Benefits of Vitamin D for Your Skin

Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble steroids that help your body absorb calcium and phosphate in the intestines. The main source of vitamin D is sunlight, which boosts your body’s supply naturally. Getting enough sun exposure can often replace the need for vitamin D supplements.

How Vitamin D Helps Your Skin

Vitamin D has a bunch of great benefits for your skin, including:

• Soothing psoriasis symptoms: Vitamin D creams or supplements can help treat symptoms like itching by applying the cream directly or taking supplements.
• Speeding up healing: Vitamin D’s strong anti-inflammatory properties help heal burns, skin damage, and stretch marks faster.
• Delaying aging signs: Packed with antioxidants, vitamin D helps keep your skin looking youthful when taken as supplements or through a vitamin D-rich diet.
• Fighting acne: Acne happens because of bacterial activity. Using vitamin D topically can reduce inflammation, and taking supplements can help as an alternative treatment. But just soaking up the sun isn’t a good fix since unprotected sun exposure can actually harm your skin.

Where to Get Vitamin D

There are three main ways to get vitamin D:

• Enough safe sun exposure
• Vitamin D supplements
• Foods rich in vitamin D like low-fat milk, soy milk, eggs, Swiss cheese, salmon, tuna, and cereals

Other Benefits of Vitamin D for Your Body

Vitamin D does a lot more than just help your skin:

• Helps fight depression: Some studies show vitamin D may boost mood and help with depression.
• Aids in weight loss: Taking vitamin D supplements can help curb appetite and support weight loss.
• Reduces heart disease risk: For people who are overweight, vitamin D supplements may lower the chance of heart problems.
• Boosts hair growth: Vitamin D helps activate hair follicles, encouraging hair growth. A lack of it can cause hair loss.

Why You Might Be Low on Vitamin D

Here are some common reasons for vitamin D deficiency:

• Limited sun exposure: People living in colder places or who spend a lot of time indoors are more likely to be low on vitamin D.
• Darker skin: More melanin means less vitamin D production, especially in older adults with darker skin.
• Strict diets: Not eating enough vitamin D-rich foods like fish, milk, and eggs can cause a deficiency.
• Digestive problems: Conditions like Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis, or celiac disease can stop your body from absorbing vitamin D properly.
• Obesity: People with a BMI over 30 often have lower vitamin D levels.

Signs You Might Be Low on Vitamin D

Here are some symptoms to watch for:

• Feeling tired for no clear reason
• Getting sick more often (vitamin D helps your immune system)
• Feeling down or depressed
• Slow healing wounds (vitamin D helps with wound healing and fighting infections)
• Weak or brittle bones, especially in older adults (could be due to vitamin D deficiency, not just calcium)
• Hair loss (especially in women, linked to conditions like alopecia)

Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms in Kids

Kids with low vitamin D might experience:

• Slow growth and trouble walking
• Bowed legs (also called rickets)
• Delayed tooth development
• Weak heart muscles