Low Vitamin D
What is low Vitamin D?
You need vitamin D to help regulate the way your body uses calcium and ensure your bones, muscles and teeth remain strong.
Most of the vitamin D you get is obtained by the action of sunlight on your skin. Your body makes vitamin D when the sun shines on the skin. Some people are found to have low vitamin D on a blood test or are at high risk of low vitamin D due to lack of sunlight exposure.
How to get enough vitamin D from the sun?
Where possible, going outside and exposing your arms and face to sunlight is the best way to get vitamin D. From June to August just 15 minutes a day is generally enough. Don’t allow your skin to go red and take care not to burn, particularly in strong sunshine and if you have fair or sensitive skin. Exposure to the sun must be outside and not through glass as glass blocks the UV light.
What to do if you cannot get enough sun exposure
Some people are unable to get sufficient sun exposure, for example, people with a history of skin cancer or elderly people living in a nursing home. Although some foods have vitamin D in them, you can’t normally get enough vitamin D from your diet. Taking a supplement will provide sufficient vitamin D for your body.
For further information please visit the Royal Osteoporosis Society website