Vitamin D

vitamin dIs Vitamin D really important?

Now that our summer is officially over and with Winter months well and truly upon us, the days are much shorter and are slowly getting darker too. Now is the best time to start concentrating on keeping yourself healthy throughout the long winter months.

Let’s start with your Vitamin D intake- Nearly every single person in Ireland alone is deficient in this vital nutrient. We do obtain a certain amount from natural sunlight, however a combination of shorter days of sunlight, being cooped up in an office all day in work and going to work when it’s dark in the morning and coming home when it’s still dark mean that nearly all of us are completely deficient in Vitamin D.

Why is Vitamin D so important?

Vitamin D is necessary for a number of different reasons;

• It is crucial for the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous, which have various functions, particularly the maintenance of healthy bones.
• Vitamin D arms your immune system against disorders such as the common cold and viral infections.
• Vitamin D reduces the risk of development of rheumatoid arthritis in women. Certain studies have shown that those with high levels of Vitamin D have a lower chance of contracting different forms of cancer as opposed to people with lower levels.
• It is beneficial to your overall cardiovascular health.

How to get adequate Vitamin D throughout the Winter months

The Easiest way of ensuring your have adequate intake of Vitamin D apart from direct sunlight is through supplementation.
We highly recommend a starting point of roughly 400iu’s of Vitamin D daily. And gradually building that up to 600iu’s per day. You can find this supplement here.