Now we are well and truly into the winter months and our daylight hours are so short, we need to start thinking about vitamin D (or our lack of it!)
What is Vitamin D used for?
Vitamin D is needed to help the absorption of calcium from our food. For women over 45 this is particularly important because our risk of osteoporosis increases considerably during the menopause years. So we need to absorb all the calcium that we eat.
Vitamin D also helps to regulate phosphate in the body. Both calcium and phosphorus help keep our bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
Vitamin D is also essential for good gut health (and therefore good mental health). And there is some evidence (although not 100% confirmed) that it provides some protection from covid19.
Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with poor immune function, clinical depression and declined mental function, such as Alzheimer’s.
Am I getting enough vitamin D?
Most of us get our vitamin D from the action of sunlight on our skin. In the warmer months in the UK, 15 mins outside three times a week between 11am and 3pm without sunscreen would, in theory, give us enough Vitamin D, but in the winter months this is not always so easy. During the winter, regardless of where you live, the sun is just not at the right angle to get UV light into our bodies. And it is the UV light that is needed to synthesize vitamin D in the skin.
Therefore, you should be taking steps to get vitamin D in other ways during the winter months as a minimum.
Can I get vitamin D from food?
You can get vitamin D from food, but often not enough to meet your daily requirements. But eating a good supply of foods rich in vitamin D is still hugely important. These include oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks and some foods that say they are fortified with vitamin D.
There is one exception that is mushrooms which are great source of vitamin D, but only if pre-activated with UV light. Just 3 pre-activated button mushrooms are able to provide your minimum daily requirement.
What do I mean by pre-activated? Most commercial mushrooms are grown in the dark, but as soon as they are exposed to UV light, they soak it up instantly and their vitamin D levels skyrocket. All you need to do, is when you buy mushrooms, lay them out on a sunny windowsill between 10 and 3pm for 1-2 hours. They’ll go from close to zero vitamin D to more than 100% of your recommended daily allowance in that time and it stays stored within them even if you don’t eat them for a week.
Taking a Vitamin D supplement
Public Health England actually recommend that everyone should take a vitamin D supplement.
If you don’t get enough sun exposure as an adult or are at high risk of becoming deficient (pregnant or breastfeeding women, those over 65, those with darker skin, those avoiding the sun, immobile in nursing homes and so on) a supplement of 10 micrograms a day all year round is recommended or only in the winter months as you must discuss with your doctor. Some supplements have the dose displayed as international units (IU) and 10 micrograms is equivalent to 400 IU. Up to 1000 UI is actually safe for everyone to take however. If you think you might be at risk of low vitamin D it is worth getting your levels checked by your doctor in case you need more than this level.
Can I take too much vitamin D?
Because vitamin D takes calcium from your bones when you are in need of calcium, too much vitamin D over long periods of time can cause your bones to weaken and damage your kidneys and heart by causing a calcium build up in the body. The NHS recommends never taking more than 100 micrograms per day (=4000 IU).
Which Vitamin D supplement shall I take?
This is the supplement that I take. It also contains Vitamin K which works synergistically with vitamin D. Vitamin K helps to make various proteins that are needed for blood clotting and the building of bones. For vitamin D to maximise it’s full potential, vitamin K needs to be present also. “Current evidence supports the notion that joint supplementation of vitamins D and K might be more effective than the consumption of either alone for both bone and cardiovascular health”.
So for me I take both together, plus I also chose a liquid as that is more easily broken down and absorbed than tablets. If you would like to buy this one (or anything else on the highly reputable Nutriadvanced website – https://www.nutriadvanced.co.uk/) I have a discount code you can have for 15% off anything from their website, if you set up an account with me as your advisor. If you would like to take me up on this offer please fill in your details in the form below:
