Do you have enough?

It’s the latest wonder-vitamin, but your body’s stores of Vitamin D are at an all-time low at this time of year. Is it time for a top up?

We make Vitamin D in our skin when it’s exposed to sunlight – over winter in the UK there isn’t enough sunshine to keep our levels topped up. Even if you did make the most of those brighter days the light isn’t the right wavelength for your body to make Vitamin D. Our Vitamin D stores are used up during the winter, leaving one in five of us with critically low levels – by spring 39 per cent of us are deficient. You need Vitamin D to keep your bones and teeth healthy, to help your muscles stay strong and keep your immune system in good working order. Some studies have even linked low Vitamin D levels with an increased risk of heart disease, memory problems and cancer. Having enough Vitamin D could halve your risk of respiratory infections such as flu, bronchitis and pneumonia according to UK scientists – who found that taking a daily supplement could prevent more than three million people catching a cold every year. Your risk of Vitamin D deficiency is higher if you’re over 65, have low or no exposure to the sun because you don’t spend much time outside or because you have pale skin and have to wear a lot of sun cream, or you have darker skin which isn’t as efficient at producing Vitamin D. If you think you may have particularly low levels of Vitamin D, speak to your GP who may run blood tests to check your stores. Make the most of any sunshine from now until October – just ten minutes of exposure to your hands and face each day should be enough to restock your Vitamin D levels. Apply sun cream after ten minutes to protect from harmful UV rays. Public Health England recommends that adults and children aged over one take a daily 10mcg Vitamin D supplement to ensure adequate levels all year round. If you’re not in one of the high-risk groups you might find taking a supplement through the winter months is enough. Make sure your supplement contains the right kind of Vitamin D – Vitamin D3 (look for cholecalciferol in the ingredients list) – rather than Vitamin D2 (listed as ergocalciferol), which is synthetic and less useful to your body.

Eating plenty of oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, red meat and eggs could help to increase your Vitamin D intake, but you’d have to eat a lot to reach the recommended 10mcg a day. For example, one medium egg contains just 1.6mcg so you’d need to eat at least six to reach your daily quota