Consumers who choose to purchase nutraceutical products mainly focus on vitamins and supplements such as vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D is one of the most commonly known vitamin products, which has numerous health benefits. You can improve both your mental and physical health by ensuring that you are consuming enough vitamin D, either through your diet or supplements.
Our views on Vitamin D
It is very easy to see why consumers are captivated by the numerous health benefits of vitamin D. Vitamin D can improve your immune system and can also potentially help you avoid a large number of health issues. According to Cleveland Clinic, vitamin D can help with conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and potentially even cancer. Vitamin D, in addition to calcium, is also crucial in maintaining strong bone health, and vitamin d deficiency could potentially cause issues in this area of your health.
Consumers should get vitamin D from as many sources as possible, including sunlight, various types of foods, and vitamin D supplements if necessary. This is very crucial, as vitamin d deficiency can cause serious health issues. Although it is possible to consume enough vitamin D through a healthy diet, nutraceutical products such as vitamin D supplements can also play a key role in maintaining your health.
Multiple ways to consume Vitamin D
In many cases, it is difficult for consumers to get enough vitamin D naturally from food. However, Vitamin D can be found in a wide variety of foods, including salmon, egg yolk, and shrimp. Vitamin D (D 2 and 3 fortified) is also commonly found in other foods such as milk, cereal, and orange juice. Manufacturers have been adding vitamin D to foods such as milk, cereal, and orange juice since the 1930s, as it is difficult for people to consume enough vitamin D naturally.
Regular exposure to the sun ( around 10-30 minutes/day) is one of the easiest ways to improve your vitamin D levels if you are not able to get enough vitamin d from your diet. However, most people are able to get enough vitamin D through their diet and vitamin d supplements, so excessive sun exposure is not necessary.
If these methods are not enough, vitamin D supplements can also be a convenient way to get enough vitamin D. It is also imperative to note that taking too much vitamin D could potentially cause issues. According to Harvard Health, consumers should try to limit their vitamin D intake to around 600-800 IU/day to most effectively experience the health benefits of vitamin d and avoid health issues.
Issues caused by vitamin D deficiency
According to Yale University, vitamin D deficiency can result in a variety of health consequences, including weakened bones or other bone disorders. If you think you might have a vitamin D deficiency you can easily confirm this by having your doctor do a blood test. Vitamin D deficiency can also cause a plethora of negative symptoms including fatigue, aches and pain, bone or muscle pain, and stress fractures. Finally, recent research also suggested that low vitamin D levels are associated with higher risks of developing other types of health disorders, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, mood disorders, and dementia. The health benefits of vitamin d are very clear, and appropriate vitamin d levels can help the body potentially avoid other diseases. If your vitamin D levels are slightly above the RDA you will likely not have any serious issues, but it is crucial to note that too much vitamin D could cause other health issues.
Potential Mental Health Benefits
While most people focus on the physical health benefits of vitamin D, it is also worth noting that vitamin d could also play a role in assisting your mental health. Vitamin D is also helpful in potentially preventing various mental health symptoms, which could be exacerbated by inadequate vitamin d levels. Webmd notes that the symptoms of vitamin d can mimic typical depression symptoms, including fatigue, depression, hopelessness, anxiety, and trouble sleeping. Vitamin D, in addition to other supplements such as magnesium, could be one of many methods that someone uses to combat depression or anxiety. We have also covered how other types of nutraceutical products, including lion’s mane and valerian root tea, can help relieve certain mental health symptoms. While vitamin d alone is certainly not a remedy for mental health issues, It is well worth monitoring to ensure that you are taking care of both your physical and mental health.
Various studies have been conducted to help shed more light on how Vitamin D can potentially help improve your mental health, given that nearly one million people suffer from Vitamin D deficiency. Studies have shown how Vitamin D is an important supplement for maintaining mental health, along with others such as Magnesium, St. John’s Wort, and others. Studies have also shown that proper Vitamin D levels in earlier life may be responsible for helping to reduce the risk of developing certain mental disorders, including major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. Overall, studies are mixed though and it seems that Vitamin D may be best for maintaining one’s physical health, while its contribution to mental health is not guaranteed. One randomized control trial that included over 18,000 adults in 2010 concluded that Vitamin D supplementation did not help to reduce the symptoms compared to a placebo group.
Vitamin D Supplement Growth Potential
The use of vitamin D supplements has been on the rise, as consumers in the United States and other countries have increasingly become aware of the health benefits of vitamin D. During 2000, only 0.3% of adults took more than 1,000 IUs of vitamin D daily, and by 2013-2014 this increased to 18% of adults. According to PRN, the global vitamin D supplements market will grow at a CAGR of 7.2% between 2019-2024. These growth trends will allow the total market to reach a size of approximately $1.7 billion in the coming years. Increased vitamin d consumption in Asia could contribute to greater growth in the future, as the market is currently dominated by consumers from North America and Europe.
Source: Marketandmarkets
The diverse health benefits of vitamin d may allow vitamin d supplements to grow at the expense of other nutraceutical products.
We project that consumers will increasingly consume vitamin D in the coming years, especially as the importance of health consciousness and virus prevention rises in the 2020s. Some news sources and hospitals, including Cleveland Hospitals, have discussed the possibility of vitamin D potentially helping consumers to have a stronger immune system, which can help the body fight off multiple viruses. The health benefits of Vitamin D, coupled with increased consumer awareness, may result in increased vitamin d consumption in the coming decade. It is worthwhile to check with your doctor to see if certain nutraceutical products, such as vitamin d supplements, can improve your health.
About NutraProse
NutraProse focuses on providing content marketing services for smaller nutraceutical companies. NutraProse provides a variety of services, including copywriting, blog posts, copy editing, localization, logo designs, and social media management. Click here to learn more about our content marketing services.
