{"id":216390,"date":"2026-01-02T10:11:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/216390\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T10:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:11:09","slug":"im-a-doctor-and-these-are-the-signs-you-have-a-vitamin-d-deficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/216390\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I’m a doctor and these are the signs you have a vitamin D deficiency’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ensuring you get enough vitamin D during the winter months<\/a>, particularly in the UK, can be a challenge. It is a vitamin<\/a> that helps the body regulate calcium and phosphate, nutrients that help keep our bones, teeth and muscles healthy.<\/p>\n

Vitamin D<\/a> is often referred to as “the sunshine vitamin” because we get most of it from exposure to sunlight. But the UK\u2019s climate with short days and long nights from October to March means most of us won\u2019t get enough of it. The NHS recommends<\/a> all adults consider taking a daily supplement.<\/p>\n

Dr Asiya Maula, a GP and Director of\u00a0The Health Suite<\/a>, said: \u201cVitamin D plays a crucial role in supporting bone health, immunity and overall wellbeing. But the signs you are lacking may be quite subtle and can be easy to dismiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany patients are surprised to learn the symptoms they\u2019ve been experiencing for months, such as muscle fatigue and aches, may be linked to vitamin D.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the signs are non-specific, people often attribute them to stress, ageing or seasonal aches and pains. A simple blood test can provide clarity on what your body may be missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Persistent fatigue<\/p>\n

Feeling a little lethargic from time to time is common but if you\u2019re constantly feeling worn-out and run down, it could mean you need a bit of help.<\/p>\n

Dr Maula said: \u201cThe NHS recommends all adults consider taking a vitamin D supplement during winter, so that\u2019s a good place to start.<\/p>\n

\u201cDietary sources from foods rich in vitamin D can also help, such as fatty fish including salmon, tuna and mackerel, egg yolks, red meat and fortified foods including some breakfast cereals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Low mood and brain fog<\/p>\n

Vitamin D is linked to serotonin production and deficiency can subtly influence mood, particularly during darker months.<\/p>\n

Mr Maula said: \u201cIt\u2019s common to put feelings of low mood down to the darker days, and this can certainly have an impact. But make sure you\u2019re also getting an adequate level of vitamin D. During the summer months we can get this naturally from spending time outside but in the winter this becomes much harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bone pain<\/p>\n

Dr Maula continued: \u201cSevere cases of vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets in children and a condition called osteomalacia, which causes bone pain in adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why the NHS recommends all children aged one to four, and all babies who aren\u2019t having more than 500ml of infant formula a day, should take a supplement throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone else should consider taking a supplement during the winter months. If you have started to experience any pain in your bones, speak to your GP without delay as there can be a number of reasons for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muscle weakness<\/p>\n

Generalised aches, especially in the lower back, hips, or legs, can be an early sign of inadequate levels of vitamin D.<\/p>\n

Dr Maula said: \u201cThere can be many reasons why muscles feel weaker or people experience general aches and pains. That\u2019s why it\u2019s a really good idea to see your doctor and discuss your symptoms as soon as possible to find the underlying cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best way to get vitamin D<\/p>\n

Between April and September, most people get all their vitamin D from the sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although there are also some foods to help you, if you spend a lot of time indoors, for example.<\/p>\n

Oily fish \u2013 such as salmon, sardines, trout, herring or mackerelRed meatEgg yolksFortified foods \u2013 such as some fat spreads and breakfast cerealsLiver (avoid liver if you’re pregnant)<\/p>\n

The NHS also recommends people should take a supplement from October to March, given the lack of sunshine in the UK over the colder months.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ensuring you get enough vitamin D during the winter months, particularly in the UK, can be a challenge.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,85,46,119865,119867,543,21363,6466,70561,57563,44921,103987,119866],"class_list":{"0":"post-216390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-nhs-advice-on-vitamin-d","12":"tag-nhs-recommendations-vitamin-d-supplements","13":"tag-nutrition","14":"tag-vitamin-d","15":"tag-vitamin-d-deficiency","16":"tag-vitamin-d-deficiency-signs","17":"tag-vitamin-d-deficiency-symptoms","18":"tag-vitamin-d-supplements","19":"tag-vitamin-deficiency","20":"tag-winter-supplements"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}