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Vitamin D testing becomes more important in winter

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

With winter approaching, many health experts are recommending that more individuals seek vitamin D testing. As the sun weakens, the risk of deficiency grows, especially for individuals who live at higher latitudes, which could lead to serious health complications.

Vitamin D is actually a hormone that is produced by the skin following exposure to the sun's UV rays. In the winter these rays grow weaker, leading to more widespread deficiencies.

In order to make people aware of their vitamin D status, Grand Lake Health system in St. Marys Ohio recently announced that it will offer vitamin D testing at the county's upcoming Community Health Fair, according to The Evening Leader.

"This blood test result can help establish a baseline before winter, because in the winter, many people living in Ohio suffer from Vitamin D deficiency from lack of sunshine," Anne Larger, a coordinator with the group, told the news source. "If it's low, I would go to your family physician and discuss it because there are things that you can do to reverse that process."

Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have indicated that few people are aware of their Vitamin D status.