NCTV Episode 18
Continuing with the series of bitesize health tip videos which can be found here on my YouTube Channel, this episode, includes:-
- Shedding light on what it is
- Highlighting how it’s helpful
- Settling the score on why we need it
- Revealing who tend to be deficient
- Providing answers on how you get it / when you need it / how much you need
Transcript
If you’d prefer to read the content within, rather than watch the video, then feel free to read the transcript, as follows:-
Hello and welcome to NCTV Episode 18, coming to you on a bright & sunny day here in Storrington, West Sussex.
And rather aptly, today’s topic is all about the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D.
So yes, you’ve probably heard this before and I can confirm that it is scientifically true that most of us Brits are indeed deficient in Vitamin D, at least for half of the year that is.
But before we discover how to address that, first you should know more about what it is, how it is helpful and why we need it.
So what is Vitamin D? Well as the name suggests it is a vitamin and it’s role is to regulate and increase the intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium and phosphate mainly, in addition to other biological effects.
It’s particularly helpful because these nutrients are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
And we need it because a lack of Vitamin D can lead to bone weakness and deformities such as Rickets in children and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults.
Also, some studies have suggested that Vitamin D can be good if you’re trying to lose weight, prevent heart disease or strengthen the immune system, as you’ll know from the previous episode of NCTV.
So how do you get it? Well first of all, our best source of the vitamin is through UVB rays in sunlight. You only need to be exposed to sunlight for a short periods and it has to be directly on uncovered skin, without sunscreen and best between 11am-3pm, if you want to be precise
From late March to late September most people will get as much they required of it through this source.
It should be noted though that sunlight through a window doesn’t count as this blocks the UVB rays required, so your best bet is to make the most of a sunny day and partake in an outdoor activity of your choosing.
So what about the other six months of the year? Well if you’re not lucky enough to live abroad during the Autumn & Winter months, then you may want to find alternative ways to top this up.
Dietary sources of Vitamin D can be found in oily fish, red meat, liver, mushrooms, egg yolks and certain fortified foods like bread, cereal, non-dairy milk alternatives and infant formula milk.
However, the traces of Vitamin D in these can be fairly small, making it difficult to get enough from food alone.
As an alternative, a daily Vitamin D supplements of 10 micrograms (as recommended by The Department of Health) will be enough to do the job and this should really be considered by everyone during the Autumn & Winter month.
The people who tend to be most deficient in Vitamin D are those who don’t get outside much, those in a care home, those who cover up most of their skin when outdoors, those who have dark skin and babies & children up to 4 years old. So people in these categories may want to consider the daily 10 microgram Vitamin D supplement all year round.
As with anything, whilst Vitamin D is a great thing, it is possible to have too much of it through supplements, over a long period of time which can lead to too much calcium building up in the body, and that can weaken your bones and damage the kidneys and heart so be sure to follow your doctors advice if you do require higher doses.
It should be noted that you can’t overdose on Vitamin D from sunlight exposure but just to conclude, remember to protect your skin if you are out in the sun for long periods of time to reduce the risk of skin damage and skin cancer.
That’s all today, see you next time for some more bite size bits to help your health flourish. Bye Bye.