal. The damage to lungs also means that patients with cystic fibrosis are less likely to spend time outside in the sun, he points out.
Crohn’s disease
Another example of a digestive condition interference with intake of vitamin D: Crohn’s disease. This is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes intestinal inflammation, which can mean that people with this condition get very little vitamin D from their diet. (See this diet for disease with Crohn’s disease.)
Obesity
“Obesity does not affect the body’s ability to make vitamin D,” says Hultin. “After all, a greater amount of subcutaneous fat in the body quests more vitamin D and reduces the amount that can circulate in the body.” (These are the vitamin D benefits that can be lifesavers.)
Gastric bypass surgery
Unfortunately, one of the solutions to obesity – gastric bypass – can also cause a D deficiency. This is because the operation removes a part of the intestine, which reduces the amount of vitamins that the body can absorb from food. Here are the pros and cons of the top weight loss procedures.
An intestinal infection
Whipple’s disease is a rare bacterial infection caused by Tropheryma whipplei. It interferes with normal digestion by limiting the breakdown of foods such as fats and carbohydrates. It also affects the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. “Bugs block the intestinal pores in which we absorb nutrients, so that vitamin D cannot be absorbed,” says Dr. Sonpal.
Where you live
Living in a cold, dark climate can increase the risk of vitamin D deficiency. That may live in a place where the strengthening of bread and cereals is not common. “India is one such place,” says Dr. Sonpal. “Most western countries typically have fortification.”
