How do you get Vitamin D?
Sunshine and diet are most common. However just 10 per cent of vitamin D is available through diet and during the months of October to May in the UK, the sun’s UVB rays aren’t strong enough for the skin to synthesise into vitamin D, even on a sunny day. During the summer months we tend to cover up with a high factor sun cream and wear clothing to protect the skin meaning the UVB rays do not reach or penetrate the skin. Our increasingly sedentary, indoor lifestyles mean we have to look to other ways to obtain vitamin D such as supplementation.
Who should take it?
The Department of Health recommends that the following at ‘risk groups’ take a vitamin D supplement:
- All pregnant and breastfeeding women
- Infants and young children under 5 years of age
- Older people aged 65 years and over
- People who have low or no exposure to the sun
- People who have darker skin
BetterYou’s DLux oral vitamin D spray range is listed in the NHS recommended product guide for vitamin D supplementation and comes in different strengths for people of all ages.
Am I deficient?
Around 1 in 5 adults, and around 1 in 6 children, may have low vitamin D levels – an estimated 10 million people across UK. Symptoms of deficiency can include fatigue, aches and pains, and frequent infections.
You can take control of your own vitamin D requirements, by using a simple, affordable and accurate home testing kit by BetterYou and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.
How much is enough?
The UK Department of Health advises the following measurement guidelines:
- 50nmol/l or more = adequate
- 25-49nmol/l = insufficient
- Less than 25nmol/l = deficient
Vitamin D is a known contributor to an effective and robust immune system, which protects us, not only from coughs and colds but from a host of other diseases known as autoimmune, diseases. These include MS, diabetes and a growing number of internal cancers including breast cancer. Autoimmune diseases require a much higher level of vitamin D to resist them, in general a serum level of 100-150nmol/l is required to offer effective resistance.
Supplementing is just a spray away…
Our increasingly restricted and processed diet combined with a decline in digestive efficiency means that some nutrients are better supplemented via methods alternative to traditional tablets or capsules. The key is to find the route into the bloodstream as quickly as possible.
BetterYou’s oral vitamin spray range offers convenience and guaranteed absorption which traditional tablets, capsules and drops (which all rely upon an increasingly inefficient digestive system) simply can’t. An oral spray does not require water to take, does not need to be taken with food and is easy to use on the go. It’s a great option for children and the elderly, who can find tablets difficult to swallow and for women experiencing morning sickness.
BetterYou supports National Vitamin D Awareness Week which will run from 24-30 October 2016 http://www.vitamindawarenessweek.co.uk/