“My hair was falling out, rather my hair is not growing, spots on my face, joint pain, fatigue permanent and much dream“, is the criterion supported by Consuelito, who has a vitamin D deficiency.
Since 2021, their laboratory tests show levels of vitamin D between 7.8 and 19.8 nanograms per milliliters (ng/ml), classified as insufficiency, when medical guidelines consider sufficiency between 30 to 100 ng/ml.
Consuelito, despite having had diagnoses, according to her “wrong”, of lupus y arthritis, from a very young age, it was not until five years ago that he was given the test. The discomfort persists because he does not take the supplementation indicated by his doctors, with the argument that “he did not know that his symptoms could be related to a lack of vitamin D”.
This is not an isolated case. The endocrinologist, nutritionist and obesity specialist, Hilda Escaño Miesesstates that in the Dominican Republic, despite being a tropical country, and vitamin D is absorbed by the sun, there are a large number of people with a deficiency of that lipoproteinfor not exposing themselves sufficiently to the ultraviolet rays.
Long hours of indoor work, use of umbrellas and dark vehicle windows are some of the barriers for the sun to penetrate the body and activate this hormone.
“The Vitamin D is not just a vitamin, it is a pro-hormonebehaves as such because it helps to make other hormones and also helps the body absorb the soccer and keep the bones strong,” he explained.
Endocrinologist Hilda Escaño Mieses
Improves muscles, insulin and reduces risk of falling
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Having sufficient levels of Vitamin D makes insulin act better in the body and immune system.
“As for muscles, it will improve muscle strength, reduce the risk of falls in older adults, also helps regulate inflammation and can reduce the risk of autoimmune diseases when its levels are adequate.”
In this sense, the specialist explains that The ideal is to maintain the levels of Vitamin D over 30 y 50 ng/mlknowing that this vitamin comes mainly from the sun, and in lesser quantities in foods such as fatty fish, eggs, but that supplementation is often required.
Obesity, fatty liver and the elderly
Other factors that Dr. Escaños Mieses highlights that affect vitamin D deficiency are obesity and overweight, which cause fat to “hijack” vitamin D in the adipose tissue, so the levels decrease significantly in this population.
Likewise in aging, the specialist warns that the skin produces less vitamin D and when the patient has fatty liver it can also alter the metabolism of vitamin D.
Few doctors indicate the test
The Vitamin D test is not indicated by all doctors, even patients, who are often the ones who ask the specialist to indicate it to them. Be careful, the basic health plan does not have coverage and the cost exceeds RD$1,600.
When asking Dr. Escaño Mieses about this, she acknowledged that not all doctors indicate this test to patients, so that they know their levels and act accordingly, but she affirms that every day more gynecologists, nutritionist cardiologists, endocrinologists and others indicate the Vitamin D test.
Sun exposure
Vitamin D is only produced with direct ultraviolet radiation, especially between the hours of 10 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.
Therefore, he recommends exposing yourself for 10 to 20 minutes three to four times a week, with your arms and legs exposed, without sunscreen. From there you can use sunscreen and umbrellas.
Supplementation dosage and food
The specialist says that Vitamin D can be found in foods, although they provide few units, such as salmon, sardines, prickly pear, egg yolks, liver and dairy products that are fortified with vitamin D.
When there is a deficiency, it is corrected with vitamin D3 supplementation or cholecalciferol, which is preferable, to then level out those vitamin D values that are deficient.
“So if we want to have strong bones, if we want to have greater muscle strength, if we want to have better insulin sensitivity, for those patients who have insulin resistance, it is extremely necessary that we have adequate levels of vitamin D,” he pointed out.
¿What is the ideal dose of vitamin D? “Well, if it is a maintenance dose, those patients who have normal levels of vitamin D, 800 to 2,000 units daily.”
“If there is insufficiency, which is between 20 to 29, then sometimes we need 2,000 to 4,000 units per day. And when there is a greater deficit, then 50,000 units every 6 to 8 weeks. This must be adjusted in patients with obesity, patients who have poor absorption, post-bariatric patients and we must try to find the main source vitamin, the sun.”
date:2026-02-12 18:11:00
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