Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that helps our bodies absorb calcium and is important for bone health, muscle cell growth, and development, the normal operation of the innate and adaptive immune systems, and other processes.
If you’re taking vitamin D supplements or facing the risk of vitamin D deficiency, it’s crucial to acknowledge the potential adverse effects.
We’ll explore the connection between vitamin D and diarrhea in this blog post.
The Connection Between Vitamin D and Diarrhea
Your body can more easily absorb calcium from food if you take vitamin D. However if you consume too much vitamin D, your blood calcium levels may rise to the point where they induce uncomfortable and sometimes harmful symptoms.
Hypercalcemia, or extremely high blood calcium levels, is chiefly responsible for the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity.
The following are signs of hypercalcemia:
- Digestive discomfort includes nausea, vomiting, constipation, and stomach pain
- Dizziness, disorientation, hallucinations, and tiredness
- Reduced appetite
- A lot of urination
- Kidney damage, kidney failure, and kidney stones
- Heart problems and high blood pressure
- Dehydration
On the other hand, research also demonstrates that low levels of vitamin D can lead to rotaviral diarrhea, a viral infection that frequently affects kids.
| Summary Taking too much vitamin D can cause your blood’s level of calcium to rise to dangerous levels, which can cause gastrointestinal infections. Toxic effects occur in adults after consuming 50,000 international units of vitamin D per day for several weeks. But on the other hand many studies indicate that low levels of vitamin D can lead to rotaviral diarrhea. |
How vitamin D may affect bowel movements
During the winter season, when sunlight, the primary source of vitamin D, is in short supply, people commonly turn to vitamin D supplements. However, excessive vitamin D intake can impact your bowel movements.
So, Balancing your vitamin D intake is essential. Taking the right amount can help maintain the proper functioning of your digestive system.
Vitamin D’s function in IBD and gut health
Gut health, inflammatory immunological responses, and the development and maintenance of the integrity of the gastrointestinal barrier are all significantly influenced by vitamin D.
These mechanisms are essential for halting the progression of IBD and minimizing its symptoms.
However, compared to the general population, vitamin D insufficiency is more common in people with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Complex factors may contribute to this, such as dietary restrictions, poor nutritional absorption, and a lack of sun exposure brought on by immunosuppressive medicines.
Does a lack of vitamin D contribute to IBD?
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has multiple contributing factors, not just vitamin D deficiency. Nevertheless, some evidence indicates a possible relationship between low vitamin D levels and an increased risk of both IBD development and complications.
A group of chronic disorders that causes inflammation in the digestive system characterizes an inflammatory bowel disease. The two main IBD conditions are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
IBD is believed to be the result of a combination of genetic, environmental, and immunological variables, while its exact etiology is yet unknown.
Conclusion
Now that everything has been covered, you can see how vitamin D and diarrhea are related. Although vitamin D is needed for bone health and other body processes, it is important to be aware that an excess of the vitamin might have the side effect of diarrhea.
Although diarrhea is not a common vitamin D side effect, it can happen occasionally, especially if large amounts of vitamin D supplements are consumed over time.
It is advised to lower your vitamin D dosage if you are suffering diarrhea as a result of a vitamin D overdose.
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Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5045493/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26287796/
https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-019-1614-4