Vitamin D Blood Test

This test is ideal if you are wanting to know your Vitamin D levels. If you are deficient in Vitamin D, you may have muscle weakness, pain, fatigue and depression.

Vitamin D Blood Test

Feeling tired and run down can be a side effect of our hectic modern lifestyle, but it can also be an indication that you are suffering from a Vitamin D deficiency. As well as being an indicator of low Vitamin D levels, tiredness and fatigue can also suggest that there is an issue with the thyroid gland anaemia or other disorders.

Why take a Vitamin D blood test

Vitamin D is an important factor in keeping your body healthy. It helps to keep muscles and bones strong and well and is vital for tooth health as it helps the body to absorb calcium. Vitamin D is central to helping keep viruses at bay. Vitamin D naturally occurs in sunlight and in certain foods, such as fatty fish and fortified dairy products.

Vitamin D deficiency can occur as a result of other conditions, including coeliac disease, Crohn’s, kidney and liver disease. Vitamin D deficiency can also arise as the result of a poor diet or being obese. Other factors that contribute to a Vitamin D deficiency are age and skin colour, as well as mobility-related issues that make it hard to get outside in the sunshine.

As the skin ages, it makes less Vitamin D. Darker skin also has reduced capability in making Vitamin D compared to a person with fair skin.

Vitamin D deficiency can cause problems with bone health, as reduced bone density can lead to osteoporosis, where brittle bones fracture more easily. In developing nations children with severe Vitamin D deficiency can develop rickets, but this is a rare occurrence in a developed country.

Treatment for a Vitamin D deficiency can include increasing your exposure to the sun or taking a supplement, or increasing your consumption of Vitamin D-rich food in your diet.