When you want to improve your health, you most likely think of eating healthy, working out, and maybe even investing in your mental health. But there are other elements which can impact how healthy you are. An unexpected one? Getting enough sunlight.
Forty-two percent of North Americans have vitamin D levels below 20 ng/mL, which makes them deficient by most standards. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased risk for developing many diseases, including:
- Osteoporosis, broken bones and falls
- Kidney disease and kidney stones
- Fatty liver and other chronic liver diseases
- Heart disease and high blood pressure
- Type II diabetes
- Severe infections such as COVID-19 and Hepatitis C
- Multiple sclerosis
- Psoriasis
- Osteoarthritis
- Autoimmune diseases
- Colon, prostate and breast cancers
- Muscle pain and weakness
- Ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease
- Depression and other psychiatric disorders
Low blood levels of hydroxy vitamin D can lead to medical problems.