Benefits For Women
Vitamin D Benefits For Women – Learn How Vitamin D Can Benefit Female Health
The University of Pittsburgh conducted a medical study in 2009 where they discovered that post-menopausal women had a 70% increased risk of hip fracture due to inadequate levels of vitamin D present in their bodies. Vitamin D is a crucial vitamin as it helps regulate the body’s ability to absorb calcium and to keep the bones strong. The lack of this vitamin causes osteoporosis as well as osteomalasia.
A study done in 2008 by the German Cancer Research Center found out that women who had inadequate levels of vitamin D in their bodies had a significantly higher risk of acquiring breast cancer compared to women who had adequate levels of the vitamin. The study was participated by almost 2,800 post-menopausal women and it concluded that vitamin D has a great potential in protecting people against many types of cancer.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has also reported in a four-year clinical trial that the improvement of vitamin D and calcium nutritional status help significantly reduce cancer risk in post-menopausal women. The study was done in 1,179 healthy post-menopausal women.
Vitamin D Deficiency in Pregnant Woman
Another study by the University of Pittsburgh showed vitamin D deficiencies were also linked to the likelihood of pregnant women acquiring bacterial infections. The study, which was participated by more than 460 pregnant women, showed that low levels of vitamin D in the body led to the increased incidence of acquiring bacterial vaginosis. This particular infection is considered as the primary cause of premature delivery as well as fetal death.
Forty one percent of the participants in the study were diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis. Almost a hundred percent of these women (93% to be exact) were found to have insufficient levels of vitamin D in their bodies. It was also discovered in the study that as the vitamin levels were increased, the incidence of acquiring the infection were decreased.
Adequate amounts of vitamin D in the body also helps prevent and treat depression as it has been proven to play an important part in the normalization of the body’s neurological and hormonal process. It has also been discovered that depression is one of the symptoms acquired due to the deficiency or vitamin D levels in the body. This discovery is crucial especially for older women as it has been known that the body’s ability to manufacture vitamin D increases as they age.
The connection of mood and vitamin D was discovered in 2008 by a study made in the University of Amsterdam. The study showed that older people who have low levels of vitamin D had a higher risk of acquiring depression. The researchers stated that even though more study is needed to be done in order to determine whether the deficiency in vitamin D is either a cause of depression or a side effect of depression, its correlation is definitely something that is unmistakable.
A research done in the Wake Forest University School of Medicine points out the importance of having adequate levels of vitamin D in the body especially in older people. Adequate levels of vitamin D in the body boosts energy as well as improves the overall physical performance decreasing the severity of fatigue and improving overall performance. This particular study was done in 976 people aged 65 and older. It found out that physical performance, which included tests such as sitting to standing performance, walking speed, and strength of grip, decreased in about 10% among participants who have low levels of vitamin D in their body.
