Are you getting enough sunlight? A case for Vitamin D

In these winter months the amount of sunlight we receive is greatly reduced and apart from gray skies we are also faced with our bodies naturally producing less Vitamin D!

Why is this important?, you may be asking, well the answer to that is Vitamin D is important for good health, growth and strong bones. A Vitamin D deficiency can cause anything from general aches and pains, in mild cases, to rickets (in children) and osteomalacia (in adults) in severe cases.  By absorbing sunlight (best source being summer sunlight – although overexposure can be harmful too) through our skin, Vitamin D is produced and helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the,  body – needed to keep bones and teeth healthy, it also helps reduce the harmful effects of too much vitamin A (please ask your GP for more information about this).

A lack of Vitamin D is very common and apart from sunlight (which we receive less and less of over the winter months), there are few sources of the vitamin especially through the food we eat, and in this case you often find that some food products are fortified (enriched) with it to ensure it is incorporated as part of a healthy diet.

So to help you along the way in terms of what to include in your diet, below is a list of the main food sources of Vitamin D:

• Oily fish like Salmon and Sardines
• Eggs
• Fortified fat spreads
• Fortified breakfast cereals
• Powdered milk

Although Vitamin D is important to us there is no need, for most of us, to take it daily as long as we follow a healthy diet and get regular sunshine because our bodies are able to store any unused vitamin for when it is needed!  However it is recommended by the Department of Health that the following groups of people take it daily:

• All children aged 6 months to 5 years old
• All pregnant and breastfeeding women
• All people aged 65 and over
• People who are not exposed to much sun, such as people who cover up their skin for cultural reasons, those who are housebound or confined in doors for long periods of time.
• People wih darker skins such as people of African-Caribbean and South Asian origin.

So with gray skies, the occasional sunny yet cold days, and the need to keep warm and healthy, make sure you are keeping your Vitamin D levels up.  For more information click here or follow the link below,

http://www.naturessunshine.eu/uk/bromleyskincarekent/index.asp?act=moreinfo&id=4977&subcat