By Team Muscletrail
13 January, 2022
Are You Deficient in Vitamin D or Vitamin A?
Vitamins are essential to ensure the facilitation of the functioning of our body, and hence, their depletion or excess can lead to certain conditions that are not quite suitable for our body. Here, we will be discussing the importance of specifically Vitamin D and Vitamin A, though all the vitamins are extremely important and serve different functions in the body.
Like all other vitamins in its circle, Vitamin D is required to keep our body functioning well while strengthening our bones and preventing some types of cancer. On the other hand, Vitamin A is a vitamin that is soluble in fat and holds responsibility like proper vision, strengthened immune system, good skin conditions, and enhance reproductive health.
Significance of Vitamin A
There are generally two types of Vitamin A that are found in foods; one is preformed Vitamin A, which is most commonly known as Retinol and is found in eggs, fishes, meat, and dairy products and provitamin A. Talking about the importance of Vitamin A in our body, they are:
Protection from Night Blindness
Vitamin A is good for your eye-sight and specifically night vision, as it is responsible for facilitating the conversion of light entering the eye into electric signals that later are sent to the brain.
Promotes Healthy Immune System
It safeguards you against numerous health problems by providing strength to your immune system. Vitamin A assists in the formation of mucus barriers that captures bacteria and other agents that carry infection.
Helps in Acne
Acne is irritating, and its scars, just pathetic! It is basically a condition in which your skin develops spots, pimples, blackheads, and even cists, on areas like the face, back, and chest. There is no certain fact that can back the statement why Vitamin A is helpful in treating acne, but it surely is effective.
Symptoms of Vitamin A Deficiency
Dry Skin and Eyes
The lack of Vitamin A in the human body can lead to the development of skin problems such as eczema and inflammation which causes dryness and itchiness in the eyes and skin. It should be noted that Vitamin A is necessary for the creation and repairing of skin cells and hence if you are feeling itchy or dry, you might want to have some check on your Vitamin A consumption. People who were suffering from night blindness were found to be responsive in treatments that involved Vitamin A.
Delayed Healing Process
We all can encounter injuries at any time in our lives but we don’t focus on the small ones much, as we are assured that they will be healed shortly. However, when you start noticing that the wound is taking a lot of time in getting heal, there might be a relation between this situation with the Vitamin A levels in your body. Collagen, a component is proven to be contributing to healthy skin, is found in Vitamin A.
Reproductive Issues
Vitamin A is counted as significant in assisting in reproduction in both men and women and hence, the unfulfilled requirement of its levels might be the reason you are not getting pregnant. In men, a greater amount of antioxidants are required due to increased levels of oxidative stress, and we must emphasize that Vitamin A functions as an antioxidant in the body.
Significance of Vitamin D
Vitamin D, which we can easily get from Sun, has many essential roles to play in our body starting with:
Strengthening Bones
Healthy bones mean a strong foundation and the healthier the bones, the lesser the chance of developing conditions such as Rickets. Calcium and Phosphorus incorporated in Vitamin D are responsible for the creation and strengthening of the bones.
Calcium Absorption
Our bones are made up majorly of calcium, and Vitamin D facilitates the optimal absorption of calcium from our diet and even the supplements we take to fulfill our calcium requirements.
Assisting Parathyroid Glands
The Parathyroid glands, the type of gland that holds the responsibility to maintain the balance of calcium in the blood by establishing a communication between the gut, kidneys, and our skeleton. Active Vitamin A, along with enough calcium, is absorbed effectively and as a result of this, the parathyroid glands are not required to extract calcium from the skeleton to maintain blood calcium balance.
Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency
Falling Sick More Often
Vitamin D contributes notably to the enhancement of our immune system so that our body is capable of fighting bad bacteria, viruses, and infections that lead to cause illness in our body. Lack of Vitamin D in your diet and routine might be the reason you are catching a cold and flu more often. Severe cases of Vitamin D deficiency may show respiratory tract infections and issues related to breathing.
Your Never-Ending Back Pain
Vitamin D, as we read earlier, allows the easy absorption of calcium, and hence, both are active in the formation, maintenance, and strengthening of bones. In accordance with some of the researches conducted over time, people with back pain issues are often found lacking adequate Vitamin D levels. So if you are struggling with chronic lower back pain, Vitamin D deficiency might be the reason or maybe, one of the reasons.
Loss of Hair
There are several factors that might be causing your hair fall such as stress, dandruff, or even conditions like alopecia. However, if the hair fall is severe, this can also be a result of a disease or any serious nutrient deficiency. Low levels of Vitamin D have their relations associated with alopecia areata, which is a condition in which our body’s immune system starts killing the hair follicles, considering them a threat.
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