Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Unusual symptoms of vitamin D deficiency can lurk unnoticed until serious health problems crop up. Even doctors frequently miss these 10 signs of very low levels.
Flu is sometimes referred to as “Vitamin D deficiency disease”. Now, COVID may be proving to be a similar virus according to researchers. Avoiding vitamin D deficiency symptoms by keeping blood levels of this fat-soluble vitamin optimal can be lifesaving especially for the immunocompromised and the elderly.
Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council and one of the most preeminent Vitamin D researchers in the world today, has identified that vitamin D helps produce the antimicrobial peptides that protect against viruses like the flu and coronaviruses.
This is why people are more prone to complications during seasons when Vitamin D producing sunshine is minimal or nonexistent at some latitudes, or people are too bundled up to get enough skin exposed in the first place.
Scientific research bolsters Dr. Cannell’s suggestion that vitamin D deficiency is why people get the flu. A study published in the journal Nature Immunology further explains how vitamin D protects us by properly activating T cells, an important part of the immune system:
When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D.
This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.
This is troubling given that vitamin D levels were reported by the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2009 to have plummeted for every single age, race, and ethnic group in the United States over the past two decades.
Low Vitamin D Levels Can Lurk Unnoticed
Vitamin D deficiency is such that it can lurk unnoticed until it is too late and you are already sick. Another challenge is that it takes time, usually at least several weeks, to raise vitamin D levels. As a result, a few days of taking supplements is not going to cut it. This is true especially if you have a serious deficiency challenge to overcome or already have the flu.
Below are 10 signs that vitamin D is likely a problem and potentially a serious deficiency that needs to be addressed immediately. If any of these symptoms are an issue for you, a simple and inexpensive vitamin D blood spot test can be ordered online. It can be used in the privacy of your home to determine if your vitamin D levels are in the danger zone.
Best Foods to Address Deficiency
If low levels do indeed need to be addressed, the best whole food-based supplement to bring vitamin D levels into optimal range without the danger of overdosing is unheated, unprocessed cod liver oil (where to find).
Natural vitamin D drops from sheep wool are also a good idea temporarily if levels must be raised quickly.
Two other foods extremely high in Vitamin D include fish roe and lard from pastured animals.
Wild roe contains about 17,000 IU of Vitamin D per tablespoon and pastured lard (vetted source) has 10,000 IU per tablespoon according to tests conducted by the Weston A. Price Foundation. This is nearly as much as you would get during a day at the beach in a bathing suit.
I purchase my fish roe at gourmet stores. Additive-free brands can also be purchased online.
Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms Usually Blamed on Something Else
Be aware of these symptoms, some of them quite strange, that are frequently blamed on something else. Since Vitamin D deficiency is so easy to address with lifestyle and dietary modifications, it is a good idea to consider this “low hanging fruit” approach first.
1. Chronic Pain
Bone pain and chronic pain, in general, is a subtle symptom of serious vitamin D deficiency. Don’t take this symptom lightly! Get your vitamin D levels checked and address the problem.
A study conducted by Greg Plotnikoff, MD, senior consultant with the Allina Center for Health Care Innovations, makes the point. 150 people living in Minneapolis who came to a health clinic complaining of chronic pain were tested for vitamin D levels. Virtually every single one, 93%, suffered from extremely low vitamin D. “The group with the lowest levels of vitamin D were white women of childbearing age,” Plotnikoff says.
2. Muscle Weakness
Here’s a shocker most folks don’t realize: most muscle weakness issues are low vitamin D related. The National Institutes of Health reports that a person suffering from a vitamin D deficiency will have trouble with proper muscle function.
3. Psoriasis
This extremely common skin issue is an autoimmune disorder that many don’t realize can be vitamin D-related. This nutrient plays an important role in the treatment of psoriasis. Psoriasis gets worse over time and spreads, so even if you only have a little spot on your elbow or knee, get your vitamin D levels checked, and be sure to be taking a daily dose of high vitamin, unheated cod liver oil.
4. Constant Fatigue
Vitamin D is necessary for the body to produce energy. If you are constantly tired or must lean heavily on that morning cup of Joe to get going in the morning, best to play it safe and get your levels checked.
5. Depression
No, it’s not all in your head! Feelings of hopelessness can be related to nutritional D deficiency. The Vitamin D Council reports that vitamin D is critical for the brain to produce the happy hormone serotonin.
Some folks only suffer from depression during winter months, known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This condition is caused by lack of sun exposure and hence vitamin D during this time of year.
6. Sweaty Head
This is quite possibly the weirdest symptom of vitamin D deficiency. Old-time doctors apparently used to ask new mothers if their heads were sweatier than normal in order to pinpoint a lurking vitamin D deficiency as reported by NDHealthFacts.
A sweaty head is also a subclinical symptom of rickets, possibly the most prominent and dangerous form of vitamin D deficiency in children.
7. Constant Respiratory Problems
This warning symptom is related to flu as a vitamin D deficiency disease. If low vitamin D puts people at risk for flu, it stands to reason they would be at risk for other respiratory problems too, and possibly on a chronic basis. Studies have demonstrated that vitamin D protects against respiratory illness particularly in children, who require hospitalization most frequently due to bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
Scared of COVID or the flu? The most proactive step you can take short of frequent beach jaunts is to make sure your Vitamin D levels are high by taking a daily dose of cod liver oil!
8. Hypertension and/or Cardiovascular Disease
My mother helped resolve high blood pressure issues with a daily dose of high vitamin cod liver oil. Her success in this regard is in line with the Vitamin D Council which recommends adequate vitamin D levels in order to avoid this silent, symptomless killer. 1 out of every 3 Americans and 4 in 10 worldwide suffer from this serious condition.
In addition, the National Institutes of Health has identified vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor that can lead to congestive heart failure.
9. Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease is a growing health concern. It is a primary and powerful predictor for premature cardiovascular disease.
Not surprisingly, given that cardiovascular disease itself indicates a likely vitamin D deficit, research indicates that those that suffer from chronic kidney disease are also D deficient in a big way.
10. You are an Infection Magnet
If you suffer from one infection after another, it is wise to get those vitamin D levels checked pronto. As described above, T cells which are an important part of the immune system, are properly activated by vitamin D. If D levels are low or even undetectable, adequate and effective immune response to an infection in the body will be severely hampered.
Do you suffer from one or more of these 10 symptoms of low vitamin D? Did you know that these signs are usually blamed on something else? Did you suspect a vitamin D deficiency might be the true reason? Have you ordered a blood spot test kit or started taking unheated, high vitamin cod liver oil? What did you find out from testing and what have your results been?
References
Why You Get the Flu
Vitamin D and Hypertension
Vitamin D and Chronic Kidney Disease
Vitamin D Intake in Young Children with Acute Respiratory Infection
NDHealthFacts
More Information
6 Little Known Signs of Adrenal Fatigue
Sulphur: The Forgotten Nutrient
The Vitamin Deficiency that is Written All Over Your Face
Macrobiotic Diet and Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D2 in Mushrooms
We use the liquid drops we buy in the Health store. It really does help. I hope this helps you.
I was immediately drawn to your article, wondering what OTHER weird symptoms of vitamin D deficiency you were going to list. The respiratory infections one was interesting to me, because I had several years of winter bronchitis before I realized that I was vitamin D deficient, and really haven’t had it at all since then.
The thing that tipped ME off to my vitamin D deficiency, though, is something you didn’t list – extreme itching. The evening of Jan 20, about 7 years ago, I suddenly got horribly itchy. My neck, my ribs, my eyelids, inside my ears, the palms of my hands… After a day, I gave in and went to the doctor, who prescribed an antihistamine. Worked almost immediately. For a week. And so the winter continued, with me taking one antihistamine pill every week, when I noticed that I started scratching. Finally went away in May or June. Came back the following December. About a month later, it occurred to me that vitamin D deficiency might explain things. So I bought some vitamin D pills, took them daily, and the itching went away.
Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Thank you for posting this! Lately, I have been itching, especially sharp, pin-prickly-type on my ribs! Feels as if someone is poking me with needles, and then itches. I used to take cod liver oil, but got too distracted and it has fallen off my list of “important” things. I need to go to town this week, so will pick some more up and take it.
This is a very misleading article. The vitamin D metabolite that binds with the vitamin D receptor to activate the immune system is 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D (calcitriol). This is not the form of vitamin D that is tested to determine ‘deficiency’. This active form of vitamin D can actually be too high when 25-hydroxyvitamin-D (calcidiol) is low. Dr. Cannell is not an expert on vitamin D, but a promoter who stands to profit by urging the general population to take vitamin D supplements. If your calcitriol is normal, you are not vitamin D deficient. Studies have failed to demonstrate that vitamin D supplementation is effective to prevent any disease. Elevated calcitriol can cause all kinds of inflammatory symptoms. To be sure you are not at risk of harm due to excess vitamin D, ask your doctor to measure calcitriol if your calcidiol is low.
This comment is exactly the reason I pay zero attention to conventional medicos!
I would like to know why Meg’s advice is wrong. Can you explain why her reasoning isn’t correct? Thanks!
I would also like to know, as I am Vitamin D deficient and taking suplements but this point of reasoning is valid and needs to be researched more, what do you think Sarah?
{ “Vitamin D is a generic designation for a group of fat-soluble, structurally similar sterols including ergocalciferol D2 from plants and cholecalciferol D3 from animals. Vitamin D in the body is derived from 2 sources: exogenous (dietary: D2 and D3) and endogenous (biosynthesis: D3). Endogenous D3 is produced in the skin from 7-dehydrocholesterol, under the influence of ultraviolet light. Both forms of vitamin D are of similar biologic activity.
Vitamin D is rapidly metabolized in the liver to form 25-hydroxy (OH) vitamin D. Additional hydroxylation of 25-OH vitamin D takes place in the kidney by 1-alpha hydroxylase, under the control of parathyroid hormone, to yield 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D.
1,25-Dihydroxy vitamin D is the most potent vitamin D metabolite. It stimulates calcium absorption in the intestine and its production is tightly regulated through concentrations of serum calcium, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone.
1,25-Dihydroxy vitamin D levels may be high in primary hyperparathyroidism and in physiologic hyperparathyroidism secondary to low calcium or vitamin D intake. Some patients with granulomatous diseases (eg, sarcoidosis) and malignancies containing nonregulated 1-alpha hydroxylase in the lesion may have elevated 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D levels and hypercalcemia.
1,25-Dihydroxy vitamin D levels are decreased in hypoparathyroidism and in chronic renal failure.
While 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D is the most potent vitamin D metabolite, levels of the 25-OH forms of vitamin D more accurately reflect the body’s vitamin D stores. Consequently, 25HDN / 25-Hydroxyvitamin D2 and D3, Serum is the preferred initial test for assessing vitamin D status. However, in the presence of renal disease, 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D levels may be needed to adequately assess vitamin D status.” }
mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/8822
{ “Many practitioners become confused when ordering a vitamin D test. Because 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D is the active form of vitamin D, many practitioners think that measuring 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D is an accurate means to estimate vitamin D stores and test for vitamin D deficiency, which is incorrect. Current Endocrine Society guidelines recommend screening for vitamin D deficiency in individuals at risk for deficiency. Serum levels of 1,25-dihyroxyvitamin D have little or no relationship to vitamin D stores but rather are regulated primarily by parathyroid hormone levels, which in turn are regulated by calcium and/or vitamin D. In vitamin D deficiency, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels go up, not down.” } – aafp.org/afp/recommendations/viewRecommendation.htm?recommendationId=140
{ “25-hydroxyvitamin D
When calcium is low and/or a person has symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, such as bone malformation in children (rickets) and bone weakness, softness, or fracture in adults (osteomalacia), 25-hydroxyvitamin D usually is ordered to identify a possible deficiency in vitamin D.
The test may be requested when an individual is known to be at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Older adults, people who are institutionalized or homebound and/or have limited sun exposure, those who are obese, who have undergone gastric bypass surgery, and/or who have fat malabsorption are at an increased risk of a vitamin D deficiency. Also included in this group are people with darker skin and breastfed infants.
25-hydroxyvitamin D is often requested before an individual begins drug therapy for osteoporosis.
1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
When calcium is high or a person has a disease that might produce excess amounts of vitamin D, such as sarcoidosis or some forms of lymphoma (because immune cells may make 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D usually is ordered. Rarely, this testing may be indicated when abnormalities of the enzyme that converts 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D or renal disease are suspected.
When vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, or magnesium supplementation is necessary, vitamin D levels are sometimes measured to monitor treatment effectiveness.” }
labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/vitamin-d/tab/test/
So apparently parathyroid complications / kidney disease / renal failure / metabolic disease, like Diabetes T2 have a role upon the status of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Some of which impact the enzyme coversion factor towards 25H-D to 1-25DiH-D.
Sarcoidosis and lymphoma health status may play a role in 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D status.
Direct sun light to skin exsposure along with Liver health status can have an effect on 25-H-D status.
If 25-H-D stores are affected or if the enzyme to help covert to 1-25-H-D or if there are other health conditions complicating the internal environment, then Vitamin D status my be compromised.
I just found out I am pregnant, but also with those results we found my Vitamin D level was at a 4. I’ve been taking 500mg fermented cod liver oil for a month. How much would be safe to take to raise my levels? My Dr. Prescribed Vitamins D but I would rather take a more natural supplement. What suggestions do you have? Thank you for your research and sharing your knowledge with others!
What do you recommend for adult children who are deficient but who have become vegetarians for humanitarian reasons and will refuse any supplement derived from formerly living creatures?
There really isn’t any option that isn’t animal based.
So then what do vegetarians do if they need to supplement Vitamin D?
There isn’t an option for natural vitamin D that is plant based. Irradiated mushrooms have a little D2, but this is not the type of D you really need and certainly not enough. See the article on this at the bottom of this post.
There isn’t a “vegetarian option” for everything. They need to stop being vegetarians — but only if they want to restore their health.
Get out in the sun! 🙂 I’m surprised this wasn’t mentioned at all.
The sun will be gone in a few weeks lol
Yes, there is a plant based supplement for Vitamins.
I’m taking D3 now from a well known health food store chain, it says suitable for vegetarians
The most natural way to get your Vitamin D is to expose large portions of skin to sunlight. We evolved in sunlight at the equator getting sunlight 12 months of the year.
This is a very interesting article 🙂 Just a quick query. I noticed you recommend cod liver oil during pregnancy, however vitamin A is contraindicated during pregnancy. Would you still say that it is safe?
Vitamin A is critical during pregnancy … but natural vitamin A, not synthetic which can indeed cause problems.
My doctor checked my vit. D level and now has me take 2000mg in the summer and 4000mg in the winter.
I mean IU not mg.
If Taking a Vitamin D Supplement, Remember K2 and Magnesium Too
If you opt for a supplement, be sure to take vitamin D3—not synthetic D2—and take vitamin K2 and magnesium in conjunction with it. Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so taking some form of healthy fat with it will also help optimize absorption. The biological role of vitamin K2 is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, and without sufficient amounts, calcium may build up in areas such as your arteries and soft tissues. This can cause calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries—a side effect previously thought to be caused by vitamin D toxicity. We now know that inappropriate calcification is actually due more to lack of K2 than simply too much vitamin D.
Hi I am taking a whole food multi-vitamin with 800 IU vitamin D per serving 3 times a day would that be enough?
The Vitamin D in that multi is synthetic. I would not recommend it!
Thanks for the heads up! I need to do more research, but I think vitamin D deficiency may be a cause of some muscle problems I have been having. I woke up in the night with a bad cramp in my calf two and a half months ago, and my leg muscles, mainly the calves and especially the one that had cramped, were extremely tight and in a state of spasm the entire day. I had never had a muscle cramp in my life before, and I had not done any unusual physical activity. I ended up going to the ER because of other symptoms I had and the fact that I hadn’t been able to get the muscles to relax in almost 24 hours. They ran blood tests and said they didn’t know any cause for the spasms, and sent me home. It took TWO WEEKS to regain full function in my muscles; I was not able to walk some of the time, and the rest of the time only barely.
In the past two months, I have continued to struggle with on and off tightness, have had one more nighttime cramp, and many other evenings/nights where I felt like they could cramp anytime.
About a week ago, in desperation I looked through my medicine cabinet and found an old calcium and vitamin D supplement I had bought before I knew what I do now about food and health. People kept telling me that low calcium can cause cramps, so I decided to try taking the supplement. I have had good days with my muscles since I started taking it, which I don’t think is a concidence. But now I think it’s more likely the vitamin D than the calcium that has made the difference. I ordered Blue Ice fermented cod liver oil / butter oil blend yesterday, so I’m looking forward to seeing how I feel on that. Though I couldn’t find a number for how much vitamin D it contains. Might not be enough.
Low magnesium causes muscle cramps, not calcium. Google Dr Carolyn Dean Magnesium Miracle.
My research also shows that we need to take mg with our D. Take 1 Tsp a day of the FCLO along with mg.
For sure magnesium deficiency is the problem with cramping muscles. We are VERY familiar with this issue in my house, we take it at 2x the reg single dose for immediate relief. But if one consumes (made properly) bone broth daily, there will probably not be any mag deficient problems. Taking CLO along with other nutrient dense foods always provides better health
Magnesium is also important, both for the proper function of calcium, and for the activity of vitamin D as it converts vitamin D into its active form. Magnesium also activates enzyme activity that helps your body use the vitamin D. In fact, all enzymes that metabolize vitamin D require magnesium to work. As with vitamin D and K2, magnesium deficiency16 is also common, and if you’re lacking in magnesium and take supplemental calcium, you may exacerbate the situation.
Vitamin A, zinc, and boron are other important cofactors that interact with vitamin D, and indeed, zinc deficiency has also been identified as a contributing factor to Alzheimer’s disease. When taking supplements, it can be easy to create lopsided ratios, so getting these nutrients from an organic whole food diet and sensible sun exposure is generally your best bet. Dietary sources of magnesium include sea vegetables, such as kelp, dulse, and nori. Vegetables can also be a good source. As for supplements, magnesium citrate and magnesium threonate are among the best
I was tested and found out that cod liver oil doesn’t work as efficiently in my body as flax seed oil (they were talking mainly about omega-3’s). Would this mean that FCLO wouldn’t work for me where Vit D is concerned? If so, what other supplement would you suggest?