Crohn's Disease and Vitamin Supplements

What is Crohn's Disease you may ask? Another name for it is Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It mainly affects the small intestine. It causes both chronic pain and diarrhea and is similar to ulcerative colitis, which causes ulcers in the intestinal lining. Unlike some diseases, IBD affects both men and women. It can also show up in children later in their adulthood. No one is quite sure what causes Crohn's Disease, but there are a variety of treatment options available.

One of the main symptoms of Crohn's Disease is lack of vitamin D. This is due in part because it is not absorbed regularly into the body because of the active inflammation in the intestines. You normally get vitamin D through foods that you eat and also from exposure to the sun, which causes you to absorb vitamin D through the skin. We need vitamin D to help regulate the amount of calcium absorbed into our bodies from foods. But for Crohn's Disease patients, vitamin D supplements might need to be taken.

With the scare of skin cancer nowadays, people are staying out of the sun more. This in turn causes people to not have enough sun exposure. One of the side effects of this is the lack of vitamin D. As we have learned earlier on, we need vitamin D for calcium. So, lacking one vitamin causes a chain reaction of lacking other vitamins or minerals in some way. Now studies have shown that too much sun can cause skin cancer. So baking in the sun at the beach eight hours a day daily is not a good idea. You need a balance. Some doctors have suggested that 15 minutes daily is good enough. But as always, talk to your doctor. Me personally, to get as much sun exposure for an hour in the park is something that's relaxing. Whether I'm jogging, biking, walking, or just plain sitting around in the sun relaxing is something I don't mind doing for an hour. The rest of the time you're either in the office or at home for most of us.

So what happens when you don't get enough vitamin D? The result is osteomalacia. This is a condition where your bones are weaker than it should be. In children, this can cause rickets. But in all age groups, your bones can be easily fractured.

Vitamin D supplements are not usually classified as drugs so you can buy it over the counter at some pharmacy or health food store and even online. But just because it's not classified as drugs doesn't mean you don't need to take precaution. First, consult with your doctor if it's safe for you to take vitamin D supplements. Since you have Crohn's Disease, you are most likely taking other medications, so it's vitally important that you consult with your doctor before you take any supplements. Taking supplements might seem harmless with your medication, but it can interact and cause side effects. You should also ask how much of the supplement you can take daily. Taking too much can lead to overdose, or vitamin poisoning, which can lead to problems with your kidneys and liver.

Living with Crohn's Disease might be difficult, but little things like vitamin D supplements can help make life easier. Talk to your doctor to learn how to make vitamin D supplements a part of your daily life routine to help battle Crohn's Disease.