The leaves are turning and autumn is very definitely here, and with the change of seasons we also lose our vital access to Vitamin D from the sunshine. Did you know that Vitamin D deficiency is now a key factor in many chronic diseases, from asthma and allergies to digestive problems, mental health, dementia and even cancer?

Recent studies tracking 168,000 participants across 44 countries came up with the startling statistic that 37.3% of the participants were deficient in Vitamin D; with European’s demonstrating far greater deficiency than North Americans; in fact the UK is one of the cloudiest countries in the industrialised world.

Vitamin D deficiency has now been linked to a whole variety of serious, chronic conditions:

• Osteoporosis and rickets, most people are familiar with and both are associated with the fact that deficiency in Vitamin D impacts on the ability of calcium to be converted and used, which in turn can affect bone density.
• Brain function and mental health have also been seen to be compromised, with studies suggesting that there is a strong link between low levels and depression, and also conditions such as dementia, autism and schizophrenia.
• The immune system depends on Vitamin D to trigger a protective response in our T-cells – which help fight infection. It has been suggested that increasing your Vitamin D levels can significantly improve our ability to fight the flu virus.
• Patients with nervous system diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease also demonstrate greater deficiency in Vitamin D levels.
• Sufferers of asthma and allergies have been shown to have significantly lower levels of Vitamin D, and it is thought that raising levels can help support the allergic response to alleviate symptoms.
• Incidences of heart attacks and high blood pressure are also now believed to be lowered when Vitamin D levels are increased.

So what can we do to ensure our levels are high enough?

In the UK, the only food source which offers anything like adequate levels is oily fish. Mushrooms and eggs also contain small amounts, but only a fraction of the amount needed daily to achieve optimal levels. The European Food Safety Authority has recently raised its recommended intake to 4000IU (international units) per day for anyone over 11 years. Children would benefit from c 400IU a day. (1 cup of mushrooms contains c 12 IU, an egg, c 24 IU but 3oz of oily fish could contain as much as 1000IU, depending on its source and type.) A smoked salmon omelette (pictured above) is an ideal dietary option.

Other than that, we are reliant on the UVB rays of the sun which convert to Vitamin D3 in our skin; however, there are limited times of the year when the sun is powerful enough to be of any use to make this happen. The sun needs to be 50 degrees above the horizon to produce powerful enough rays, and this is only likely to happen around the middle of the day between May and September, and on days where  there is little cloud cover, rain or pollution. Sun creams and clothing obviously count as additional barriers, as do statins, commonly prescribed for high cholesterol, which also block production of 7-hydroxycholesterol which we need in our body to make the conversion of UVB rays to Vitamin D.

You need to expose our skin to 15-20 minutes of sunlight, without sun protection, but ensuring at the same time you don’t burn.

Aside from that, the solution for the rest of the year is to include plenty of oily fish in your diet (salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel and kippers all count);  include mushrooms and eggs; and invest in a good quality Vitamin D supplement to cover you through the winter months.

Contact me if you would like advice on supplement choice or to find out how your diet can be adapted to help supply you with more Vitamin D.

Also, look out for more information during National Vitamin D Awareness Week 21st-27th October.

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