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Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin, but did you know that you can’t make vitamin D this time of year, even on sunny days? The sun needs to be at least fifty degrees above the horizon, and you can test this by checking your shadow – if it’s longer than you, then no vitamin D. Which, in Sussex, will be most of September right through to April.

So how can you keep your vitamin topped up in the colder months, how do you know how much you need, and why is it important?

We used to think vitamin D was only important for bone health, but now we know it’s crucial for pretty much everything. Your brain, skin, immune system, fertility, digestive health… there are vitamin D receptors everywhere in your body active in keeping things working well.

There is research linking low vitamin D levels with various conditions, including type 2 diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS), eczema, depression, high blood pressure, heart attacks, upper respiratory infections such as colds and flu, various cancers and more.

Let’s take a quick look at three of these.

Vitamin D and viruses

Several studies have shown that taking vitamin D supplements may reduce how often and how severely people get viruses like the flu. Vitamin D levels also seem to affect how quickly we recover from colds, flu and other upper respiratory infections.

People with low vitamin D are also more likely to be hospitalised with Covid. So it really is an immune essential this time of year – just at the time when our levels tend to be lowest.

Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes

We need vitamin D at various stages for our insulin pathways to work well, from insulin production in our pancreas to insulin resistance in our cells. So it’s no surprise that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes tend to have lower levels than people without diabetes.

Studies trying to improve insulin function have largely been successful. Those specifically looking to prevent type 2 diabetes in high-risk individuals have used lower level of vitamin D, however, and that may be why they haven’t been able to show an effect. So we certainly need more research here, perhaps similar to this new study on heart attacks.

Vitamin D and heart attacks

A recent study tested heart attack patients and supplemented with enough vitamin D to get them to over 100nmol/L in their blood test. By doing so, they halved the rate of second heart attacks over the 2 years of the study.

100nmol/L is double the level that the NHS considers to put us in the “normal” range. And to get there, half the patients had to initially take 5000iu daily, which is more than 12 times the daily amount recommended in the UK.

The study had to give people different doses to get to the required level, and were tested regularly to make sure this was maintained.

Vitamin D supplements. (Image: Pexels)

But GPs are generally not even testing vitamin D any more, and when they do, patients are told their levels are fine if they are more than 50nmol/L.

Many nutrition and functional medicine experts have therefore turned to private testing.

A private vitamin D test generally costs around £35 and involves a home test where you just prick your finger and send off a few drops of blood.

A good nutritional therapist will be able to discuss with you what might be an optimal level for you, and how you can get there.

Food sources of vitamin D

It’s not that easy to get enough vitamin D from food, unfortunately.

There are impressive amounts in oily fish, but you might have to eat it 3 times a day to make enough of an impact in winter.

Mushrooms are often cited as good sources of vitamin D, and as much as I keep banging on about the benefits of mushrooms, you’re unlikely to get enough sunshine vitamin there either.

Depending on the mushroom and their own exposure to the same UVB rays we need, their vitamin D content is variable, and often very low.

Vitamin D supplements

There are lots of sprays, liquid drops and capsules you can take, so it can feel a bit daunting.

My top tips are:

Go for vitamin D3 rather than D2, as your body will use D3 more easily.

If you can, find one that also contains vitamin K2, as these two vitamins work really well together.

Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so if you’re not taking an oil-based liquid or spray, have it with a meal that contains fats or oils.

Be fussy about what else is in there!

I try and avoid supplements that contain talc, and certain sweeteners (such as sorbitol and aspartame), for example.

Will taking a vitamin D supplement guarantee good health?

Unfortunately, there is no magic pill/spray that will cover everything you need! If you look at all the research, it shows that taking vitamin D supplements reduces risk or improves outcomes in some situations – but not in every case.

There are lots of possible reasons for this, including that the supplement levels in the study may not have been high enough, or taken for long enough. Another possibility is that diseases are caused by multiple factors, and you often have to address more than one of these to see a difference.

But the gaps in the research do not mean that taking vitamin D is a waste of time – just that we need to do more studies. In the meantime, don’t rely on winter sun for your vitamin D – get your levels checked.

Note that this article is for general information only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.