Vitamin D is essential for bone wellness, but recent research suggests it may have other benefits to your wellbeing, such as protecting against colds and fighting depression. However, vitamin D deficiency is common in the UK, as many Brits don’t spend enough time in the sun (albeit chance would be a fine thing). So how do you ensure you get an adequate intake of this vital vitamin?
Firstly, Stephen Honig, MD, director of the Osteoporosis Centre at the Hospital for Joint Diseases, in New York City, advises that ‘about 20 to 25 minutes of exposure is helpful’ if you’re planning on getting vitamin D from sunlight on your skin. However, if you’re older, dark-skinned or at a high altitude or in winter, the sun is less likely to provide your daily needs. The process also won’t work with light through a window or if you’re wearing suntan lotion.
For a dietary source of vitamin D, you may need to fish around. Fatty fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, tuna, and eel contains up to 450 international units (IUs) of vitamin D, which is a good chunk of the 600 IUs daily intake that the Institute of Medicine recommends (800 IUs if you’re over 70). However, this fish doesn’t need to be fresh. Canned tuna fish and canned sardines both contain vitamin D, and are usually less expensive than fresh fish. Light tuna in a can tends to contain about 150 IUs of vitamin D per 4 ounces, while canned sardines have just over 40 IUs per two sardines.
However, if you don’t want to expose your skin to UV rays and run the risk of skin cancer, and you don’t love that fishy feeling, you can get your proper daily dose of vitamin D through supplements. Dr Honig adds that vitamin D is ‘not like calcium. You don’t have to split up your vitamin D dose; you can take it all at one time.’ Yet, if you are going to take your vitamin D in supplement form, talk to your doctor before choosing a dosage. Too much vitamin D – from any source – can be toxic, and the IOM sets the upper limit at 4,000 IUs for people over the age of nine.
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