A lack of this vitamin can lead to obesity. Dr. Adina Alberts explains

“Our body needs vitamins to perform all its metabolic functions. Without vitamins, free radicals can oxidize tissues and cause premature aging. Their role is also important in the processes of converting food into energy, in maintaining good functioning of the immune system, but also for mental health. One of these vitamins with multiple roles is vitamin D, a deficiency of which can cause multiple imbalances in the body.

If there is a deficiency of this vitamin in the body, numerous disorders will occur, including the accumulation of extra pounds.” explains Dr. Adina Alberts in one of her Facebook posts. Here's what the doctor writes:

Research in this regard has concluded that fat mass is greater in people with vitamin D deficiency, and this deficiency correlates with increased levels of parathyroid hormone and intracellular calcium, important factors in determining obesity. It was initially thought that low vitamin D levels in obese people were caused by obesity itself, but a 2010 study suggests that these low levels contribute to obesity in the first place. Researchers have found that increasing vitamin D levels (and calcium intake) can improve weight loss while dieting. The study involved 126 overweight women, all of whom were followed for 6 months.

According to a study published in 2007, vitamin D may help counteract the weight gain often seen in middle-aged women.

Because low vitamin D levels lead to fat accumulation, a toxic environment is created that initiates negative metabolic and inflammatory cascade reactions. A vicious cycle is created, leading to even more fat accumulation and further inflammation.

Hypovitaminosis D also blocks pancreatic cell function and affects insulin sensitivity because pancreatic cells have vitamin D receptors that produce insulin. In addition to increasing existing fat deposits, low vitamin D levels increase the risk of new fat deposits and contribute to the onset of type II diabetes.

So, if you are dieting with the goal of losing weight, an important aspect of this entire endeavor is also to increase/normalize your blood levels of vitamin D. Therefore, stay in the sun whenever you have the opportunity, in the summer or on holiday in warm regions, in the early morning hours or after 17:00, during hours of low solar radiation, without protective creams, and in this way you will synthesize almost all the necessary amount of vitamin D Take supplements orally by eating foods rich in vitamin D, such as fish, cheeses, butter, and fatty fruits. As a last resort, take a vitamin D3 supplement, preferably from natural sources.