Vitamin-D importance in women

Vitamin-D is known as the sunshine vitamin because our bodies create this important vitamin when the skin is exposed to the sun, while people in past received abundance of sun exposure but now the time has changed. People tend to lead indoor lifestyle either the days are spending in offices, malls, factories or shops.

More than 70% Indians are Vitamin-D deficient. Most of them are not aware of the symptoms and consequences. Our cells absorb calcium and magnesium only when Vitamin-D is present in our blood which is essential to grow and keep our bones and skeleton stronger.

The health and nutritional status of Indian women were worse due to the prevailing culture and traditional practices in India. Indian women are generally vulnerable to poor nutrition, especially during pregnancy and feeding. Currently, attention to the health of women has increased in the past decade.

Women in India face issues like malnutrition, lack of maternal health, heart diseases, anaemia, diseases like sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, vaginal infections, breast cancer, domestic violence, tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity and many more.
Nowadays, women are facing lifestyle diseases like diabetes, depression and mental health, hypertension, sleep disorder and many others.

Vitamin-D is a vital vitamin that has been touted as being beneficial to improving fertility rates, the reason it is so essential to fertility and getting pregnant is that it is needed to help the body create sex hormones. Lack of Vitamin-D may contribute to the hormone imbalances associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

The role of Vitamin-D in pregnancy is also taking new dimensions. Pregnant and nursing mothers must not be Vitamin-D deficient as infants are wholly dependent on their mother for their Vitamin-D status and will go a long way in preventing rickets.

Vitamin-D deficiency is highly prevalent and contributes to women’s health greatly. Newer research reports are changing ideas about the optimal Vitamin-D status and the role of Vitamin-D in health, especially in relation to modern chronic diseases affecting women.

The role of Vitamin-D in osteoporosis and muscle weakness is undisputable. There is a recent trend to give a higher dose of Vitamin-D to prevent the osteoporotic fracture. Increased Vitamin-D levels help to improve muscle performance and thus reduce the incidence of falls.

The first study indicating that sunlight exposure may lower the risk of cancer was made almost seven decades ago. Vitamin-D is one of the most potent hormones for regulating cell growth.

The deficiency can occur because of fat malabsorption, anticonvulsant use, chronic kidney disease, and obesity and is seen in high-risk groups like elderly women, dark-skinned people, imposed customs of clothing, people from areas with a thick layer of ozone, women using sunscreen lotions, and people from urban areas.

Despite the close link of Vitamin-D with human health, Vitamin-D inadequacy is not widely recognised as a problem by physicians and patients. Special efforts on the medical and social fronts are necessary to combat this preventable epidemic of Vitamin-D deficiency.

By: Man Mohan Gupta
The writer is a mentor from MyMedicineBox