We’re frequently asked in our comment section about: what does vitamin d need to be absorbed. Truth is we’ve been delaying this article for a while until we had enough information & facts to allow us to enlighten our readers.
Supplements 101: Vitamin D
However, many factors can influence its effectiveness, including when and how you take your daily dose.
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How Does Your Body Absorb Vitamin D?
At that point, the liver and kidneys transform the stored vitamin D into the active form the body needs – known as calcitriol – via a process called hydroxylation. After you eat food or take supplements with vitamin D, your body stores it in fat cells until it is needed. At that point, the liver and kidneys transform the stored vitamin D into the active form the body needs – known as calcitriol – via a process called hydroxylation.
Sunlight: Your body’s process for making vitamin D works similarly after sun exposure. The main difference is that the sun first triggers a type of cholesterol found in the body called 7-dehydrocholesterol.
Why Am I Not Absorbing Enough Vitamin D?
There are a few reasons why people can have trouble absorbing vitamin D. Some factors that may reduce or block its absorption include:
Antonette Hardie, a registered dietitian at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Comprehensive Transplant Center, says some medications can also impact or inhibit vitamin D absorption, these include:
Symptoms of low vitamin D levels
Some symptoms of low vitamin D include:
General fatigue
Muscle aches
Mood changes
Pain in your bones
When using a blood test to measure vitamin D, a normal level is 12 ng/mL to 20 ng/mL for healthy adults.
A level less than 12 ng/mL indicates vitamin D deficiency and could be a sign of absorption issues, according to the National Institutes of Health. There are also at-home tests that require a finger prick for a very small blood sample. How to absorb more vitamin D
If you have problems absorbing vitamin D, Prests says to try consuming it along with fatty and/or magnesium -rich foods.
Related 6 healthy foods rich in vitamin D and easy ways to incorporate them into your diet
Health providers typically prescribe a high dose of vitamin D supplement only for a short time to avoid the risk of vitamin D toxicity, Prest says. It is possible to get too much vitamin D, so talk to your doctor about the proper individual dosage of supplements. Insider’s takeaway
Some factors that may inhibit your vitamin D absorption include taking certain medications and conditions such as Crohn’s or kidney disease.