HEALTH AND WELLBEING
SHOULD I TAKE VITAMIN D? 4 REASONS TO ENSURE YOU’RE GETTING ENOUGH OF THE ‘SUNSHINE VITAMIN’ As researchers look at whether vitamin D can help guard against Covid-19, here’s four more reasons to top up on the sunshine vitamin. By Lisa Salmon... Vitamin D is known to play a vital role in a range of functions, and is key for keeping our bones, teeth and muscles healthy. There’s now also growing interest in whether it could help protect against Covid-19. Scientists from Queen Mary University of London are launching a new trial to investigate whether vitamin D protects against the virus, as there’s already evidence that it might reduce the risk of respiratory infections, with some recent studies suggesting people with lower vitamin D levels may be more susceptible to coronavirus. “Many people in the UK have low vitamin D levels, particularly in the winter and spring, when respiratory infections are most common,” says lead researcher Professor Adrian Martineau. “Vitamin D deficiency is more common in older people, in people who are overweight, and in black and Asian people – all of the groups who are at increased risk of becoming very ill with Covid-19.” 50 | www.thejerseylife.co.uk
It’s estimated that roughly one in five people have low vitamin D levels, according to the NHS, which is hardly surprising when we get most of it from sunlight on our skin – hence why vitamin D is often dubbed the ‘sunshine vitamin’. While during sunny spring and summer months, most of us are able to get enough vitamin D naturally, in the UK, there simply isn’t enough sunlight during the autumn and winter months to meet our needs. From October to March, we rely on dietary sources (these include oily fish, red meat, liver, eggs and food such as cereals and spreads that have been fortified with the vitamin). For this reason, Government guidelines already recommend everyone should consider taking daily 10-micrograms vitamin D supplements. “Making sure you’re getting enough vitamin D is likely to really benefit your bone and muscle health in the long term,” explains nutrition scientist Bridget Benelam from the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). “Vitamin D is also involved in supporting our immune system, something we’re all really aware of in light of the
