Why vitamin D’s a ray of sunshine in a bottle for rain-soaked Scots
SCOTS should take a daily dose of vitamin D to combat the miserable weather here, experts have warned.
nutritionists say people in scotland suffer from a lack of sunlight and need the supplement to strengthen their bones and boost the immune system.
Food standards scotland (Fss) has now urged people to take vitamin D amid soaring cases of rickets, a bone condition that was common in Victorian times.
The country also has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis (Ms) in the world. Both conditions are linked to a lack of vitamin D.
gillian Fraser, a nutritionist at Fss, said that after a year’s worth of rain fell across the nation in just a few months, sun-starved scots are in dire need of the vitamin.
she added: ‘in scotland we only get enough of the right kind of sunlight to make vitamin D between April and september. everyone should consider taking a daily tenmicrogram supplement of vitamin D to maintain bone and muscle health.’
Ms Fraser said some scots, such as pregnant women and minority ethnic groups with dark skins, are at particular risk of vitamin D deficiency and urged them to take the supplement all year round.
Her call was backed by retired doctor Helga Rhein.
The GP said: ‘We all don’t get enough sunshine. We are not going outside to eat our lunch like you would in italy.
‘All my patients got vitamin D on repeat prescriptions and it did work.’
in 2022, worrying figures showed the number of scots diagnosed with Ms in one year had soared to its highest in more than a decade.
Almost 600 people were found to have the neurological condition in 2021.
Data released yesterday showed that since 2010, 5,878 cases have been diagnosed.
Ms affects the brain and the spinal cord which in turn can cause problems with vision, movement and balance.
The orkney islands is the worst affected part of scotland. The archipelago has 80 people living with the disease, equating to 402 per 100,000 people, more than ten times the world average of 35.9.
The cause of the condition is still unknown but it is associated with low levels of vitamin D.
Rickets is also linked to a lack of the vitamin and latest figures show cases in scotland shot up 25 per cent from 354 in 2018 to 442 in 2022.
Meanwhile, farmers say the prolonged spell of wet weather is taking its toll on their businesses with fields flooded and crops damaged.
The national Farmers Union said the rainy period has been the ‘worst ever experienced’ with scotland president Martin Kennedy describing its impact as ‘devastating’.
He said winter and spring crops have been badly hit and called on the scottish and UK governments to help farmers adapt to the challenges caused by severe weather.
‘We don’t get enough sun’