Winter is coming and the days are getting shorter. The sun, our natural source of vitamin D, is visible less and less. How can we avoid a vitamin D deficiency?
Who needs vitamin D?
“Everyone in our hemisphere will be deficient in vitamin D at the end of winter,” says Professor Chantal Mathieu, an endocrinologist at the UZ Leuven. ‘Our diet is not sufficient to maintain our vitamin D supply.’
A number of groups are extra vulnerable to a vitamin D deficiency, says Mathieu: ‘People with dark skin, the elderly and obese people are more likely to become deficient. Breastfed babies also often need extra vitamin D, because they are not allowed to sit in the sun for long and certainly do not get enough vitamin D through food.’
What are the dangers of a deficiency?
‘A vitamin D deficiency can mainly cause bone and calcium abnormalities,’ says Mathieu. ‘And it makes you more vulnerable to infections.’
However, anyone who suffers from a dip during the winter months should not blame it on a vitamin D deficiency: “It has nothing to do with that,” says Mathieu. ‘It is true that less light falls on the retina of our eyes during the dark winter months and some people are very sensitive to this. If you don’t want winter depression, it’s better to go to Tenerife.’
Can we get vitamin D in our food?
Mathieu: ‘Yes. Wild fatty fish, such as salmon or mackerel, are an excellent source of vitamin D. Some mushrooms also contain it. In recent years you have also seen more and more products such as milk, cheese, yoghurt and butter that are enriched with vitamin D.’
Mathieu points out that regular food cannot usually replace the sun as a source of vitamin D.: ‘Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin, but a hormone. Hormones are produced by an organ, while we get vitamins from our diet. We can produce vitamin D by exposing UV rays to our skin, and it is therefore a hormone.’
How do you determine which supplements are best to take?
‘It is important to consult your doctor or pharmacist about any vitamin D supplements during the winter,’ says Mathieu, ‘as too much vitamin D can also have harmful effects. For example, too much vitamin D causes calcium to deposit in your kidneys. That can lead to kidney stones.’
‘There are also no studies that show that taking more vitamin D than necessary would protect you better against diseases. So it is certainly not a panacea.’
Conclusion
Most people in Belgium suffer from a vitamin D deficiency in the winter. However, always discuss with your doctor or pharmacist whether and which supplement is appropriate. An overdose can cause health damage.
2023-11-11 09:00:49
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