![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vitamin-D-cover-image_0-copy.png\")
Foods such as oily fish, eggs, meat, dairy products and fortified cereals can help, but most people still require a daily supplement at this time of year to support healthy bones, teeth and muscles.<\/p>\nWinter well-being: PHA recommends daily vitamin D supplement<\/p>\n
Sometimes we just don\u2019t feel on top form. Especially in the darker , winter months. Well, you could be experiencing a Vitamin D deficiency.<\/p>\n
The Public Health Agency (PHA) is encouraging people across Northern Ireland to consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement to support wellbeing during the autumn and winter months.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vitamin D is obtained through sunlight, diet and supplements. In Northern Ireland, from October to early spring, it is more difficult to get enough vitamin D from sunlight.<\/p>\n
Foods such as oily fish, eggs, meat, dairy products and fortified cereals can help, but most people still require a daily supplement at this time of year to support healthy bones, teeth and muscles.<\/p>\n
Dr Hannah McCourt, Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement Manager at the PHA, said: \u201cDuring the spring and summer months, our bodies can make the vitamin D we need from food and sunlight on our skin.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, during the autumn and winter months, with reduced daylight, we advise people to consider taking a 10-microgram supplement of vitamin D every day to help keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some groups are advised to take a daily 10 microgram vitamin D supplement throughout the entire year.<\/p>\n
These include:<\/p>\n
Pregnant and breastfeeding womenBreastfed babies from birthBabies receiving less than 500ml of infant formula per dayAll children aged 1\u20135 yearsPeople aged 65+People who are not exposed to much sunlightPeople with darker skin tones, including those from African, Afro-Caribbean or South Asian backgrounds<\/p>\n
Vitamin D supplements are widely available in community pharmacies and supermarkets. Families may also be eligible for support through the Healthy Start scheme.<\/p>\n
Hannah added: \u201cYou can buy vitamin D supplements at your local community pharmacy and most supermarkets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re at least 10 weeks pregnant or you have at least one child that\u2019s under four, and you\u2019re in receipt of a qualifying benefit, you can also request vitamins as part of the Healthy Start Scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will also be eligible for Healthy Start if you\u2019re under 18 and pregnant, even if you are not claiming any benefits, or you claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and are over 10 weeks pregnant.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor more information, visit: <\/a><\/p>\n www.pha.site\/healthystart <\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are not sure which supplements to take, ask your pharmacist, GP or health visitor for advice.\u201d<\/p>\n Further information on vitamin D is available at:<\/p>\n www.pha.site\/vitaminD<\/a><\/p>\n The Public Health Dietitians Group has also launched a new online video explainer at \u201cThe truth about: Vitamin D and your health\u201d, which is available to watch on YouTube.<\/p>\n The short video highlights who needs vitamin D, why it matters, and how to top up safely:\u00a0<\/p>\n www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zRE7eLZzqq4<\/a><\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Winter well-being: PHA recommends daily vitamin D supplement Sometimes we just don\u2019t feel on top form. Especially in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[103,61,60,446],"class_list":{"0":"post-130747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}