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Vitamin D and Arthritis: What You Should Know

May 15, 2021
While arthritis usually affects those who are more than 40 years old, this condition impacts the lives of millions of people across the world. Unfortunately, it forces people to live with painful and stiff joints.

While arthritis usually affects those who are more than 40 years old, this condition impacts the lives of millions of people across the world. Unfortunately, it forces people to live with painful and stiff joints. Additionally, this condition can be horrible to live with, and there are very few medical solutions that can solve the problem entirely. Thankfully, though, Vitamin D can be the salvation you need, providing you with relief and the means to improve arthritis in your joints. But how exactly does this work?

What Causes Arthritis?

There are quite a few different types of arthritis out there, making it tricky to pinpoint exactly what causes this type of condition in each individual. In some cases, the ligaments that usually provide cushioning for your joints will degrade over time to the point that they can’t feel well enough anymore. In others, though, arthritis can be caused by the bones in your joints wearing down due to weakness. Vitamin D is more useful in the latter case, but it can still help to improve your comfort if you have arthritis that is connected to your ligaments.

What Does Vitamin D Do?

Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins your body needs. Responsible for regulating both calcium and phosphates in your body, failing to get enough of this vitamin can leave your bones brittle and weak. You only need around 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day to maintain a healthy body, as long as you’re also thinking about the other vitamins and minerals that are crucial to your diet. Of course, though, you need to make sure that you’re using this vitamin correctly to get the best results.

Using Vitamin D To Improve Arthritis

Vitamin D is able to help with arthritis because it promotes healthy bones. By regulating the calcium in your body, vitamin D acts as a key to unlock stronger bones, while also helping you to avoid other serious medical conditions. There are a few different sources of vitamin D that can be found below.

  • Sunlight promotes vitamin D production in your body.
  • Vitamin D supplements are commonly found on the modern market.
  • Fatty fish is rich in vitamin D.
  • Egg yolks are a very good source of vitamin D.

Alongside getting enough vitamin D, you also need to make sure that your body is getting the calcium it needs. Dairy products are good for this, but you can also drink soy or almond milk to get the calcium you need. For those who don’t like milk, beans, tofu, and sardines can be alternatives that are still high in calcium.

Arthritis can be horrible to live with, but you don’t have to go through this alone. Experts like the team at the Rheumatology Clinic of Houston can help you to improve your joints and lessen the impact of arthritis, along with giving you even more tips that will help you to overcome the pain that you’ve been living with for a long time. To learn more about what we can do to help, call us today at 832-237-8585.