07/01/2026
๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฎ๐จ๐๐: ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐พ๐ค๐ข๐ข๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐
โWhy do I still feel tired? I go out sometimes, and Malaysia has so much sun,โ a customer once asked at the pharmacy counter.
Itโs a common question โ and a very understandable one. After all, we live in Malaysia, a country blessed with sunshine all year round. Yet many Malaysians are unknowingly living with vitamin D deficiency. As community pharmacists, this is something we see more often than people realise.
๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป ๐
Vitamin D is often called the โsunshine vitaminโ because our body produces it when skin is exposed to sunlight. However, modern lifestyles have changed how much effective sun exposure we actually get.
Many Malaysians spend most of their day indoors โ working in offices, attending classes, commuting in cars, or staying at home. Even outdoor time is often limited to early mornings or late evenings, when sunlight is weaker for vitamin D production.
On top of that, sun-avoidance habits are common. We seek shade, use umbrellas, apply sunscreen, or prefer covered clothing to protect our skin from heat and pigmentation. While these habits are important for skin health, they also significantly reduce the skinโs ability to produce vitamin D.
๐ช๐ต๐ โ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ปโ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต
One important fact many people donโt know is that ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐.
Skin colour plays a role โ darker skin contains more melanin, which naturally blocks ultraviolet B (UVB) rays needed for vitamin D production. This means some individuals need longer sun exposure to produce the same amount of vitamin D as others.
Age also matters. As we grow older, our skin becomes less efficient at producing vitamin D, even with similar sun exposure. This places elderly adults at higher risk, even if they go outdoors regularly.
๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐
In Malaysia, vitamin D deficiency is more commonly seen among:
โ
๐๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น๐, due to reduced skin production
โ
๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐, who spend long hours indoors
โ
๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด, whether for cultural, religious, or personal reasons
โ
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐, who require longer sun exposure
Many people belong to more than one of these groups without realising it.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ด๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ
Vitamin D deficiency rarely causes obvious symptoms at the beginning. People may feel tired, experience muscle discomfort, fall sick more often, or notice low mood โ but these signs are commonly blamed on stress, ageing, lack of sleep, or busy lifestyles.
Because the effects develop slowly, deficiency can persist quietly for years. By the time symptoms become more noticeable, vitamin D levels may have been low for a long time.
๐๐ป ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Here is something that often surprises people:
๐๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ป ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น๐.
Some people have differences in how their body converts vitamin D into its active form. This means two people living in the same environment may not have the same vitamin D status. It is not just about how much sun you get โ it is also about how your body uses it.
๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐บ๐ฝ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ
Since Vitamin D deficiency is common, silent, and often underestimated in our sunny country, understanding your vitamin D status allows early awareness and timely action โ before long-term health effects develop.
This is why screening matters before symptoms appear.
To learn more about vitamin D screening and who may benefit from it, visit:
Get your vitamin D check for just RM1 at Alpro Pharmacy. Quick screening with clear results and pharmacist guidance. Available in Malaysia.
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