Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D

Vitamin D

What is vitamin D?

Vitamins are a group of chemicals that are needed by the body for good health. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. The fact that it dissolves in fat is important, because it means the body can store it for future use. Unlike other vitamins, we do not need to get vitamin D from the food that we eat. This is a good thing because most foods contain very little vitamin D naturally. Foods that contain vitamin D include:

• Oily fish (such as sardines, pilchards, herring, trout, tuna, salmon and mackerel).
• Egg yolk.
• Fortified foods (this means they have vitamin D added to them) such as margarine, some cereals, infant formula milk.

Our main source of vitamin D is that made by our own bodies. 90% of our vitamin D is made in the skin with the help of sunlight.

Ultraviolet sunlight rays convert cholesterol in the skin into vitamin D. Darker skins need more sun to get the same amount of vitamin D as a fair-skinned person. The sunlight needed has to fall directly on to bare skin (through a window is not enough). 2-3 exposures of sunlight per week in the summer months (April to September) are enough to achieve healthy vitamin D levels that last through the year. Each episode should be 20-30 minutes to bare arms and face. This is not the same as suntanning; the skin simply needs to be exposed to sunlight.

Note: The sun's rays can be damaging and sunburn should be avoided at all costs (mainly because it can increase your risk of skin cancer).