Vitamin D: Five things you need to know

The UK government recently announced that it is giving free vitamin D supplements to more than 2.5 million people in England who are at high risk of old age, frailty and physical weakness, so they can get what they need during the winter months.

Vitamin D helps maintain healthy bones, teeth and muscles.

Human skin synthesizes vitamin D through sunlight, but older people and those with darker skin tones often need extra supplements, especially during the new crown epidemic, when people stay indoors longer.

British health officials say everyone should take a daily supplement of 10 micrograms of vitamin D between October and March of next year, even during normal winter months. therefore, all at-risk people, including those in nursing homes, will receive free government vitamin D supplements this winter

Do I need vitamin D supplements or not?

In fact, NHS England has previously recommended appropriate vitamin D supplementation at the recommended rate of 10 micrograms per day for adults in the winter when sunlight is reduced and people spend more time indoors.

As mentioned earlier, vitamin D is important for maintaining healthy bones, teeth and muscles, and a deficiency may lead to rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.

In addition, there are studies that show that vitamin D can boost immunity and help prevent infections.

For example, some studies have shown that when we have the common cold and flu, adequate levels of vitamin D in the body can help recovery, but the research evidence is sometimes not always consistent.

Does vitamin D help prevent new crowns?

According to an evaluation of research by the National Institute for Health and Service Excellence (NICE), there is no valid evidence that vitamin D supplements can prevent or treat neostriatal viruses.

However, experts believe that maintaining normal levels of vitamin D in the body during a new coronary is beneficial to a person’s overall health.

Some researchers have even suggested that poor treatment outcomes in some patients with neo-coronavirus may be related to insufficient vitamin D in the body. The problem, however, is that some other underlying conditions, such as heart disease, may also affect the outcome of newly crowned patients, making it difficult to make conclusive judgments.

Rhodes, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Liverpool, said vitamin D has an anti-inflammatory effect. Some studies have shown that it can reduce the body’s immune system’s overreaction to viruses.

This may be particularly critical in those patients who are critically ill with a new coronary, because the “cytokine storm” that their immune system launches to fight the virus often leads to severe lung damage. Of course, more research is needed in this area.

Is more vitamin D better than less?

Shouldn’t you take more vitamin D, the more the better?

Experts say that while vitamin D supplements are safe, they should not be taken in excess. Otherwise, it may be dangerous in the long run, especially for some patients with chronic kidney disease, it is best to consult your doctor for advice.

Specific doses.

Children 1 to 10 years of age should not exceed 50 mcg per day.

Infants under 12 months of age should not exceed 25 micrograms per day

The adult dose should not exceed 100 micrograms per day, while the recommended amount is 10 micrograms per day. This includes pregnant and lactating women. However, dark-skinned pregnant women and women with high-risk pregnancies may need a higher dose.

However, if your doctor tells you to take a higher dose of vitamin D, you should follow your doctor’s instructions.

Public Health England (PHE) also recommends that some people serve vitamin D year-round, especially if you.

rarely leave the house

live in a nursing home

or always cover most of your skin when you go out for religious reasons

Have dark skin

How does diet affect vitamin D?

Vitamin D supplements are readily available and are sold in many supermarkets and pharmacies. While most vitamin D supplements are usually vitamin D3, the part of the vitamin that is synthesized through sun exposure of the skin, vitamin D2 can be obtained from some plant foods.

While a balanced diet ensures that your body’s immune system is functioning properly, no single nutrient, food or supplement can greatly improve your immunity.

And it is difficult to rely entirely on diet for vitamin D. In other words, diet is not enough to meet the body’s required vitamin D needs.

But that’s not the same as saying you don’t need to eat a balanced diet because it’s beneficial to maintaining your good health.

These healthy foods include fish and eggs rich in vitamin D, some breakfast cereals fortified with vitamin D, yogurt and margarine, etc.

How about more sun exposure?

Since sun exposure helps increase vitamin D, is more sun exposure better?

While it is true that sun exposure is good for increasing vitamin D, the sun can also burn the skin and even cause skin cancer. Therefore, it needs to be considered in terms of overall health, both safe and not excessive.

Also, it is important to protect yourself by applying sunscreen when sunbathing.