How Vitamin D and Calcium Help with Vertigo

Vertigo is indeed a widespread health concern that affects millions of people in the USA alone. If you’re no stranger to the horrible spinning sensation that it causes, chances are, you have been actively searching for ways to cope. Often, patients seek medical intervention or natural relief options like going to a chiropractor for vertigo to lessen the attacks. Interestingly, recent findings show another potential remedy that you can try – taking vitamin D and calcium supplements for vertigo relief. 

Evidence on Calcium and Vitamin D for Vertigo Relief

Just recently, the Neurology journal published a study investigating the benefits of taking double doses of calcium and Vitamin D. The study by Dr. Ji-Soo Kim and his colleagues examined around 1,000 patients with BPPV or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Here are some of the critical finding that you may find helpful in managing your vertigo problem:

• Around 86 percent of patients experiencing BPPV claim that their condition causes significant disruptions in their work or daily life.
• They grouped the patients into two – an intervention group with 445 members and 512 patients classified under the observation. 
• Out of the 445 patients, 348 had vitamin D deficiency. They received double doses of vitamin D (400 IU/dose) and calcium (500 mg/dose) to correct the issue. The remaining patients did not take supplements because they don’t have vitamin deficiencies. 
• The other group of patients with 512 individuals didn’t take supplements. The researchers also didn’t measure the level of vitamin D found in the observation group's blood.
• The experiment revealed that the patients who received vitamin supplements showed a significant reduction of vertigo risks and recurrence.  
• Patients who received additional vitamin D and calcium supplement dosages experienced a 45 percent reduction in their vertigo episodes' annual recurrence. 

These results provide patients with more options in relieving their symptoms and living a normal life without vertigo attacks. It also opens up more opportunities for researchers who want to explore alternative vertigo relief options apart from visiting a chiropractor for vertigo.  

Natural Sources of Vitamin D and Calcium

With the promising findings of the 2020 study on calcium and vitamin D, you may be wondering how you can integrate these two into your diet. What are the best options if you are deficient in these essential nutrients? 

If you’re looking for the most convenient remedy, you can take food supplements. It’s the most straightforward way to get enough nutrition and relieve your migraine headaches. However, if you’re not keen on using manufactured and ready-to-drink food supplements, you can opt to eat vitamin D and calcium-rich food items. Some examples of these include: 

• Egg yolks – A large egg weighing around 50 grams can provide you with vitamin D3, amounting to about 50 IU. A quick computation would tell you that it’s about 8.3 percent of the recommended daily intake. 

• Mushrooms – Eating mushrooms helps boost the body’s natural production of vitamin D because they contain high amounts of ergosterol.

• Vegetables – Dark-leaf veggies like spinach, collards, and kale have high amounts of calcium, making them a staple in vegetarian cooking. 

• Milk and dairy food products – Dairy products and milk contain calcium and vitamin D. However, such products have high volumes of fat, so you need to mind your consumption.  

• Fish – The flesh of tuna, salmon, mackerel, and other fatty types of fish contains high levels of vitamin D. In fact, a 3-oz. slice of salmon alone can provide you with 450 IU of vitamin D. 

• Seeds – Chia, celery, poppy, and sesame seeds contain high calcium, protein, and healthy dietary fats. They make an excellent addition to snacks and everyday meals. 

Tapping Into Another Natural Vertigo Remedy

Most of the time, you’ll need more than one natural vertigo remedy to experience lasting benefits. So besides preventing or addressing vitamin D and calcium deficiencies, you can also seek assistance from a chiropractor for vertigo.

Studies have long proven the potential of spinal alignment correction in improving the condition of people experiencing spinning sensations. It offers impressive results, no matter if your vertigo stems from BPPV or other health problems like labyrinthitis, vestibular neuritis, and Meniere’s disease. 

Basically, when you receive upper cervical care, your chiropractor checks for spinal misalignment. The C1 and C2 neck bones often shift into an abnormal position because of a previous neck or spinal injury. The neck bone subluxation can also occur due to bad posture developed when sitting in front of the desk for long hours.

Note that even the slightest change in your neck bone’s normal alignment can put immense pressure on the nerves, muscles, and brainstem. This, in effect, can trigger spinning sensations that could persist for minutes or hours. By fixing the structural problem, you heal your body and restore the affected nerves and brainstem's normal function.

Find a Chiropractor For Vertigo Near You

Frequent vertigo attacks can indeed impact your day-to-day activities. It could mess up your schedule, affect your work productivity and cause inconveniences for you and everyone around you. Fortunately, remedies like going to a chiropractor for vertigo and increasing intake of essential vitamins and minerals like calcium and vitamin D show promising results. 

Each year more and more evidence back up the claims on the efficacy and potential of upper cervical care in managing vertigo symptoms. In fact, you can find plenty of case studies on patients who have suffered from vertigo for years and found a complete or partial resolution of their condition after receiving upper cervical chiropractic adjustments. 

Feel free to consult with a chiropractor for vertigo and find out how you can take advantage of this natural approach. Locate a nearby upper cervical chiropractor and request an appointment today!

FAQs: BPPV, Vitamin D Deficiency and Upper Cervical Chiropractic

#1. How many people have BPPV?

BPPV accounts for about 8 percent of vertigo cases. It commonly occurs in adults, especially those in their late 50s. However, it can also affect kids or younger adults after a blow to the neck or head. According to a meta-analysis of 19 studies of BPPV, here are other commonly listed risk factors of the condition:

• Being female
• Lack of Vitamin D
• Experiencing frequent bouts of migraines
• Has osteoporosis
• Has high cholesterol levels

#2. What are the said causes of BPPV?

The most popular theory on the onset of BPPV states that the disorienting symptoms may likely stem from the dislodged calcium crystals. Initially, these crystals sit inside the inner ears. However, due to blunt force or trauma, they can break off and migrate into other areas, disrupting the flow of information sent to the brain about your motion and position.

#3. What are the Symptoms of BPPV?

BPPV symptoms tend to vary from one patient to another. Some experience severe and debilitating symptoms, while others only manifest milder ones. Notably, most of the patients who get diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo report vertigo attacks or spinning sensations.

Such episodes can last for a few minutes to hours, depending on the patient's overall well-being. The attacks can also occur with additional symptoms like dizzying spells, vomiting, nausea, and nystagmus (abnormal eye jerking).

If you show the symptoms we enumerated above, we recommend scheduling a visit to your doctor’s office. Your doctor may need to review your medical history and perform a quick physical examination to rule out other likely causes of your vertigo and other symptoms.

If you get a positive diagnosis, you will likely get referred to an upper cervical chiropractic doctor or receive calcium crystal repositioning maneuvers.

to schedule a consultation today.