Can a vitamin d deficiency cause weight gain? Or make it harder to lose weight? I just found out I had a count of 18 and for a normal person it's 30+. I tried looking it up, but it doesn't say anything except that vitamin d helps your body absorb calcium and that all unprocessed calcium is stored in fat cells... I'm just a little confused.
I haven't seen anything about vitamin D and weight related issues, but I do know that when we cut down on what we eat, it's easy to cut too much D out of our diet. My D levels are lower than yours right now, because I'm lactose-intolerant and never get enough dairy. My docs are worried as I also have MS and there may be some correlation between MS symptoms and D deficiency, so I really need to find a supplement I can swallow soon.
Of course, your doc should have info on how much D to take, but make sure you also take calcium and magnesium with it, as the 3 all work together to aid absorption of the nutrients. Also, try to get out in the sun for about 15 minutes a day without any sunscreen on. Sunscreen keeps our bodies from absorbing enough sunlight to manufacture our own vitamin D.
Then take a supplement. Those of us in the northern hemisphere don't get enough D, even if outdoors in winter. I take 1000 IU daily. Any vitamin or mineral deficiency can affect weightloss.
I haven't heard much in terms of weight issues and vitamin D deficiency. But, they are finding out more and more about vit D all the time. It has a big role in our immune system, too. I take a supplement of D-3.
If you have health insurance, your doctor could write a perscription for a light box. It may not pay for all of it, but some at least. You sit by the light box daily for exposure.
My doctor just prescribed Vitamin D for me...Calcitriol at .25 mcg/day...which isn't that like 10 iu? I'm not sure why I'm paying $31 out of pocket (it's like $50 in total) for that small a dosage for 30 days for 6 months.
It's kind of ironic that the things they tell you to do to increase your Vitamin D (get sun without sunscreen, drink fortified milk, eat egg yolks) are things they tell you not to do for different reasons!
Coincidentally, I just got a free sample of a Vitamin D liquid with an online order I placed, so I'm trying that, too. This one says having 2 teaspoons is 1000 iu.
The doctor also mentioned that a lot of people have the deficiency, herself included. She said even buff, muscular guys who are all tanned may have it. She said if I had come in a year ago, she wouldn't even have checked for it, the checking for it being so new.
Last edited by trekkiegirl; 03-10-2009 at 06:14 PM.
I am allergic to the sun, but I do get a lot of dairy so I seem to be covered. I am probably deficient though. Supplements help and I have been told by Doctors I have to take one because of my sun intolerance.
I've read that vitamin D deficiency may play a role in insulin resistance (which can contribute to weight gain).
A little over a year ago, I had a vitamin D deficiency, and I've been taking supplements every since (I also invested in full-spectrum light bulbs, which from what I read, may or may not help). I don't know if the vitamin D helped me lose weight, but it may have (I've lost most of my weight in the last year, but it wasn't effort-free, so I don't know how much of a role the D could have played).
I am very interested in the vitamin D research though, because it's thought to play a role in immune function, and autoimmune disease, and fibromyalgia. I have autoimmune disease, was very prone to skin and respiratory infections (bacterial and viral) and have fibromyalgia.
I've also cut back on high carb and grain foods, because of their possible link to autoimmune disease (the research is interesting, and while not conclusive I think there was enough in the research to make me think a diet experiment was worth attempting).
I suspect there is something to both, because my immune/autoimmune and pain/fatigue issues have gotten a lot better since taking the vitamin D, and then when I cut out grains and cut back on carbs, the autoimmune disease appears to be in remission (from the lab results). Then around Christmas, I went off my diet and had a reoccurance of the (autoimmune) skin issues.
We also switched to full spectrum bulbs in my reading lamp, and that seems to help too.
Like you my vitamin D was very low. The nurse said that most people are low, which makes me wonder why they don't test more often and have people take supplements. I have a history of foot fractures and my orthopedist had me checked. The two I had before did not. He said you cannot heal bones without it and wrote a prescription of 50,000 iu which I took once a week for three or four months. Now I take a calcium/Vit D supplement each day. I noticed right away that my bruises healed much faster. I also live in the Pacific Northwest and stay out of the sun because it aggravates my autoimmune disease.
My level was 14 - normal is 33-100. I'm now on 50,000 IU once a week for 6 months. I do get in at least 3 dairy servings a day but I don't get out in the sun much because I am very fair and burn very easily. I haven't had any problems with weight from the Vitamin D shortage.
I live in the Northeastrn US and I started taking a vit D supplement within the past year when I found out that it is basically necessary in order to get the new recommended amount for folks living here.
I am wondering that there might be a weight connection -- there was all that hoopla a while back about how eating dairy products increased weight loss. Calcium supplements alone weren't as effective. Maybe the missing ingrdient was vit D?
I can't say that I notice any difference, but maybe I didn't have a real deficiency before (I have always incorporated healthy servings of dairy).
I hope no one minds if I jump right in here. I was taking the 1000 units of "d3' but it didn't get my levels up high enough so now I am on 50,000 units once a week for a month. I try to get in my calcium every day (pill form) but mostly forget and can't take until 4 hours after thyroid meds. Also have fibro and arthritis and it is hard to exercise with this. Water exercises are best. I don't think it has affected weight loss because I lost 7 lbs on WW and gained it back in short time. Info says that it is good for many illness and is a good preventive for a lot of diseases.
I have a question about fibromyalgia. I'm being tested for a lot of things. My knees have been hurting me, and sometimes other places like my elbows and back. Not the type of pain that's is an oww when you walk on it, but it's a dull pain that is more like an ache. Like a migraine, but in my knees. I have skin rashes too. The doctors have given me creams, I've tryed a lot of lotions, and the dry patches wont go away. They itch and then hurt when i itch, and they flake no matter what i put on them. Sometimes I feel like I have no energy at all, but I'll make myself get up because I hate laying in bed all day. I've been checked for arthritis, diabetes, and was checked for arthritis a second time. My mom got a postcard in the mail, and it showed the fibromyalgia symptoms. They seem similar to what I'm feeling.
Research has shown that Vitamin D defiency and weight gain are indeed related. A lot of people who have insulin resistance are also vitamin d deficient. There is an excellent article on pubmed discussing the role of vitamin d and beta cell dysfunction. It is really important that people who have insulin resistance, supplement with vitamins and minerals. Ironically, they tend to deplete them more readily than others. People with insulin resistance may also have problems with magnesium. This seems to be however a much bigger problem with people who are already diabetic. I am insulin resistant, and I have a hard time maintaining appropriate vitamin d levels. My physician assures me as insulin resistance abates, vitamin d homeostasis will return to normal. Hope this helps.
I forgot to mention that I am taking Vitamin D in large doses prescribed by my physician. This is so that my body has adequate stores to help with beta cell function and other physiological processes in the body. This is required for now until my body is better able to manage glucose. Naturally, once this occurs vitamin d homeostasis will return and large doses won't be necessary. If you have IR, you have to understand that you can never eat like a "normal" person. You will have to follow an insulin control diet so that you can appear to be like a normal person. Managing stress will be important, too. I have noticed that inadequate sleep will elevate my insulin levels. I have been managing the disorder now for ten years. Yeah!!! This is a chronic condition and you will have bad days and sometimes the IR will make you feel like you are going insane!!!!!
Vitamin D?
