A balanced diet, rich in a wide range of fruit and vegetables will, according to the experts, provide us with all the vitamins and minerals we need to ensure the body’s functioning. Popping supplements, they argue, is a waste of time and money. Except, we learn now, when it comes to vitamin D. Draft government guidelines regarding the ‘‘sunshine’’ vitamin - so-called because it is manufactured in the skin during exposure to UV light - are set to turn the ‘‘good diet is all you need" consensus on its head with a recommendation that we are not getting enough vitamin D, and taking a vitamin D supplement to redress the situation may be the solution. A combination of a northern latitude and bleak weather means that millions of us are deficient as dietary sources alone are not enough to keep levels in a healthy range. Oliver Gillie, a scientist has championed the case for universal supplementation for years and says the advice comes not a moment too soon. The Government currently recommends that only pregnant women, children up to the age of five, those over 65 and people with darker skin should take regular vitamin D supplements “Everybody knows that we live a far more indoor lifestyle than even our parents did.
People sit inside watching television or on computers for hours every day. “What’s more, a lot of people actively avoid the sun because dermatologists have been telling them it causes skin cancer. Obviously, you have to be careful to avoid burning but many people fail to realise that sunlight is our primary source of vitamin D and therefore crucial to health.” According to the report by Scientific Advisory Body on Nutrition (SACN) which drafted the guidelines, our bodies are suffering when it comes to vitamin D, which is needed for healthy bones and strong teeth but also plays a role in numerous biochemical processes in the body. There is growing evidence that the vitamin - or lack of it - is linked to a number of diseases from musculoskeletal problems to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Professor Hilary Powers, chair of the SACN working group on Vitamin D says: “Across Europe, populations generally take on less vitamin D than country-estimates of requirements.
However, there is very little in place in terms of public health strategies to address this problem.” Upping the recommended amount of vitamin D people should be consuming a day would be a ‘‘precautionary measure,’’ she added. However, it would represent a major change in policy in a nation where public health advice generallycounsels against mass supplemention (currently, folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy is recommended, flouride is added to water in some areas to protect against tooth decay and since 1998, wheat flour has been fortified with vitamin B1 and other nutrients). The Government currently recommends that only pregnant women, children up to the age of five, those over 65 and people with darker skin as well as those who do not, for whatever reason, expose their skin to sunlight on regular basis, should take regular vitamin D supplements. However, data gathered by Public Health England says one in five people have low levels of vitamin D, and around one in six children – that’s an estimated 10 million people across England.
“Lack of vitamin D…reduces bone mineralisation.’’ according to medical nutritionist Dr Sarah Brewer. ‘‘This can lead to the deficiency diseases of rickets in children, and osteomalacia in adults. Other conditions that have been linked with a lack of vitamin D include constipation, muscle weakness, increased susceptibility to infections, poor growth, irritability and bone pain.” We obtain vitamin D primarily through the skin’s exposure to UVB rays in sunlight– but also, to a much smaller extent, through food. Dr Brewer explains: “[We can only make vitamin D] when the UV index is greater than 3 which, in the UK, is achieved on some days during spring and summer. Today [SUBS: Tuesday], for example, the UV index is only above 3 for around an hour at 2pm.” Northern latitude countries such Finland have a national policy of vitamin D supplementation and food fortification That’s a pretty small window. Other northern latitude countries such Finland have a national policy of vitamin D supplementation and food fortification.
In Denmark, Nordic Nutrition recommendations for vitamin D were recently upped from 7.5mcg (300 International Units) to 10mcg (400 IU) per day. In the UK, the recommended daily amount (RDA) is just 5mcg (200 IU) per day, although up to 25mcg (1000 units) is advised during the winter months. Oliver Gillie believes we could go further: “I’d like the government to tell us to take 2,000 IU of vitamin D a day. The vast majority of the population who live indoors needs to take a supplement - especially those who live in Scotland which is further north and gets far more cloud coverage.” Best dietary sources of vitamin D: Oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel How to boost your levels: Dr Sarah Brewer says: “Usual advice is to obtain 10 to 15 minutes sun exposure to face, arms, hands or back, two or three times a week, without sunscreen. Longer exposures do not provide additional benefit, as vitamin D is rapidly degraded by excess UV radiation SPF 8 sunscreen reduces vitamin D production in the skin by 95%, while SPF15 reduces vitamin D production by 99%.”
Choose a vitamin D supplement with a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) stamp. It ensures they contain a useful level of vitamin D per pill with no contaminants.Scientists claim there is no evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements to stave off chronic disease and early death Scientists claim there is no evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements to stave off chronic disease and early death - and results of several multi-million dollar trials currently under way are unlikely to alter this view.A new review examines existing evidence from 40 randomised controlled trials - the gold standard for proving cause and effect - and concludes that vitamin D supplementation does not prevent heart attacks, strokes, cancer, or bone fractures in the general population by more than 15 per cent.In fact, vitamin D supplements probably provide little, if any, health benefit, according to the study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.In Britain, the supplements market is worth £700 million a year - a growth of 16 per cent in five years - and the most popular pills are multi-vitamins and fish oils, which contain vitamin D.Some scientists assumed vitamin D, which is produced naturally by exposure to sunlight, could protect against disease because patients with cancer, heart disease or Alzheimer’s, or who died prematurely
, often had very low levels of the nutrient.However, evidence from some trials suggests that rather than vitamin D deficiency leading to disease, these illnesses stop the body from producing vitamin D - so sufferers have lower levels. Last month, a review of 462 studies involving more than a million adults said a lack of vitamin D was not a trigger for many common illnesses. In the latest study, Dr Mark Bolland of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and colleagues used several types of review of existing studies, including a ‘futility analysis’, to predict whether future research results might sway existing evidence. Some scientists assumed vitamin D, which is produced naturally by exposure to sunlight, could protect against disease because patients with cancer, heart disease or Alzheimer's The results of their study suggest the effect of vitamin D, taken with or without calcium, on heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and total fracture lies below a ‘futility threshold’.
This means there would be no point in taking supplements as it would have little effect on health outcomes.For hip fractures, the results of some trials even suggested an increased risk with vitamin D supplementation. Pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding are advised to take one vitamin D tablet a day - which they can get on prescription - to ensure their baby's bones are healthy The authors’ analysis of whether vitamin D supplementation can reduce death rates by five per cent or more was inconclusive. Karl Michaëlsson, of Uppsala University in Sweden, writing in a Lancet commentary, said: ‘Without stringent indications - i.e. supplementing those without true vitamin D insufficiency - there is a legitimate fear that vitamin D supplementation might actually cause net harm.’Two months ago the chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, called for free vitamins to be given to children after it emerged that a quarter of youngsters are short of vitamin D. Presently it is only available on prescription to under fives from low income families.
In addition, pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding are advised to take one vitamin D tablet a day - which they can get on prescription - to ensure their baby’s bones are healthy.Dr Carrie Ruxton from the Health Supplements Information Service, said three quarters of Britons have vitamin D intakes which are below the recommended level, with children and older people are at particular risk.’She said: ‘Rickets, once thought to have largely disappeared in the UK, has returned, in particular among children of Asian and African descent who have darker skins, but the disease is also seen in Causasian children usually in areas of urban deprivation.She said the new review did not look at vitamin D’s role in bone health, instead focusing on chronic conditions such as cancer.She added: ‘Vitamin D supplements are not intended for treating any disease conditions, and it is disappointing this review did not address the essential role of vitamin D in bone and musculoskeletal health.‘