Vitamin D supplements cost as little as 2p per day (Image: Getty)
Dietary supplements are a common part of many people’s health routines, particularly if planning a New Year health kick. But did you know there is one supplement the Government recommends everyone should be taking during the colder months?
A small daily vitamin D supplement is recommended for everyone in the UK between around October and late March, when most people do not get enough sun exposure to make their own. Supplements are widely available as pills, capsules, gummies or drops. Here’s everything you need to know about vitamin D.
Vitamin D plays a role in keeping bones and muscles healthy (Image: Getty)
What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a nutrient that helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. Together, these nutrients help to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets (a condition where the bones become weak and soft) in children. It can also cause a condition called osteomalacia in adults, leading to bone pain, muscle weakness and fractures.
What does the Government recommend?
In the UK, everyone is advised to take a supplement containing 10 micrograms (400 international units) of vitamin D a day during the autumn and winter.
This is thought to be the right amount to support general health and in particular bone and muscle health during the months when our bodies struggle to make enough from sunlight.
Guidance on the Government’s website says: “This advice is particularly important for those who have limited exposure to sunlight during the spring and summer, such as those in residential and nursing care homes and those in prisons; and those who usually wear clothes that cover up most of their skin when outdoors.
“These groups are more at risk of not having enough vitamin D. Those with dark skin (such as people who have an African, African-Caribbean or South Asian background) may also not get enough vitamin D from sunlight.
“All of these groups are advised to take a vitamin D supplement all year round in line with usual government dietary advice.”
There was once a service people could use to apply for free vitamin D supplements, however this closed in 2021.
Where can you get vitamin D?
From late March or early April until the end of September, most people can make all the vitamin D they need from sunlight. The body makes vitamin D from sunlight when UV-B rays hit your skin.
Vitamin D is also found in foods including oily fish, red meat, egg yolks and fortified foods such as some fat spreads and breakfast cereals.
Dietary supplements are also available in pharmacies for as little 2p per day. Vitamin D3 is usually recommended.
Can you get too much vitamin D?
Yes. You cannot overdose on vitamin D through exposure to sunlight but taking too many supplements over a long period of time can cause too much calcium to build up in the body, weakening the bones and causing kidney and heart damage.
When taking vitamin D supplements, 10 micrograms per day is enough for most people. The NHS advises that no one should take more than 100 micrograms (4,000IU) per day as it can be harmful.
If your doctor has recommended you take a different amount of vitamin D, you should follow their advice.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
