The importance of Vitamin D

The sun is out.. the sky is blue..!

Today and tomorrow look like definite days to take advantage of our clear blue skies (even clearer without any airplanes in!). The benefits of vitamin D are wide reaching and it is far better to absorb it from our sun when we get the opportunity. Vitamin D insufficiency in the UK is common, we just don’t get enough all year round sun so for some of us, adding in a supplement in the winter months may be beneficial. In normal circumstances I would recommend asking your GP to give you a blood test to check for any deficiency however with the current state of things, the best thing you can do is get outdoors when you can (on your own, or 2 metres away from others of course!) to catch some rays.

Your body needs vitamins and nutrients to grow and develop normally and vitamin D is one of them that is definitely required – though technically it’s not a vitamin it’s a hormone - and when we are exposed to sunlight this activates vitamin D to be absorbed, which we all know is very important for overall health and wellbeing. In fact we make 90% of our vitamin D needs from the sun and only 10% can be absorbed from food.

Vitamin D is important for a huge number of functions in the body from supporting strong and healthy bones to maintaining our immune system. As a hormone it means that it acts as a messenger potentially affecting everything from our metabolism, our weight to how our organs function. Vitamin D can affect our mood and is a contributor to Seasonal Affective Disorder as researchers believe this affects the activity of the neurotransmitter serotonin, our ‘happy’ hormone and a deficiency in vitamin D can cause a depletion in serotonin leading to low mood. Increasing your vitamin D is protective against respiratory infections like the flu and viruses and a review of 19 studies links adequate vitamin D to a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke. In fact vitamin D deficiency has been linked to many negative health conditions from dry eyes to alzheimers, obesity and diabetes.

So although it is best to optimise your vitamin D levels with safe sun exposure, you may need additional supplementation of 1000 iu of vitamin D3. At this time of year the sun’s rays aren’t quite so damaging, but still take care, more than 15 minutes in the direct sun and you may want to consider applying some sunblock. In normal circumstances I would suggest getting your GP to test that your blood levels are above 60 ng/ml, this is something that would be a good thing to do when we are through this uncertain time. When supplementing, research has shown that in order to fully activate absorption of vitamin D, it needs to be taken in conjunction with vitamin K2, and also calcium and magnesium. We can of course also increase the foods that contain good levels of vitamin D like fatty fish, salmon, mackeral and tuna for example, or egg yolks, cheese, liver, mushrooms and foods that are fortified with vitamin D like some cereals and orange juice.

But for today – just get out there and soak it up - because I think by the weekend it may have gone again!