Top 10 bone specialists advice on Vitamin D deficiency as an early sign of osteoporosis

Dr.Sushrut Babhulkar,

MS(Orth),MCH(Orth)(UK),

SushrutInstituteof MedicalSciences,Nagpur

Anoptimal diet involves enough protein and calories and of course, calcium and vitamin D, which play acrucial role in maintaining proper bone health and preventing osteoporosis. The optimal intake inyounger men and women recovering from osteoporosis is 600 IU daily. It will help prevent bone loss and reduce the risk of fractures.

It’s said that prevention is better than cure, pay heed to it. Ensure adequate consumption of calciumand vitamin D, whether one gets them from the diet or supplements. This strategy is much better than any treatment for disease.Discuss these with your doctor to arrive at a suitable option.

Dr.SandeepKapoor,

Director Orthopedics &Healthcity Hospital,Trauma& Joint Replacement Surgeon,Lucknow

Vitamin D is vital for the absorption of calcium in the body from our diet, but if you lack Vitamin D, you will not be able to absorb it, despite having calcium in your diet. As a result, to maintain calcium levels in the blood, the bones release calcium into the blood & in turn get deficient in calcium leading to Osteoporosis.

The Deficiency of vitamin D is like an epidemic these days as the number of such patients is increasing. The bones become osteoporotic, and the patient also experiences a lack of alertness, tiredness, and muscle pain. Fish liver oils, sunlight, and mushrooms are excellent sources of vitamin D, and routine blood testing to check vitamin D3 levels is advisable.

Dr.ChiragArora,

MBBSMS(ORTHO)DNBFICS(USA),SHOULDER&KNEESURGEON,CKBIRLAHOSPITAL,GURGAON

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies worldwide. Vitamin D playsan essential role in the absorption of calcium and phosphorous from the diet and hence helps inmaintaining bone density. People with dark skin, the elderly, pregnant women, and bedriddenpeople are more likely to be vitamin D deficient, and it’s often associated with osteoporosis, jointpain, aches, and fractures. Taking a balanced diet, getting adequate exposure to sunlight, andengaging in physical activity all help to maintain bone density. Foods such as milk and milk productssuch as paneer, eggs, fish, mutton, and cod liver oil are great sources of vitamin D. Physical activity(30minutesperday,at leastfourtimesperweek)isanimportanttomaintainbonedensity.

Dr. SantoshShetty,

MBBS, MS (Ortho), MCh (Ortho), Robotic Joint Replacement, CritiCare Asia Group of Hospitals, Director & Head Department of Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement – Surana Group of Hospitals,    Mumbai

The two major causes of vitamin D deficiency are: not enough vitamin D in your diet and sunlight,and a simple way to keep fit is to get good sunlight exposure and eat foods rich in vitamin D likemushrooms,fish,eggyolk,yeast,milk,andmilkproducts.

To stay fit, Vitamin D is an essential micronutrient in our body that acts like a hormone; however,manypeopleareunknowinglydeficientinthisvitamin,makingitaglobalproblem.

Vitamin D3 deficiency can cause fatigue, bone pain, muscle weakness, muscle aches, cramps, ormood changes such as depression. Osteoporosis is known as “the silent killer” because it has nosymptoms, and patients are unaware of their bone loss until they experience a fracture. A simplebonetesttodetect thesymptomsisrecommended.

Dr.Rahul Kumar,

MBBS, MS (Ortho), Joint Replacement Surgeon, Orthopedic surgeon,SeniorConsultant-ParasHospital,Gurugram

Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption from the gut and maintains adequate serum calciumconcentration, making it indispensable for the normal mineralization of bones. Vitamin D is alsorequired for bone remodeling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts, and its deficiency accelerates boneturnoverandboneloss,leadingtoosteoporosis.Osteoporoticboneshavea weakinternalstructureandpoormineralization,makingthempronetofractures,especiallyintheelderlypopulation.

Postmenopausal females are also at higher risk for osteoporosis. Regular calcium and vitamin Dsupplementation has been shown to decrease the risk of osteoporotic fractures, especially hipfractures.

Dr. Tushar Mehta,

MBBS,DNB(Ortho),MNAMS,

SportsInjury&RegenerativeMedicineExpert,

Founder-TheAsharClinics,Gurugram

Vitamin D is necessary for strong bones and muscles. Without Vitamin D, our bodies cannot effectively absorb calcium, which is essential to good bone health. Children who lack Vitamin D develop a condition called rickets, which causes bone weakness, bowed legs, and other skeletal deformities, such as stooped posture.

We see a lot of young females coming to us with generalized body aches and weakness at The Ashar Clinics. Regular intake of calcium and vitamin D certainly decreases the risk of osteoporotic fractures, especially hip & spine fractures.

Dr.SachinRathod,

MBBS, D’ORTHO DNB ORTHOPAEDIC,

Fellowship in Joint Replacement and Complex Trauma,

ConsultantOrthopaedicsandJoint ReplacementSurgeonSaifeeandWockhardtHospital,Mumbai

Vitamin D is an often-overlooked, under-consumed nutrient that plays a major role in your overall health. It is called the “sunshine vitamin.” Vitamin D helps your intestines absorb calcium from your diet and improves bone mineral density. It influences bone microstructure and turnover, allowing osteoporotic bone to become strong. The main reasons for low vitamin D levels are a lack of vitamin D-rich foods in the diet and inadequate exposure to sunlight, which cause loss of bone density and contribute to osteoporosis and fractures. Exposure to sunlight remains the primary source of vitamin D. Osteoporosis is incurable, but with medicines and lifestyle changes, you can slow or even stop it. Regular exercise, a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, and the prevention of falls can all make a difference.

Dr.AbhishekGupta,

MS Orthopedics, FASM (USA), FSSI (S Korea),

Senior Consultant Arthroscopy & Joint Replacement Surgeon,

Director-OrthoWellness&JointsClinic,Jaipur

Vitamin D (VD) is a workhorse nutrient; its endogenous production is UV-B ray dependent, and wecan obtain it externally through dietary intake and supplements. Diet, sunlight exposure, age, sex,BMI,physicalactivity,andsmokingcanaffect theserumVDlevel.VDdeficiencycancauseorworsenosteoporosis (bone weakness), induce osteomalacia, impair bone metabolism, and increase the riskoffractures. Ithasanimpacton thefunctioningofothervitalorgansandimmunity.

Check your serum vitamin D3 level and take an initial loading dose in consultation with yourorthopedic doctor. I recommend 15 minutes of daily direct skin sun exposure, at least four days aweek, to replenish your VD stores. You may also take foods like milk, eggs, cheese, fortified cereals,soymilk,fishliveroils,etc.

Dr. NikunjAgrawal,

MBBS, DNB (Orth), MNAMS (Orth), MRCS Ed (UK), M.Ch. (Tr&Orth- Edinburgh, UK),

FAJR (Singapore), FARS(Harvard, USA), Senior Consultant Orthopedics,

JointReplacements and Sports Arthroscopy, Noida

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies affecting the Indian population.Vitamin D is a hormone in our body that plays three crucial roles in bone health: it helps withcalcium absorption from food in the intestine, ensures proper bone renewal and mineralization,helpskeepmusclesstrong,andreducestheriskoffalling.

A deficiency of Vitamin D leads to osteomalacia and Osteoporosis, which is the reduction of bonemineral density that can cause tiredness, back pain, and fatigue and can lead to fractures from trivialfalls. Vitamin D is made in the skin when exposed to UV-B rays in sunlight. Only a few foods containvitaminD,soexposingtheskintosunlightishowwegetthevitaminDourbodyneeds.

Dr. Karma Raj Singh,MS,DNB,MCh(Orth),

Director-OmegaPlusHospital,Secretary Varanasi Orthopaedic  Association, Varanasi

Vitamin D is responsible for the proper absorption of calcium in the gut. Osteoporosis is essentiallythe weakening of bones due to aging, disease, and infirmity and can definitely be slowed down andpartly prevented by judicious use of regular calcium, vitamin D, and exercise with a balanced diet.On the other hand, osteoporosis manifests in many ways, like low-impact trauma, back pain, andcervical spondylosis, though its impact is much more felt in regularly loaded joints such as the kneesandthebackandiseasilypreventable.