{"id":570986,"date":"2026-07-27T20:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/570986\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T20:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:40:12","slug":"what-low-vitamin-d-means-for-your-overall-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/570986\/","title":{"rendered":"What Low Vitamin D Means for Your Overall Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Other conditions that increase the risk of D deficiency include liver disease, obesity, Crohn\u2019s disease<\/a>, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease and previous bariatric surgery. Some medications can also interfere with D levels, including certain weight\ufeff-loss, cholesterol\ufeff-lowering, anti-seizure and antibiotic drugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, vitamin D\u2019s role extends beyond bones to the immune system and lung health.<\/p>\n

So how can you improve your vitamin D level? Food<\/a> is a great starting point. Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, trout and mackerel are excellent sources\ufeff,\ufeff as is cod liver oil. Egg yolks, certain mushrooms and fortified beverages and foods such as milk, plant-based milk (including soy, almond and oat), yogurt, orange juice, margarine and breakfast cereal can also help. \ufeffMost milk sold in the U.S. is fortified with vitamin D.<\/p>\n

Sunlight also contributes, as our skin produces vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light, though this ability diminishes with age. Moreover, many older adults don\u2019t spend enough time outdoors or use sun protection, or they live in northern climates where there are fewer D-producing rays, especially in winter. For those reasons, sunlight alone is oftentimes not enough to maintain a healthy level.<\/p>\n

Supplements are the most practical solution. The National Institutes of Health recommends 800 international units (IU) daily for adults who are 7\ufeff1 and older. However, the appropriate dose depends on your blood level, medical history, age, diet and medicines you take. That\u2019s why I encourage you to discuss supplementation with your health care provider.<\/p>\n

A word of caution: More isn\u2019t always better. Excessive supplementation can result in vitamin D toxicity<\/a>, causing a dangerously high calcium level that leads to nausea, weakness, kidney stones, heart-rhythm problems and even kidney damage. My advice is simple: Know your number. If your vitamin D level is low, don\u2019t dismiss it. Work with your health care provider to bring it to a range that is right for you. \ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Other conditions that increase the risk of D deficiency include liver disease, obesity, Crohn\u2019s disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[84139,103,240900,61,60,240899,446,240904,240901,240903,240902],"class_list":["post-570986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-dietary-sources-of-vitamin-d","tag-health","tag-how-to-raise-vitamin-d-levels-safely","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-low-vitamin-d-symptoms-in-older-adults","tag-nutrition","tag-risks-of-taking-too-much-vitamin-d","tag-vitamin-d-and-osteoporosis-risk","tag-vitamin-d-daily-requirement-for-seniors","tag-vitamin-d-deficiency-and-fall-prevention"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}