VITAMIN D is crucial for your health because it helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. This is necessary for keeping bones and teeth healthy.
If you are spending a lot of time indoors, the NHS suggests you should take 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day to keep your bones and muscles healthy. Over-supplementation of vitamin D, however, can be harmful and should be avoided. With more people staying indoors during the pandemic, some may have been deprived of vitamin D.
Nonetheless, the NHS says that in summer months, most of the population will get enough vitamin D through exposure to sunlight and a healthy, balanced diet.
If you or someone you care for is in a higher risk group, they may need to take vitamin D supplements. You can take vitamin D supplements as tablets, liquid, or a spray, and they can be bought in a pharmacy.
Dietary vitamin D is available in foods such as oily fish, cod liver oil, red meat, fortified cereals, fortified spreads, and egg yolks.
Falling short of the required amount could weaken immune defences, but if low levels are left untreated, discomfort may also arise.
Serena Coan, Nutritional Therapist, said: “Signs of vitamin D deficiency can be complicated as they are often just written off as "that time of the year".
Some indicators of an early deficiency are hair loss, tiredness and not feeling refreshed after a full night of sleep, regular colds, slow wound healing and generally feeling run down, she said.
“Longer-term signs are aches and pains in muscles, joints and bones, potentially leading to bone disorders from insufficient calcium absorption.”
She said symptoms of vitamin D deficiency can take months to years to develop, depending on age, activity, and other factors.
Source: Express UK
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