Vitamin D Lack Is Called Silent Epidemic, Beware Of Causes And How To Overcome It

Illustration of vitamin D (Pexels/Jonathan Borba)

JAKARTA - Lack of vitamin D is an epidemic silent that has become a global health crisis in recent years. As in India, 70 percent of the population was found to have insufficient vitamin D levels, quoted from the Times of India, on Monday, March 24, 2025.

Lack of vitamin D secretly develops without realizing it, and causes various health risks for those experiencing it. Therefore, this health problem must be known by the public to prevent other diseases and interfere with the quality of life.

1. The cause of vitamin D deficiency

Lack of vitamin D is a condition when the body lacks vitamin levels are below normal, but usually does not cause visible symptoms. The causes of this condition occur ranging from eating less foods containing vitamin D, rarely exposed to sunlight, old age, obesity, taking certain drugs, to undergoing vegetarian diet.

2. The importance of vitamin D for the body

The lack of vitamin D is not good for the body, because it can increase the risk of various diseases. This is because vitamin D is very important, especially for effective phosphorus and calcium absorption in relation to bone hardening.

Vitamin D plays a role in body health, ranging from immunity, bone and dental health, to healthy muscles.

3. Effect of vitamin D deficiency

Kadar vitamin D untuk orang dewasa sekitar 600-800 IU per hari, dengan kadar vitamin D normal dalam darah sebesar 50-80 ng/mL. Jika seorang tidak memiliki kadar vitamin D yang cukup, maka bisa menimbulkan berbagai penyakit berikut:

- Bone disorders, bone softening occurs due to osteomalacia and osteoporosis which causes bones to become fragile, to the risk of fractures.

- Increased chronic diseases, which occur due to organ damage that causes cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.

- The immune system weakens, due to vitamin D, the main regulator of the immune system, so that its deficiencies can cause the body to be susceptible to infection and disease.

4. How to overcome the lack of vitamin D

With the risk of serious illness, vitamin D deficiency must be prevented. To prevent a person from experiencing a vitamin D deficiency, from consuming foods rich in vitamin D such as oily fish (salmons, tuna, sardines), milk, cheese, eggs, to nuts.

Try to get exposed to the sun, it is recommended that sunlight be around 8 to 10 in the morning, for 15 to 30 minutes. In addition, the consumption of vitamin D supplements is also to meet the needs of vitamin D outside of the food consumed.