You May Not Realize That You Have A Vitamin Deficiency

If you’ve been feeling unusually tired lately, or noticing muscle aches that won’t go away, you might be quick to blame stress or workload. But there’s a good chance something else is quietly draining your energy, two vitamin deficiencies so common in India that they’ve become a hidden epidemic.

Between 70–100%¹ of Indians have insufficient vitamin D levels, while nearly half the population struggles with low vitamin B12. These aren’t small numbers, and they’re not limited to any particular group. Urban professionals, stay-at-home parents, college students, elderly relatives, nearly everyone is at risk.

Why These Deficiencies Are Everywhere

The reasons are simpler than you’d think, yet they affect nearly all of us.

Vitamin D gets produced when sunlight hits your skin. Sounds easy enough, except most of us spend our days indoors. Office workers sit under artificial lights for eight hours. Students attend classes in closed rooms. When we step outside, pollution blocks UV rays, or we’re covered in sunscreen and long sleeves. Even in sunny states like Maharashtra, deficiency rates are extremely high in certain groups.

Vitamin B12 comes almost entirely from animal products like dairy, eggs, meat, fish. With India’s large vegetarian population and limited use of fortified foods, getting enough B12 through diet alone is genuinely difficult. Older adults face another challenge: even if they eat B12-rich foods, their bodies absorb less of it naturally with age.

What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You

These deficiencies rarely announce themselves clearly. They creep in quietly, often mistaken for stress or tiredness until the symptoms become impossible to ignore.

Vitamin D deficiency may cause:

• Low energy, muscle aches, or cramps
• Bone pain, poor healing, or fractures
• Frequent infections
• Low mood or mild depression

Vitamin B12 deficiency may cause:

• Fatigue and weakness
• Tingling in hands and feet
• Memory lapses or poor concentration
• Mood changes and irritability
• In severe cases, difficulty walking or vision problems

The real problem is that these symptoms develop so gradually that most people adapt to them, assuming it’s just part of getting older or working hard. It isn’t.

Who Needs to Pay Attention

Certain groups face higher risk, though honestly, almost everyone in India should be mindful of these deficiencies.

Urban dwellers who spend most daylight hours indoors need to be particularly vigilant about vitamin D. This includes office workers, healthcare professionals, and students. Women who wear full-coverage clothing for cultural or religious reasons get minimal sun exposure. People who are overweight store vitamin D in fat tissue, making less of it available for the body to use. Those with darker skin tones naturally produce less vitamin D from the same amount of sunlight.

For vitamin B12, vegetarians and vegans face the biggest challenge since plant foods contain virtually no B12. Elderly people absorb B12 poorly, even from supplements. Pregnant and breastfeeding women need extra B12 for their babies’ development. Anyone taking medications like metformin for diabetes or regular antacids may be blocking B12 absorption without realizing it.

Recent workplace health screenings found that 57%² of urban professional men and nearly 50% of women had low B12 levels². These are people in their productive years, presumably eating well and taking care of themselves. The numbers make it clear that this isn’t about poor lifestyle choices; it’s a structural problem that requires deliberate solutions.

Fixing This Is Easier Than You Think

The good news is that addressing these deficiencies requires very little effort once you know what to do.

For vitamin D, getting 10–20 minutes of direct sunlight on your arms or legs each day helps, though for many people, this alone won’t be enough to correct a deficiency. Fatty fish, egg yolks, and fortified dairy provide some vitamin D, but relying solely on food is impractical for most Indians. Supplementation becomes necessary, and our nutritionists typically recommend something like Carbamide Forte Vitamin D3 60000 IU capsules—one high-dose tablet weekly is usually sufficient for most people to restore and maintain healthy levels.

For vitamin B12, vegetarians can increase dairy and egg consumption, though this may still fall short if you have absorption issues or higher needs. Fortified foods help but aren’t widely available or consistently used. A daily B12 supplement like Carbamide Forte Methylcobalamin 1500 mcg offers a straightforward solution—just one small tablet covers your daily needs reliably.

Most people notice improvements in energy, mood, and physical discomfort within a few weeks of starting supplementation. The transformation can be dramatic, especially if you’ve been deficient for a while without realizing it.

Know Where You Stand

Guessing whether you need these supplements isn’t necessary. A simple blood test shows your exact vitamin D and B12 levels, giving you a clear baseline and helping you track improvements over time.

To get a clear idea, make sure that you get tested when you notice the signs. Regular monitoring helps you adjust supplementation as needed rather than taking random doses and hoping for the best.

What You Should Know

Vitamin D and B12 keep your bones strong, your nerves functioning properly, and your immune system prepared. When levels drop, your entire body struggles quietly in the background. You feel tired, achy, foggy, and low without understanding why.

The fix is genuinely simple. A weekly vitamin D3 capsule and a daily B12 tablet restore what your lifestyle and diet cannot provide. Within weeks, most people feel noticeably better—more energetic, clearer-headed, and physically comfortable.

Given how common these deficiencies are in India, supplementation isn’t about being sick or unhealthy. It’s about recognizing a widespread gap between what our bodies need and what modern life naturally provides, then filling that gap with minimal effort and maximum benefit.

Source: 

1. Gupta S, Aparna P, Muthathal S, Nongkynrih B. Vitamin D deficiency in India. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2018;7(2):324. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_78_18 

2. Desk TL. Over 57% men employees are vitamin B12 deficient: Why is it important to improve B12 level. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/over-57-men-employees-are-vitamin-b12-deficient-6-diet-changes-to-improve-b12-level/articleshow/119104967.cms. Published March 24, 2025.