Vitamin D:

What causes vitamin D deficiency?

Medical conditions that can cause a lack of vitamin D include:

 Diseases like cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease, and celiac disease prevent the intestine from
absorbing enough vitamin D, resulting in vitamin D deficiency.
 The combination of weight loss surgery and stomach reduction reduces the size of the
stomach or bypasses part of the small intestine. This greatly hinders absorption of Vitamin D,
thus Vitamin D deficiency occurs.
 As obese individuals have lower vitamin D levels fat cells accumulate vitamin D to prevent its
release. As the body contains more fat cells, its content of vitamin D is stored by the fat cells,
which leads to vitamin D deficiency.
 A kidney disease or liver disease decreases the level of enzymes that are present in the
kidney and liver. The kidney and liver are crucial for the body's metabolism of vitamin D.
Without these enzymes, active vitamin D in the body is not formed.

However, there are some other complex factors that may lead to vitamin D deficiency in:

 Age - In older people, their skin's ability to synthesize vitamin D decreases.

 People who remain confined to the house or rarely venture outside, for example, those in
care homes, are unable to get exposure to the sun, which is an important source of vitamin
D.

Some certain medication can lower the vitamin D levels in the body such as:

 Medications that relieve constipation Laxatives (such as prednisone) relax the bowel
movements, which then prevents them from absorbing enough vitamin D. Consuming too
much of some laxatives can cause Vitamin D deficiency due to the fast rate at which foods
move through the body and the bowels cannot absorb enough vitamin D at the same time.

 Medications such as prednisone (for instance) are commonly used to treat inflammation in
the Skin, Joints, Lungs, and all other organs that are eligible for prednisone treatment. These
medications are sometimes used to treat blood disorders, allergies, asthma, and arthritis
prednisone can interfere with Vitamin D if taken regularly. A recent study showed that
prednisone depletes vitamin D which also affects calcium levels in the body. Vitamin D
facilitates calcium's ability to metabolize and is crucial for calcium's absorption. Prednisone
blocks dietary calcium absorption from the gut, at first. Additionally, prednisone flushes out
excess calcium from the urine.