NHS warns everyone in UK should take vitamin D for six months - how to get your fix

As the days become shorter and nights longer, it's crucial to ensure we're getting enough nutrients to keep our bodies healthy. This is where vitamin D comes into play, a supplement recommended by both the NHS and the UK Government for everyone in the UK during the winter months.

Vitamin D plays several vital roles, including supporting bones, teeth, and muscles. The NHS warns that a deficiency can lead to deformities such as rickets in children, and a condition called osteomalacia causing bone pain in adults.

Our primary source of vitamin D is sunlight. However, in the UK, we only get enough of the right kind of sunlight for our bodies to produce vitamin D between April and September.

From October to March, we often have to rely on foods containing vitamin D, but it's usually challenging to get enough from diet alone. Hence, the government advises everyone to consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement during autumn and winter.

This advice is based on recommendations from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), who provide independent advice to the government based on scientific evidence. According to Public Health England and Public Health Scotland, everyone, including children, should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms (10μg) of vitamin D, reports Surrey Live.

Vitamin D supplements are a cost-effective method to maintain adequate levels, with various budget-friendly choices available. On Amazon, a container of Vitamin D 4,000 IU Softgels Supplements is listed at £6.79, while Vitabiotics has Ultra Vitamin D 4000IU vitamin D supplements on offer, providing 96 tablets for just £6.15 – working out at approximately 6p per tablet.

Certain demographics, particularly those more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency, children from one to four years old, and infants who consume less than 500ml of formula milk daily, should consider taking vitamin D supplements all year round. Victoria Taylor, Senior Dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, advised: "It's recommended that everyone take a supplement containing 10 micrograms (10 μg, equivalent to 400 IU) of vitamin D daily in autumn and winter."

She further noted: "More than this is not necessary, and is likely to be more expensive, but you can safely take up to 25 micrograms if that's the size you can find. Don't take very high doses of vitamin D, as if you do this over a long period of time, it can cause too much calcium to build up in the body, which can weaken the bones and damage the kidneys and heart."

From late March or early April until the end of September, most people should get enough vitamin D from sunlight alone, according to NHS guidelines. It's recommended that adults and children over one year old need 10 micrograms of vitamin D daily, including pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and those at risk of deficiency.

For babies under a year old, health experts suggest a daily intake of between 8.5 to 10 micrograms of vitamin D. Given that a microgram is a thousand times smaller than a milligram, vitamin D content is sometimes expressed in International Units (IU), with 1 microgram equating to 40 IU.

This means that 10 micrograms of vitamin D is equivalent to 400 IU. .

Can you get enough vitamin D from your diet?

Vitamin D can be found naturally in foods such as oily fish, red meat, liver and egg yolks, and is also added to certain products like breakfast cereals and fat spreads. The British Heart Foundation has revealed that a 140g piece of baked salmon contains 10.2 micrograms, a bowl of fortified bran flakes has 1.5 micrograms and an egg has 1.9 micrograms.

According to NHS guidelines, vitamin D is present in:.

• oily fish – such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel
• red meat
• liver
• egg yolks
• fortified foods – such as some fat spreads and breakfast cereals

Who should take a vitamin D supplement?

Advice for adults and children over 4 years old: Everyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D during the autumn and winter months.

Advice for people at risk of vitamin D deficiency:

For those who don't get enough sunlight exposure, the Department of Health and Social Care advises adults and children over 4 to consider a daily supplement with 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year. This is particularly important for individuals with darker skin tones, such as those of African, African-Caribbean or south Asian heritage.

Advice for infants and young children:

For infants and young children, the advice is slightly different: babies from birth to 1 year should have a daily supplement containing 8.5 to 10 micrograms of vitamin D all year round, while children aged one to four years old should take a daily supplement with 10 micrograms of vitamin D. These supplements or drops can be found in most pharmacies and supermarkets.

Can vitamin D help with other health problems?

While the main benefit of vitamin D is to maintain healthy bones and muscles, it's not yet clear whether it can help with other health problems like heart and circulatory diseases, or reduce the risk of coronavirus.

A study from Scotland in 2015, partially funded by the BHF, found that low levels of vitamin D are linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. However, this is due to lifestyle factors that increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, not the cause of the heightened risk.

It's vital to bear in mind that taking too many vitamin D supplements over an extended period can result in hypercalcaemia, where excess calcium builds up in the body, potentially weakening the bones and harming the kidneys and heart. Therefore, it's recommended to discuss with your GP if you have any worries.