Vitamin D Awareness Week – 24th to 30th October

Did you know that 7 months of the year the UK’s sun’s rays are TOO WEAK to allow effective vitamin D production? This means that most of us have insufficient levels of vitamin D levels in our bodies. Vitamin D Awareness Week (24th – 30th October) is a major public awareness campaign to elevate the nation’s understanding of the health issues associated with declining levels of this very important vitamin.

Following a review based on the evidence on vitamin D and health, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has broadened its advice on their findings. Our ever increasing indoor existence, cloudy climate and use of SPF sunscreens and make-up, greatly reduces our bodies ability to absorb UVB rays and in turn produce vitamin D.

This means our bodies find it hard to make enough vitamin D to carry us through the winter months. As your stores get depleted so does your mood and immune system, you may get S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder), low energy and vitality, a weakened immune system and start to pick up colds and flu.

This is why it’s important to test your levels regularly and to help with this we now sell vitamin D finger prick tests so you can test your levels yourself. You get everything you need in the kit and send off your test to the lab and receive the results in approx 5 days.

Liz Sheehan, our in-house nutritional therapist, will be in store every Friday between 12pm and 2.30pm to interpret your results and recommend a dose of vitamin D should you need it. Liz also recommends to test your levels again in January/February to make sure you have enough to last you through to springtime.

NB: if you are taking a vitamin D supplement don’t take it on the morning of doing your test.