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What causes vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D‘s most important role is to regulate calcium and phosphorus levels and promotes absorption of these minerals for growth of bones and teeth. supports immune function and regulates blood pressure.
Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium in your blood and makes sure you always have enough.
Researches have proved that Vitamin D also plays a role in a lot of other body functions. It also involved in insulin secretion and it may help prevent cancer, especially colon cancer.
Vitamin D can be produced in the skin upon exposure to sunlight or must be obtained from the diet.
What causes vitamin D deficiency?
- First of all inadequate dietary intakes. Limited sun exposure, kidney or liver disease, and alcoholism also cause vitamin D deficiency.
- At greater risk are also elderly, dark-skinned, obese people, or those with inflammatory bowel disease and fat-malabsorption syndromes (celiac disease and cystic fibrosis).
- If you have kidney or liver disease you can’t convert Vitamin D3 into its more active forms.
- Some drugs such as cholestyramine (Cholybar® or Questran®) or colestipol (Colestid®) to lower your cholesterol also can cause vitamin D deficiency as these drugs block absorption of Vitamin D and other fat-soluble vitamins.
- Taking corticosteroid drugs such as cortisone, prednisone, or dexamethasone for allergies, asthma, arthritis, or some other health problem also can deplete Vitamin D3 level and increase risk of vitamin D deficiency.
- Anticonvulsant drugs such as phenytoin (Dilantin®) or Phenobarbital interfere with how you use your Vitamin D.
- Strict vegetarian or vegan also falls in group of risk vitamin D deficiency. There’s very little Vitamin D in plant foods. If you don’t drink milk and also don’t get outside much, you—and your vegan kids—might not be getting enough Vitamin D.
- Alcohol also can causes vitamin D deficiency as it blocks your to absorb Vitamin D in intestines and store it in liver.
As you see there are a lot of causes for vitamins D deficiency, so talk to you doctor before taking vitamin D supplement.
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Vitamin E effects
Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant, especially when taken in conjunction with selenium. It also strengthens the immune system; enhances the ability of brain cells to use oxygen; increases the ability of cells to make energy; helps preserve the lung function of elderly people; and it may slow the aging process by protecting the skin and brain cells (which have high percentages of fat compared to the rest of the body’s cells) from free radicals (as people age, their ability to absorb E decreases).
It has been used by NASA astronauts to fight the breakdown of red blood cells from radiation. In the past few decades in the U.S., there seems to be a direct correlation between the decline in the amount of vitamin E in the diet and the rise in heart attacks, but hard evidence is still lacking.
Recent evidence indicates that an optimum level of 200 lU/day can 
protect the elderly from heart disease and dementia, as well as boost effects the immune system; higher doses have not led to greater protection. When given in doses of 2000 lU/day, it may slow the progress of Alzheimer’s to a moderate degree, though it is still not known whether it can protect healthy people from getting the disease. A dosage of as little as 50 lU/day, or five times the minimum daily recommended intake for men, can help protect against lung, colorectal, and — especially —prostate cancers.
Regular supplementation has also been proven to protect against exercise-induced DNA damage that may lead to cancer. In lab rats, it has been shown to prevent liver damage and liver cancer caused by DHEA.
It also helps the body utilize vitamin A better, and raises the levels of HDLs, the “good” cholesterol.
It is reported to extend the life of red blood cells, dilate the blood vessels, and thin the blood. It can even halt, and sometimes reverse, nerve damage caused by such neurological disorders as cystic fibrosis and chronic liver disease.
Vitamin E breaks down sodium nitrate, a food additive and suspected carcinogen; blocks the formation of nitrosamine, another carcinogen; prevents lung damage from nitrogen oxides; and can counteract the effects of a fatty meal, especially damage done to blood vessels from high cholesterol.
Beta-carotene is one of the most powerful antioxidants
Vitamin A has several forms that are used for vital functions.
Provitamin A, betacarotene, performs antioxidant functions that none of the other forms of vitamin A can achieve. In addition to its vital antioxidant functions, beta-carotene can be split apart into retinal and converted to all other forms of preformed vitamin A.
Beta-carotene is one of the most powerful antioxidants in food. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals to reduce the risk of macular degeneration, cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Some of the beta-carotene in foods and supplements can be converted into the retinal form of vitamin A.
About 10 percent of the carotenoids (beta-carotene is one of the carotenoids) in plant foods can be converted into retinal. The remaining carotenoids may be used as antioxidants.
The other forms of vitamin A do not exhibit antioxidant activity. The forms of vitamin A found in meat (retinyl esters), dairy products, and eggs do not possess antioxidant activity.
Vitamin A supplements made without beta-carotene or other sources of antioxidants also do not possess antioxidant activity. Many supplements are made with retinyl palmitate and retinyl acetate; these forms of vitamin A are not antioxidants.
Beta-carotene is plentiful in yellow and orange vegetables and fruit. Green vegetables also are rich in beta-carotene; the colorful pigments are masked by the green chlorophyll. Some of the other carotenoids that can be converted into retinal include alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin. Some carotenoids that cannot be converted into retinal are lycopene (from tomatoes) and lutein. All carotenoids have antioxidant activity.
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Osteoporosis and Vitamin A
In older men and women, long-term intakes of preformed vitamin A can be associated with increased risk of osteoporotic fracture and decreased bone mineral density.
Levels of only 5000 IU (1,500 mcg) are enough to increase risk. This is well below the upper limit set at 10,000 IU (3000 mcg) per day. Only high intakes of preformed vitamin A, not beta-carotene, are associated with any increased adverse effects on bone health.
Older men and women may want to limit their supplemental vitamin A intake or take only the beta-carotene form of vitamin A. Many fortified foods such as cereal contain significant levels of preformed vitamin A. The vitamin A in fortified foods should be added to the vitamin A in any supplements to find the total intake.
On the other hand, low levels of vitamin A can adversely affect bone mineral density.
In older people, an intake of preformed vitamin A close to the recommended dose is safest.
The best way to assure safe levels of vitamin A is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and, if supplements are needed, to use the beta-carotene form.
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