2024-04-01 03:14:00
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Those who sit a lot and spend little time in the fresh air often have a vitamin D deficiency. Appropriate preparations can help, but other factors are more important.
Kassel – From exhausted and tired to severe joint pain and depressive moods, doctors hear such feelings again and again in their practices. If patients are asked whether they sit a lot, do little exercise in the fresh air and perhaps do not eat a balanced diet, they often have to agree with the treating doctors. The symptoms are often self-inflicted and can be a sign of a vitamin D deficiency, for example.
Hundreds of thousands of people in this country suffer from such a deficit. Especially in the winter months, many people experience a deficiency in this important nutrient. Heike Sander, regional manager of the Barmer Replacement Fund for Lower Saxony and Bremen, also knows this. “Who in the dark season […] “If you don’t go outside often enough, you can temporarily have too little vitamin D in your body,” says Sander.
Vitamin D deficiency: exercise, diet and fresh air
A vitamin D deficiency can sometimes be prevented through a healthy and balanced diet. It is found particularly in cod liver oil, fatty sea fish such as salmon or mackerel and offal such as kidney and liver. The sunshine vitamin is also contained in edible mushrooms and eggs. However, it is hardly possible to cover your vitamin requirements exclusively through food.
Vitamin D deficiency: If you sit a lot, don’t spend much time in the fresh air and eat an unbalanced diet, you should have your vitamin D levels checked if you have certain symptoms. (Symbolic image) © nialowwa/immago
This is what you can do if you have a vitamin D deficiency:
- Between March and October you should expose your face, hands and arms to the sun uncovered and without sunscreen two to three times a week. Be careful not to get sunburned.
- Another way to improve your vitamin D status is to take supplements German Society for Nutrition recommends this if an improvement in vitamin D status cannot be achieved either through self-synthesis or through diet.
- Always consult a doctor when taking any preparations to avoid an overdose of vitamin D.
- Shop for foods that contain significant amounts of vitamin D. These include, for example, fatty sea fish, certain offal and edible mushrooms as well as eggs.
Source: Robert Koch Institute (RKI)
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Anyone who is concerned about whether he or she has a vitamin D deficiency after the winter months needs to take a blood test. The vitamin D status is determined aloud RKI by measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D, short 25(OH)D, in blood serum. When you should react if you have symptoms. A doctor will help you decide whether additional vitamin D supplements should be taken and in what dosage and frequency.
Vitamin D deficiency after the winter months: More women than men are affected
According to a study by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which was carried out between 2003 and 2006, around 12.5 percent of children and adolescents and 15.2 percent of adults in Germany have an inadequate vitamin D supply. However, the RKI emphasizes that these are selectively measured values. This does not indicate a serious long-term deficiency. Because: According to the RKI, vitamin D supply is subject to “strong seasonal fluctuations”.
Does vitamin D require a prescription?
That depends on the dosage level. According to consumer advocates, high-dose vitamin D preparations can be prescribed to treat illnesses for which they are approved at the expense of the health insurance company. Prescription vitamin D preparations may only be prescribed for the treatment of rickets, osteomalacia or hypoparathyeroidism and for one-time use in the initial treatment of a vitamin D deficiency at the expense of statutory health insurance (GKV).
If over-the-counter preparations are medically necessary, appropriate and sufficient for the treatment of a vitamin D deficiency, these should be prescribed primarily at the patient’s expense. For dietary supplements, however, are loud German Pharmacist Newspaper (DAZ) no maximum quantity set.
Source: Consumer advice center, Klartext Nutritional Supplements/DAZ
According to the RKI, 30.2% of adults in this country are inadequately supplied with vitamin D. In particular, people over 65 years of age (women: 32.9 percent, men: 26.6 percent) and, measured against the total population, more women (29.7 percent) than men (30.8 percent) are affected more often. (sthe)
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