In the vitamin alphabet, D is for bones

Vitamin D also regulates the calcium in your blood. It works in conjunction with vitamin K2, which takes the calcium that’s in your blood and tissue and sends it into your bones and teeth.

Rickets is a vitamin D deficiency that affects the mineralisation of your bones, so it will also affect your teeth.

Some signs of how a vitamin D deficiency can affect your teeth are:

• Enamel hypoplasia – this means that the enamel (the protective white coating around the teeth) is not developing correctly. It can result in white spots, yellow colouring on the tooth, pits and grooves, sensitivity to cold and heat, and a higher risk of cavities.
• Missing teeth – this is very common. It is teeth that haven’t formed so they don’t grow or come through.
• Delayed teeth – teeth that are coming in more slowly than usual. People who crave butter are often lacking in K2.

Vitamin D deficiency also relates to low back pain, low calcium, loss of bone, low immunity, inflammation, bone pain and muscle weakness.

Other vitamin D deficiency signs can be so subtle that many people don’t even realise that they have a deficiency, yet low blood levels of vitamin D have been associated with serious health risks such as cardiovascular disease, severe asthma in children, cognitive impairment, and even cancer.

Vitamin D is not a vitamin but a hormone that regulates calcium in the blood. It is essential for the immune system and is an immune modulator.

Many people with an autoimmune condition are deficient in vitamin D, making them more susceptible to viral and bacterial infections, influenzas, and loss of bone.

If you identify with any of these conditions, then chances are you may have a vitamin D and K2 deficiency.

Also, if you do have any of these conditions now, it could mean that you were deficient as a child, and you are still inadequate. Vitamin D deficiencies can occur for a variety of reasons and can happen over a length of time.

Often people on vegan diets will be deficient unless they are supplementing with vitamin D, as most natural sources of vitamin D are animal-based. Foods that contain vitamin D are beef, liver, fish, fish oils, herrings, and egg yolk.

If you are homebound and don’t get a lot of exposure to the sun, you may be deficient. This is because your body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight.

If you have dark skin, the melanin pigment of the skin reduces the skin’s ability to make the vitamin in response to sunlight exposure.

As you age, your kidneys become less able to convert vitamin D to its active form. Other contributing factors are if your digestive tract cannot adequately absorb vitamin D.

Certain health conditions such as Crohn’s disease, coeliac disease, cystic fibrosis, alcoholism, parasites, and leaky gut will affect the absorption of nutrients across your gut wall.

This information is not meant to treat or diagnose any conditions. Always consult your trusted natural healthcare professional for personal requirements.

 Trudy Kither is a naturopath and owner of Nature’s Temple. Visit naturestemple.net