BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Living with the cold and snowy winters in Western New York can be a sense of pride for some residents, but there's something missing even the most seasoned winter veterans: the sun.
Our bodies use vitamin D for bone development and maintenance. Low levels can weaken your bones, muscles and immune system. Here's what Dr. Amy Millen, associate professor with the University at Buffalo's Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health said.
What is vitamin D?
Dr. Millen said vitamin D is essential, especially when we don't have enough sunlight. "It's very important for bone health. It helps us absorb calcium," she said. She added vitamin D is also known to have different anti-inflammatory properties as well.
What happens when you are deficient?
Dr. Millen said for children, although we don't see it as much, a lack of vitamin D can lead to rickets. For adults, it can impact your bone health. She said you if you do not have the right amount of levels of vitamin D circulating in your body, you could be at risk of developing osteoporosis.
How can you get tested to see if you are vitamin D deficient?
Dr. Millen said the only way to know is through a blood test. She said there aren't any major signs indicating that you are deficient unless it is extremely low.
How can you improve your health if you are vitamin d deficient?
Dr. Millen suggests you can improve your levels by starting with your diet. If you are not lactose intolerant, she said to drink milk. Consuming fatty fish like salmon, she said, is also beneficial, especially if it is wild-caught. She said there are also plenty of supplements in your grocery store, so you should not have to spend a ton of money on this.
Deirdre Hurley, who lives in Buffalo, said her doctor told her a few months ago that she is vitamin D deficient.
"Funny enough the doctor was like, 'I would be more surprised if you weren't deficient like living in Buffalo,'" Hurley said.
She said she changed her diet to include more fish and started taking supplements.
"I think it's been helping for sure," she said.
Although Dr. Millen doesn't recommend this approach, Marcie Altieri is the owner of Golden Halo Concierge Nursing in Amherst. Her health and wellness clinic offers IV vitamin therapy.
"We offer it to them in an intramuscular injection and the dose is so high it would help them feel better within the next day," she said.
Altieri said she sees an uptick of patients who come in with vitamin D deficiencies during the winter.
"It's better for you to have a quick delivery of it and have it directly put into your muscle into your bloodstream so that you can absorb it and feel the difference rather than taking something orally," she said.
