WASHINGTON -- A few months ago, Haymarket resident Balbir Bhuller said she noticed her body was changing in dramatic ways. Her hair began falling out. She stopped sweating. Her normally soft skin became rough and hard. And she hurt on the inside too.

"I felt very lethargic," Bhuller said. "Tired at times, mostly my bones were aching, which I never had before."

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Bhuller met with Washington Hospital Center Endocrinologist Jason Wexler, who immediately diagnosed her with a vitamin D deficiency, a diagnosis that surprised Bhuller, but not the doctor.

"Vitamin D deficiencies have really seen quite a resurgence, and it's really become quite rampant among many individuals, both healthy individuals and those with chronic diseases," Wexler said.

It's because most people's diets contain very little vitamin D, Wexler said. Besides fortified dairy products like milk and yogurt, the only other food with the vitamin is oily fish, like salmon.

The only other natural way to get vitamin D is through sunlight. Dr. Wexler said most of us aren't getting enough of that either.

"We use suntan lotion and we keep ourselves covered, so that decreases our ability to make vitamin D naturally," Wexler said.

Too little vitamin D can help cause some serious problems, including osteoperosis and other bone conditions like rickets, children being born with soft bones.

"It's just so unfortunate that we're seeing diseases that should have been wiped out are coming back again," Wexler said.

A little extra sunlight or taking some of these vitamin D supplements might also have some other benefits. There's more reason to believe that D is a wonder vitamin. More and more studies are coming out showing the vitamin may be able to protect against certain cancers, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

The research is so strong, and the number of deficiencies so high, that many in the medical community agree that the recommended daily allowance needs to be dramatically higher.

The current recomendation is 400 units a day for most people. For those older adults and osteoperosis, 600 to 800 unit. But now, many doctors recommend at least 1,000 units.

That's what Bhuller now takes every day, and she said she's able to do things she couldn't before.

"Since I'm taking that I'm doing much better and I'm doing a little exercise also," she said.

To get all the vitamin D you need, Wexler recommends about five to 10 minutes of sun exposure to the arms and legs a couple of times a week. He said that should keep your vitamin D levels normal, and avoid risk of skin cancer.

More Information:

Vitamin D Fact Sheet