Will You Take A Sunshine Supplement?

Sun-starved individuals should take vitamin D tablets to prevent rickets.

17:39 04 August 2015

Britain’s gloomy weather leaves everybody sun-starved and lacking vitamin D, which naturally occurs when sunshine hits the sky. Health experts are now encouraging individuals, particularly pregnant women and children, to take vitamin D supplements to prevent rickets.

 

The Government's independent Scientific Advisory Body on Nutrition (SACN) made the recommendation after establishing links between vitamin D levels and a range of health problems, including heart disease, musculoskeletal problems, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and even cancer.

 

Dr Adrian Martineau, an expert on vitamin D's effect on health at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, said the new advice marked a "sea change" in thinking.

 

He said: "Before this, the general assumption was that adults were able to make all the vitamin D they needed from sunshine, and didn't need to have any dietary or supplementary intake.

 

"The action of sunlight on the skin in the UK is highly variable for different populations depending on the time of year and the latitude - you'll get more UVB in Brighton than in John O'Groats - and finally, how much skin is exposed and the colour of skin.