Issue 136 vitamin d in the uk

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PUBLIC HEALTH

VITAMIN D IN THE UK: AN OVERVIEW Emma Berry Associate Nutritionist (Registered)

Vitamin D is an important vitamin which is unique due to its production from sunlight exposure.1 It plays an important role in maintaining calcium and phosphorus levels within the body.1

Emma is working in Research and Development and is a freelance writer of nutrition articles.

Although vitamin D is produced in the skin after being exposed to UVB rays, there are also ways for this vitamin to be extracted from dietary sources. Vitamin D is then converted into 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) by hydroxylation 25(OH)D, before undergoing a further hydroxylation reaction into 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D).1 D3 and D2 are the main forms of vitamin D. They are structurally very similar, but D2 has an additional side chain1 which remains during metabolism. Vitamin D3 is produced from skin exposure to UVB rays and some dietary sources, whereas vitamin D2 is provided from dietary sources. 25(OH)D3 can also be found from some dietary sources.1 The richest sources include egg yolk and oily fish, but it can also be found in wild mushrooms, animal meat, animal fat, animal liver and animal kidney.1 In the UK, many foods can also be found fortified with vitamin D, such as some margarines, breakfast cereals and evaporated milks.1

REFERENCES For full article references please CLICK HERE . . .

DIETARY SOURCES

Dietary sources are highly important when sun exposure isn’t possible, for example, due to long office working hours, or if the UVB rays are not able to reach the skin during the winter months.1 The UVB rays can also be influenced by many factors, such as sunscreen use, time of day and season. In the UK, vitamin D can only be produced by sunlight available between late March until September.1 The geographical

latitude also influences vitamin D, so an individual in Scotland will have a different exposure than an individual in Southern England.2 So, the vitamin D produced from sunlight could vary substantially between individuals. The way that vitamin D is measured may also not be wholly accurate. Serum 25(OH)D is the main measure of vitamin D, as it is believed to reflect the vitamin and is widely used as a biomarker due to its long half-life of approximately two to three weeks.1 However, 25(OH) D concentration may be picked up differently by different assays.1 The measure of serum 25(OH)D concentration would represent a total of 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2, and assumes a linear relationship between vitamin D and serum 25(OH)D.1 This relationship is not always so simple and a curvilinear relationship has been suggested instead.1 In 2016, the Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition (SACN) released a review of the vitamin D report originally published in 1991 by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA).1 This detailed the importance of vitamin D for health and the new recommended nutrient intake of 10 micrograms per day for all individuals aged over four years.1 This was developed to ensure the majority of the UK population could have an intake which would ensure musculoskeletal health all-year round regardless of location.1 This did not take into consideration the vitamin D produced from sunlight exposure, only intake from dietary sources or supplementation.1 www.NHDmag.com July 2018 - Issue 136

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