Sunshine is warm and bright. Even in the winter although we tend to think of winter as being cold and dark. Unlike my dad who loves the cold and hates summer, I love the sun and warm. And until recently, I didn’t know how much my body needs the sun. Most of us learn about Vitamin D in elementary school and how it is the sunshine vitamin. We usually get enough of vitamin D in our diet and by soaking up sunshine. I recently discovered that as a person with a thyroid condition I need more vitamin D. Unfortunately, I learned this because I had a vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin for everyone. But it is especially important in young children, women, and people with certain diseases and disorders. As I fall under two of these categories, vitamin D is very important. Vitamin D and calcium go hand in hand. Vitamin D’s main purpose is to allow the body to absorb calcium; therefore if you have a vitamin D deficiency you probably have a calcium deficiency as well. Without vitamin D the body is unable to get the calcium it needs. The body is forced to get the calcium it needs from the bones. The thyroid is triggered to produce hormones which break down bones resulting in weaker, more brittle bones.

As I did more research, I learned many things. Because vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, excess of it is stored in the liver. Your body does not require you to get vitamin D in your diet everyday because of these stores. I must have had a deficiency in my diet for a long time, because my stores of the vitamin were all used up. Another thing I learned is that deficiency of vitamin D is linked to severe asthma in children. This is yet another reason why need more vitamin D.

There are signs to a vitamin D deficiency though, that appear before the bones breakdown too much but most are subtle. You are at a higher risk of a vitamin D deficiency if you are obese, have dark skin, or your exposure to sunlight is limited. Bone pain and muscle weakness are the main signs of vitamin D deficiency.

I had just taken a regular visit to the endocrinologist for my routine blood test to check that my thyroid was working properly when my doctor told me that I needed to start taking vitamin D supplements. I was surprised. I thought the sun gave me what I needed! I had a serving of milk a day and sometimes two.

The first thing I did when I learned this, I looked up what vitamin D did for your body. Simply, it allows you to absorb calcium. But when I looked closer I learned about it breaking down my bones. At first I drank milk several times a day and ate other servings of milk such as yogurt. After a couple weeks, I simply started taking a vitamin supplement and had two to three servings of milk.

I drink coffee everyday. It is sort of a “home-remedy” to asthma. The heat and caffeine help to dilate the lungs making it easier to breathe. Unfortunately, coffee increases the amount of calcium and vitamin D expelled from the body. Perhaps this led to my deficiency? I have a dilemma and still have not found the answer. Maybe you think I should simply use medications available to help dilate my lungs instead of coffee? Maybe I should. As mentioned before, I hate to use medicine for what I feel I should be able to do on my own. This may be hard for you to understand.

For now I have chosen to drink coffee and take the chance at losing vitamin D. Because of the increase amount of vitamin D and calcium available in my diet, I believe I can still get what I need despite the increased amount being expelled. Mostly I just try to be healthy and trust God to take care of me the rest of the way.

Liebman, B. (1997, October). The silent epidemic. Vitamin D deficiency. Retrieved March 26, 2010 from the Ebscohost database.