Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of Calcium and Phosphate in the body. These nutrients are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. A lack of Vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and bone pain caused by condition called Osteomalacia in adults.
Our body makes most of our Vitamin D in reaction to sunlight on our skin. It’s also found in a small number of foods including oily fish, eggs, margarine, yoghurt and fortified breakfast cereals.
During the autumn and winter months, you need to get Vitamin D from your diet because the sun light is not strong enough for the body to make Vitamin D. As it is difficult to get Vitamin D from food alone, government advice is that everyone including pregnant and breastfeeding women should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of Vitamin D during autumn and winter.
Ask
Do you take a Vitamin D supplement?
Have you thought about taking Vitamin D supplement?
Assist
The Department of Health and Social Care recommends that babies from birth to 1 year of age should have a daily supplement containing 8.5 to 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year if they are: ·
- breastfed
- formula-fed and are having less than 500ml (about a pint) of infant formula a day, as infant formula is already fortified with vitamin D
- children aged 1 to 4 years old should be given a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year.
- people over the age 65, especially when we're not exposed to much sun, should take a daily supplement throughout the year
Act
You can buy vitamin D supplements or vitamin drops containing vitamin D (for under 5s) at most pharmacies and supermarkets.
Midwives and health visitors may provide to pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Provide Vitamin D and You leaflet