The days are getting shorter- time to top up your vitamin D

IN THE UK THE CLOCKS HAVE GONE BACK, THE DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER,

IS IT TIME TO TOP UP YOUR VITAMIN D?

In the UK, the sun from late October to March, isn't strong enough to produce vitamin D. Yet Vitamin D deficiency is widespread. It's estimated that 1 in 5 people in the UK are deficient in this essential vitamin.

People with darker skins have more protection against the harmful effects of the sun but this also further restricts the ability to absorb Vitamin D from the sun.

Yet lack of vitamin D is associated with macular degeneration (see article) and rickets in children (see this article).

Pregnant women’s level of vitamin D can also affect the child’s bone density. lack of vitamin D also has implications for Crohns Disease, colitis, diabetes hypertension and a number of other conditions.

Enough said about the need for vitamin D and for supplementing it, as is recommended by most doctors.

However, what should you watch out for when buying it? There are 3 main points here:

1. The efficacy and quality of products available  on the market varies greatly, and
2. What is the best from to take vitamin D in, and
3. Some people may not be able to take vitamin D in some forms and some children may not accept it in tablet form.

The answer to question 1 is that you should always use a high quality product (after all, vitamin D is not the most expensive supplement available but you would be wasting your money on one that wasn’t effective.). You’ll know which ones they are: generally the cheapest brands are badly manufactured, losing their efficacy in the manufacturing process even if the raw ingredients were satisfactory.

As to the form you should take it in, the body’s preferred form is D3, which is the same as that naturally produced by sunlight.

Lastly, Vitamin D is available in tablets, , chewable, lemon melts and drops, which are ideal for children. Choose what suits you best.

	Drops BioCare Baby Vitamin D Drops (D3) Ideal for babies. 3 drops taken daily in water, juice or milk, with food. Suitable from 1 month.
	Drops BioCare Nutrisorb BioMulsion D 10ml. Liquid fruit puree base for delicious, effective and flexible use. High strength, maximum absorption in a light puree base. For adults and suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans, and whilst breastfeeding.
	Flavoured Melting Tablet Nutri Advanced D3 Lemon Melts 2000iu. A delicious lemon-flavoured melting tablet containing 2000iu of cholecalciferol - vitamin D3.
	Flavoured Chewable Tablet Lamberts Chewable Vitamin D (D3) Delicious Blackcurrant Flavour. Suitable for children aged 3 years and over, as well as adults.
	Capsules Lamberts Vitamin D3 4000iu (100µg) These easy to swallow capsules are made in the UK to pharmaceutical GMP standards

or see all our vitamin D products