Vitamin D, Should We Be Supplementing Our Diet?
With the change in seasons and sadly sunny blue skies being replaced with grey and rainy weather, it’s time to start thinking about the effects this has on our health. One that we should be considering currently, is that of our vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D is a unique nutrient, as it acts as a pro-hormone, which we obtain through sunlight, synthesising in our skin epidermis or from consumption of some foods.
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient in our body conributing to over 1000 processes which include; helping to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, required to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. Vitamin D is also an important component for maintaining optimal immune health, something at the forefront of our minds right now.
This is a reason that you might have seen Vitamin D mentioned recently in the news in relation to the prevention of Coronavirus.
Recently in The Lancet, it was reported that “Meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials conducted from 2007–20 reveal protective effects of vitamin D against acute respiratory infections, albeit these effects were of modest size and with substantial heterogeneity.” However, there is currently not enough evidence to support that Vitamin D can be protective of Coronavirus.
What we do know however, is that maintaining sufficient levels of Vitamin D in the body is a supporting factor for our immune systems. Therefore, government guidelines recommend that from October to April we should supplement our diets with Vitamin D, as the sunlight is not strong enough during these winter months in the UK to enable sufficient Vitamin D synthesis.
If you have dark skin – for example you have an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background – you may also not get enough vitamin D from sunlight, year round.
Over time if we do not obtain sufficient Vitamin D levels, our bodies stores will gradually deplete, with a detriment to our health. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children, bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults and a weakened immune system.
To maintain healthy Vitamin D levels, ensure that you are:
Eating a healthy balanced diet made up of vitamin D food sources which include; oily fish (such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel), red meat, egg yolks, mushrooms and fortified foods.
Take a daily supplement of 10 micrograms of vitamin D between October or April, or regularly if you have a darker skin tone or wear clothing that covers most of your skin.
When looking for a good quality supplement, it can be hard to decide due to the volume of choice on the market. Therefore, if you are unsure of which Vitamin D supplement to choose from, we have popped one of our favourites up on the BWC shop here.
When purchasing through the link, a percentage of the sale helps to fund mental health support provided by the Be Well Collective.