Dear sun-shy! Do you get enough vitamin D?

March 23, 2020

vitamin D deficiency

Ever heard of Vitamin D deficiency? Of course you have! Vitamin D is an important micronutrient, having an essential role in general health, in addition to its independent role in total mortality of general population.

This vitamin has a direct relationship with lifestyle and everyday habits. Having an active lifestyle, with healthy eating and getting sunshine can guarantee you enough vitamin D. But it is not always easy having a healthy lifestyle.

Let’s start with a little introduction of vitamin D and its benefits!

You can catch this vitamin both from dietary sources like salmon or mackerel and from the sun! Actually sunlight does not have vitamin D itself. When sunlight UVB rays touches your skin, they strike through it, causing some change in a cholesterol based substance in the skin and converting it to pre-vitamin D. Pre vitamin D will later be converted to active vitamin D in the liver.

Another source of vitamin D is by getting it through diet. Fatty fishes like salmon, are a good source of natural vitamin D, however there are not many of these sources in our usual diet. So this is why getting enough sunshine is important, as it is our body’s main source of catching enough vitamin D.

Due to progression in technology, most of our needs in daily life are answered by the internet and electronic devices. Our lifestyle is becoming more and more inactive day by day. This is one of the reasons we do not see sunlight regularly.

In the UK, late March/ early April and September are the months which we can get most of our vitamin D from sunlight. So it is better to start getting some vitamin D before we miss it until the next year. You may wonder how to make the best out of this year’s sunny months!

Here are some tips to follow:

  • Perfect timing

You can get most sunlight between 11 am till 3 pm every day during this three months. Try to find at least half an hour every day to lay in a park to rest and catch some vitamin while enjoying your tea.

There is a tricky point here! The darker your skin is, the more time you will need to make the same amount of vitamin D. So if your skin is dark, you are going to need more time outdoors.

  • Perfect clothes

The more bare skin you show, the more vitamin D you catch. You can usually get needed vitamin D through your forearms, face and legs. So it is important to leave them uncovered while sitting in the sunshine. Try shorts, dresses and short sleeves shirts.

Another fact to remember is that, wearing light colours like white, light blue, pink, etc, increases the chances of sun rays getting through your clothes and meet your skin, in comparison to darker colours.

  • No sunscreen

What sunscreens do is that they do not let the UV rays get to your skin. As mentioned before, UVB is the sun ray which makes vit D in your skin. So covering your skin with a sunscreen will not let your body make vitamin D and all your efforts will be for nothing. But we all know that not using sunscreen and being in touch with UV rays is a great risk factor for skin cancer! Now what is the solution then? Actually there is not much to do to overcome this paradox. What you can do is to wash your skin from sunscreen before that 30 minutes we talked about before. The time that you planned for vitamin D, should be just for your skin and the sun!

  • No windows

You may be thinking what if I catch sunlight from inside the room? It has the same warmth and light and everything! Well that is not very true. Glass does not let UVB rays go through windows. So sitting in front of a window while the sun is up in the sky, will be pointless!

  • Supplementation

During winter and fall months while the sunlight is not strong, one may need vitamin D supplementation to avoid this vitamin insufficiency. For children who are younger than 5 years old, it is essential to be supplemented with vitamin D.

How to be sure you need  supplementation?

It is important to keep in mind that vitamin insufficiency and deficiency are global issues. So it’s not odd to add some Vitamin D fortified foods and supplements to your diet. But to avoid any harm, you should first test levels of this vitamin in order to find out whether you lack it or not. Then based on its levels, your GP health care will help you find the best dose. After a while you will be tested again, and based on the new level, you will continue with the same dose or a different one.

How does vitamin D help your body?

  • It helps calcium and phosphorus to be absorbed

This vitamin has an essential role in storage of calcium in your bones, and teeth. Calcium is what makes our bones to be strong. This is why lack of vitamin D in childhood can lead to a condition called rickets. Rickets will result in weak, deformed bones.

  • It helps your muscles to be stronger

Strong muscles along with strong bones, helps preventing fracture caused by falling or any accident, especially in elderlies.

  • Fights with depression
  • Supports cognition
  • Fights with metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a complex condition. Hypertension, high triglyceride, low good cholesterol, diabetes (insulin resistance), and obesity are the five arms of this syndrome. Vitamin D is a supper nutrient which is useful in overcoming all of these five conditions.

  • It boosts immunity

With corona virus all around the world, lots of individuals are seeking for ways to fight this disease. One of the simplest ways of ensuring your health is by boosting your immunity. Many micronutrients like vitamin D, zinc and Iron can help you reach the protection your body needs. Be careful with using too much of it, as it may cause hypervitaminose toxicities.

  • It helps you have a better sleep

Growing evidence are emphasizing on vitamin D’s role on sleeping disorders. For example it can affect your sleep quality by causing pain disorders such as restless leg syndrome.

 

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