How to avoid a lack of vitamin D in the body and the risks

Some researchers from University College London, in the United Kingdom, and from the Federal University of São Carlos, the UFSCar, carried out recent research that demonstrates that, in addition to maintaining the functioning of the immune system and the brain and absorbing phosphorus and calcium in the body, the vitamin D reduces the danger of muscle weakness by 78%.

Such weakness is called dynapenia in medicine and is seen as a very relevant factor for falls in old age, which can lead to early institutionalization, hospitalization and even death premature.

The study was carried out with 3,205 Britons over 50 years of age, who were followed for four years in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) project. It was published in Calcified Tissue International and Musculoskeletal Research and is supported by FAPESP.

The professor at the Department of Gerontology at UFSCar, who was the research supervisor, Tiago da Silva Alexandre reported that muscle and bone tissues are interconnected, in addition to physically and mechanically, also in a biochemistry. he said to

Estadão that, “for this reason, endocrine disorders, such as deficiency and insufficiency of vitamin D, favor the loss of bone mineral density, as well as the decrease in mass, strength and function muscle”.

The survey chose people over 50 years old with neuromuscular strength equal to or greater than 26 kilograms for men and equal to or greater than 16 kilograms for women. And, over the four years, those who had vitamin D deficiency at the beginning of the research were 70% more likely to develop muscle weakness compared to those who had the vitamin in normal levels.

The importance of vitamin D

In addition to the already mentioned importance in the absorption of phosphorus and calcium, vitamin D is also traditionally recognized by medicine as one of the fundamental substances in bone strengthening and in the prevention of diseases such as osteoporosis and rickets in childhood.

However, the importance of this vitamin goes much further, with several recent studies pointing to a relationship between the absence of vitamin D and the occurrence of certain diseases. chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, multiple sclerosis, depression and some types of cancer, and may even influence infectious diseases, such as viruses and tuberculosis.

How to prevent vitamin D deficiency

Finally, according to Professor Alexandre, for our body to synthesize vitamin D, we need to sunbathe with our body exposed. He reiterates saying that “you need to explain to people that insufficiency and deficiency of vitamin D increase the risk of developing loss of muscle strength. Therefore, it is necessary to say that these people need to expose themselves more to the sun, follow a diet with foods rich in vitamin D or taking supplements and practicing resistance exercise to maintain strength".

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