Vitamin D has been in the news this week... the take home message is that we should all be taking a Vitamin D supplement in the winter months, even if you do eat a good diet.
Read on for the many conditions associated with low levels of this vitamin and why you might be more at risk than others...
I like this picture as it shows just how little Vitamin D there is in foods which are often quoted as ‘good sources’. In reality, the only really good food source is from oily fish and you’d need to consuming it almost every day to cover your requirements in the winter months. Here's some great salmon recipes to choose from - or simply buy tinned or smoked salmon, mackerel, sardines, herrings, tuna... all good sources of vitamin D - fresh is best but these are so handy for lunch with a big salad. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/salmon
Of course, the best way of getting the 'sunshine vitamin' is just that, about 30 minutes of sun exposure on bare skin (no, you don't need to be in your bikini, face and arms will do!), three times a week from April to September will suffice. In the winter months we cannot get vitamin D from the sun in northern Europe, it's too weak to convert the pre-vitamin under our skin to the active form. Remember though, sun block will prevent vitamin D formation too. As we know, we have to be careful about sun exposure because of the risk of skin cancer. This is why we are seeing cases of rickets (a bone malformation due to lack of Vitamin D in children): even in Ireland there have been over 20 cases in the past few years.
In July 2016, the UK and Irish Governments both recommended that everyone should take a Vitamin D supplement in the winter months, and I always recommend this to my clients (and my own teenagers, tougher nuts to crack!). An interesting and important fact is that, people who have excess fat tend to have much lower Vitamin D levels, because the vitamin is fat soluble it seems to seep into the fat and stay there, becoming unavailable for the multiple and vitally important functions of the vitamin.
Cod liver oil,has traditionally been taken as a supplement…HOWEVER, cod liver oil has very high levels of Vit A which is toxic in large quantities and has been shown, since 2008, to reduce the benefits of Vitamin D as it ‘swamped’ by the amount of Vitamin A. Incidentally, this happens with a number of micronutrients, where excess of one vitamin or mineral will prevent another being ‘bioavailable’ (or useful to the body), so we need to be careful with supplementation. Nowadays, with a good mixed diet and food supplementation, people have enough Vitamin A and so cod liver oil is NOT a good source of Vitamin D.
Boost your health and reduce the risk of all these conditions which have been implicated as higher risk for people deficient in Vitamin D:
osteoporosis and fractures
colds and flu
depression
cancer
Alzheimer's disease
Multiple sclerosis
Diabetes
Rheumatoid arthritis
How is your healthy eating plan for 2017 going so far? If it's not going as you'd like it to, give me a call and get some help and encouragement. If you would like to attend with a friend or family member and help each other get healthy, I'm running a special offer of two for one in February and March! Call me to book your appointment on 087 2287543
