{"id":7326,"date":"2022-09-27T13:42:31","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T13:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=7326"},"modified":"2022-09-29T09:53:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T09:53:00","slug":"essential-information-about-vitamin-d-and-your-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/senior-health\/essential-information-about-vitamin-d-and-your-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential information about vitamin D and your health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"504\" height=\"504\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-7328\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210636\/P.6-Main-Dr-Laird-Headshot.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210636\/P.6-Main-Dr-Laird-Headshot.png 504w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210636\/P.6-Main-Dr-Laird-Headshot-125x125.png 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 504px) 100vw, 504px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Dr Eamon Laird Bsc, PgDIP, Phd<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Research Scientist, University Limerick, Physical Education and Sports Science, Visiting Nutrition Senior Research Fellow, TCD<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box right round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-7329\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210636\/P.6-Main-Prof-Rose-Anne-Kenny-Headshot-.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210636\/P.6-Main-Prof-Rose-Anne-Kenny-Headshot-.png 150w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210636\/P.6-Main-Prof-Rose-Anne-Kenny-Headshot--125x125.png 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Prof. Rose Anne Kenny, MD, FRCP, FRCPI<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">President IGS, Professor Medical Gerontology Trinity College and St James Hospital, Director MISA, founding PI TILDA Irish longitudinal study on Ageing<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Vitamin D is an essential micronutrient that is needed for bone health and has been linked with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancers and cognitive impairment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>More recently, vitamin D has been linked with the immune system\u2019s function, with low levels leading to a higher risk of severe symptoms from respiratory infections, which could also include Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"healt-334416330\"><div class=\"healt-adlabel\">Advertisements<\/div><div id=\"healt-2322115967\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.viatris.com\/en-ie\/lm\/Ireland\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Viatris desktop advert\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210631\/Viatris-desktop-advert.png\" alt=\"\"  width=\"750\" height=\"250\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-getting-the-necessary-nutrients\"><strong>Getting the necessary nutrients<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Vitamin D is made in the skin by exposing the body to just 10\u201315 minutes per day of sun. In Ireland, however, vitamin D can only usually be produced between late March and early October. From Halloween to St Patrick\u2019s day, we cannot make vitamin D from sunlight and are reliant on meeting our requirements from our diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only a few foods are rich in vitamin D (oily fish, eggs, mushrooms), and these are not frequently consumed. Only a few foods are fortified with vitamin D (eg. some cereals, milk, etc.), and these tend to be more expensive and not widely available. The lack of a vitamin D food fortification policy in Ireland, coupled with inadequate sunlight, means we experience some of the highest deficiency rates in Western Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, a nationally representative sample of older adults in Ireland, we found that:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>47% of all adults over 85 are vitamin D-deficient in winter&nbsp;<\/li><li>1 in 8 adults over 50 are deficient all year round&nbsp;<\/li><li>Only 4% of men and 15% of women take a vitamin D supplement&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Only a few foods are rich in vitamin D (oily fish, eggs, mushrooms), and these are not frequently consumed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"7359\" data-bid=\"94\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0iaGVhbHQtMzMzODQzNzk2OSI+PGEgZGF0YS1uby1pbnN0YW50PSIxIiBocmVmPSJodHRwczovL3d3dy52aWF0cmlzLmNvbS9lbi1pZS9sbS9JcmVsYW5kIiByZWw9Im5vb3BlbmVyIiBjbGFzcz0iYTJ0LWxpbmsiIHRhcmdldD0iX2JsYW5rIj48cCBzdHlsZT0iY29sb3I6ICMxZjQ1ZmM7Ij48c3BhbiBzdHlsZT0idGV4dC1kZWNvcmF0aW9uOiB1bmRlcmxpbmU7Ij5Xb3JraW5nIHRvIGVtcG93ZXIgcGVvcGxlIHRvIGxpdmUgaGVhbHRoaWVyIGF0IGV2ZXJ5IHN0YWdlIG9mIGxpZmUuIENsaWNrIGhlcmUgdG8gbGVhcm4gbW9yZS48L3NwYW4+PC9wPiAgICA8L2E+PC9kaXY+<\/script>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Those most at risk of deficiency include:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>People who get little sun exposure or eat low amounts of fortified foods, especially housebound people&nbsp;<\/li><li>People who are obese or physically inactive, have asthma\/chronic lung disease or inflammatory conditions&nbsp;<\/li><li>Those from poorer backgrounds<\/li><li>Males and those who live alone&nbsp;<\/li><li>Ethnic minorities\/non-Caucasians<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Some recommendations<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>New recommendations from the Department of Health and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in 2020 advise that \u2018all older Irish adults aged 65 and older take a vitamin D supplement of 15 micrograms (\u03bcg)\/600 International Units (IU) every day to ensure they get the vitamin D needed for bone and muscle health.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can be either through a multivitamin, a calcium and vitamin D supplement or a vitamin D-only supplement. Older adults are also encouraged to try and eat vitamin-rich foods such as oily fish which can infer additional health benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"healt-906137638\"><div class=\"healt-adlabel\">Advertisements<\/div><div id=\"healt-2385880889\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.viatris.com\/en-ie\/lm\/Ireland\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Viatris desktop advert\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210631\/Viatris-desktop-advert.png\" alt=\"\"  width=\"750\" height=\"250\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vitamin D is an essential micronutrient that is needed for bone health and has been linked with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancers and cognitive impairment. More recently, vitamin D has been linked with the immune system\u2019s function, with low levels leading to a higher risk of severe symptoms from respiratory infections, which could also &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/senior-health\/essential-information-about-vitamin-d-and-your-health\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":7330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5746],"tags":[5747],"class_list":["post-7326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senior-health","tag-senior-health-q3-2022"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210635\/GettyImages-1311280574-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2022\/09\/07210635\/GettyImages-1311280574-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_category_order":[{"category_id":5746,"order":"8"}],"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7326"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7360,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326\/revisions\/7360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}