Sunshine, not food,
is where most of your vitamin D comes from. So even a healthy, well balanced
diet, that provides all the other vitamins and goodness you need, is unlikely
to provide enough vitamin D. So with April around the corner it is time to
start stocking up again!
What is vitamin D?
You make vitamin D under your skin when you
are outside in daylight, which is the reason vitamin D is sometimes called
the ‘sunshine vitamin’. A vitamin is something that helps our body function –
a ‘nutrient’ – that we cannot make in our body. Vitamin D is different
because even though we call it a vitamin, it is actually a hormone and we can
make it in our body.
What does vitamin D do in my body?
Vitamin D works with calcium and phosphorus
for healthy bones, muscles and teeth. The Scientific Advisory Committee on
Nutrition (SACN) report Vitamin D and Health (July 2016) highlights the
importance of vitamin D in protecting muscle strength and preventing rickets,
osteomalacia and falls. Even if you have a calcium-rich diet, without enough
vitamin D you cannot absorb the calcium into your bones and cells where it is
needed. Vitamin D may have other important roles in the body, but there isn’t
enough evidence at the moment to make any conclusions.
What happens if I don’t get enough
vitamin D?
Some babies are born
with low levels of vitamin D and some do not get enough in breast milk; this
can result in fits or rickets. Older children who do not get enough vitamin D
can also develop rickets. Rickets can cause permanent deformities to the
bone, weaken muscles and reduced growth.
Adults who don’t get enough vitamin D can
develop osteomalacia. This makes the bones softer as the minerals needed to
keep them strong cannot get into the bone. People with osteomalacia
experience bone pain and muscle weakness.
The main source of vitamin D is exposure to sunlight
It is the sun’s ultraviolet rays that allow
vitamin D to be made in the body. You do not have to sunbathe to make vitamin
D.
In the UK and Ireland, from October to March the sun is
too weak for the body to make vitamin D – even if we spend time outside on
bright winter days, it won’t boost our levels of vitamin D. As a result, we
rely on the amount we made and stored in the summer. However
strong sun also burns skin so we need to balance making vitamin D with being
safe in the sun - take care to cover up or protect your skin with sunscreen
before you turn red or get burnt.
In the winter months we need to top up our levels with
foods that contain good amounts of vitamin D and, in some cases, take a
supplement.
Which foods contain vitamin D?
The following are
considered to be vitamin D rich foods,
• oily fish such as
salmon, sardines, pilchards, trout, herring, kippers and eel contain
reasonable amounts of vitamin D
• cod liver oil contains
a lot of vitamin D (don’t take this if you are pregnant)
• egg yolk, meat, offal
and milk contain small amounts but this varies during the seasons
• margarine, some breakfast cereals, infant
formula milk and some yoghurts have added or are ‘fortified’ with vitamin D
Vitamin D supplements:
A supplement only needs to contain 10 micrograms to
meet the recommendation – those with a higher content of vitamin D are
unnecessary and could be harmful in the long run.
Taking a vitamin D supplement as well as
eating foods rich in vitamin D and spending a lot of time outside in sunshine
is not a problem. However do not take more than one supplement containing
vitamin D (count cod-liver oil as a supplement) as you could exceed the 10
micrograms recommendation. Always choose a supplement tailored to the age
group or condition, as fish liver oils and high dose multivitamin supplements
often contain vitamin A, too much of which can cause liver and bone problems,
especially in very young children, and the elderly.
If you are concerned you are not getting enough vitamin
D or what the best type of supplement is for you, speak to your doctor,
health visitor, or ask to be seen by a dietitian.
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Friday, 24 March 2017
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