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Touted as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is receiving a great deal of attention
recently both in the scientific community and in the media. This is because
researchers and health experts are telling us may not be getting enough.
Vitamin D deficiency
is a very common problem and over half of the UK population is thought to be
deficient of this essential vitamin according to Patient UK.
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Experts now advise a certain amount of unprotected exposure to the sun is
essential. 2-3 exposures to the sun per week in the summer month’s helps the
body store up this essential sunshine vitamin to keep us going through the
winter months. Our main source of vitamin D is that made by our own bodies. 90%
of our vitamin D is made in the skin with the help of sunlight. So as the matter
stands, taking in some sun is actually beneficial for your health!
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Vitamin D facts:
Vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin because our skin, when exposed to
sunlight, can produce this vitamin for the body.
Your ability to make the vitamin decreases if you use sunscreen, during the
winter months if you live in the northern hemisphere, if you have dark pigmented
skin, and as you age. As a result, vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is
increasing.
Vitamin D is mostly made in the skin by exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D is a
fat-soluble vitamin, and therefore this means that the body can store it for
future use.
Foods contain very little vitamin D naturally and therefore when deficient it is
important to supplement this with either foods enriched with added vitamin D and
of course the sunlight!
Vitamin D from the sun
Experts now advise a certain amount of exposure to the sun is essential. 2-3
exposures to the sun per week in the summer month’s helps the body store up this
essential Vitamin to keep us going through the winter months. Our main source of
vitamin D is that made by our own bodies. 90% of our vitamin D is made in the
skin with the help of sunlight.
Each exposure to the sun should last 20-30 minutes and this is not the same as
sun tanning, it is more about exposing the skin to sunlight at the right time of
the day for only a certain amount of time. So taking in the sun in moderation is
a good thing. The sun's rays can be damaging and sunburn should be avoided at
all costs (mainly because it can increase your risk of skin cancer). Darker
skins need more sun to get the same amount of vitamin D as a fair-skinned
person.
However as winter draws in, and as we live in the northern hemisphere our
chances of getting enough vitamin D may not be the same as someone who lives in
more tropical climes. And vitamin D is essential for strong bones, muscle and
general health.
Vitamin D deficiency is even more likely to develop in women who have had
several full-term pregnancies with short gaps between them. This is because the
body's stores of vitamin D get used up, and there is little time for them to be
built up before another pregnancy. Why we need Vitamin D Vitamin D plays a vital
role in keeping your bones strong and healthy, by helping with the absorption of
calcium from your diet and in the formation of bone, but this essential vitamin
has also been linked to decreased risk of:
• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• multiple sclerosis
• arthritis
Research suggests that adequate vitamin D may also be associated with a lower
risk of colorectal and other types of cancer. And recently, there is emerging
evidence it may also help beat the blues since low levels have been linked to
certain mood disorders like PMS and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that
affects many of us during the winter months when the sun is high in the sky and
the grey days seem interminable.
Foods that contain vitamin D include:
Food sources are somewhat limited, here are some top choices:
• Milk. One 8-ounce cup of semi skimmed or low-fat milk has 25% of the daily
recommended amount of vitamin D.
• Eggs. A single egg has 10% of your daily vitamin D. The vitamin D is found in
the yolk,
• Fortified cereals. Look for whole grain cereals fortified with vitamin D. They
offer about 10% of your daily needs for the vitamin per serving, along with the
healthy fibre and B-vitamins of those energy-boosting whole grains.
• Certain varieties of mushrooms. When mushrooms grow in the wild, they produce
vitamin D in their skin, much like people make vitamin D from exposure to
sunshine. However, most mushrooms today are cultivated, growing in dark spaces
and never seeing sunshine.
• And there are supplements too.
Kelp contains the one and only natural vegetable source of vitamin D. Kelp
also contains a number of beneficial nutrients such as potassium, calcium,
magnesium, iodine, iron and has recently become popular as a
vitamin D supplement.