– We clearly and clearly see that the hall is going up. People are probably a little more aware. That’s what Stein Lorentzen-Lund says. He is a pharmacist at Vitusapotek in Majorstuen in Oslo and has almost 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. When winter comes, the level of vitamin D goes up, says the pharmacist. And at the pharmacy they have several shelves with vitamin D in all kinds of forms and strengths. – There have been many more products and much more variety, says Lorentzen-Lund. Pharmacist Stein Lorentzen-Lund. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot / news news has been in Orkla Health, which has brands such as Möller’s, Collett and Gevita. They expect to sell over 300,000 units of vitamin D product and over 2 million units of omega 3 to everyday products and pharmacies in 2023. – Vitamin D is one of the vitamins that we sell a lot of, says Elin Reitan in Orkla Health. Vitamin D is particularly popular in winter. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot news has also been in contact with Orifarm, which has the Nycoplus brand. They do not want to give figures, but communications manager Kristian Lysgaard says: – We see a stable demand for Nycoplus vitamin-D in recent years. Especially in periods with limited exposure to sunlight, such as autumn and winter. An enormous increase Figures from the Apotekforeininga show that the sale of prescription vitamin D is increasing. If you look at the sales figures from January to November this year, 375,659 packs of vitamin D were sold. In the same months last year, 355,624 packages were sold. You can see the increase even better if you look at the number of so-called defined daily doses. From January to November this year, more than 68 million defined daily doses have been sold. By comparison, in the same months before the pandemic, 45 million defined daily doses were sold. Statistics for the years after 2020 are not available, but information from the Prescription Register can still give us an indication of the use of vitamin D in Norway. From 2010 to 2020, we have gone from approx. 5,000 to over 165,000 users. Kristin Holvik at FHI explains that we also take higher doses now than before. – Previously, it was not allowed to market daily doses higher than 20 micrograms as non-prescription dietary supplements. This has changed, and it is now permitted to market non-prescription dietary supplements with daily doses of up to 80 micrograms per tablet for adults. 10 micrograms is enough Pharmacies and convenience stores therefore sell vitamin D in doses of up to 80 micrograms. That is eight times more than the amount of vitamin D we are recommended to take in. How much vitamin D is recommended Healthy adults: 10 μg (micrograms) Children of all ages: 10 μg Seniors over 75: 20 μg. Breastfed infants 0-12 months: 10 μg in the form of drops. Cod liver oil is not recommended in the first year of life. Pregnant: 10 μg Lactating: 10 μg People with darker skin, overweight, who cover the skin or are inside a lot: 10 μg People with special diseases may receive other recommendations. Source: Directorate of Health The Directorate of Health advises adults and children to have an intake of 10 micrograms. For those over 75, they recommend 20 micrograms. This can be covered through the diet if you eat fatty fish, take cod liver oil, drink milk and butter or margarine with added vitamin D. Cod liver oil is a good source of vitamin D. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot / news – But there are quite a few people who have too low an intake, and therefore have to take subsidies, says Linda Granlund, who is divisional director in the Norwegian Directorate of Health. – And it is the case that vitamin D is supplied through the diet, but it is produced in the skin when we are exposed to the sun. Part of the challenge here in Norway is that we have little sun in the winter. Therefore, it may be that someone receives insufficient intake, she adds. Increase focus Magritt Brustad is a professor at the University of Tromsø. She says that there has been a great focus on vitamin D, and believes that the increase in the use of the vitamin may come from that. At the pharmacy, they sell vitamin D in both capsules and tablets and various strengths. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot Vitamin D is important for the skeleton and there has been a lot of research on vitamin D in relation to other diseases. – There is good evidence that vitamin D plays a role in the immune system, but at the same time it cannot be interpreted as meaning that you get a better immune system by taking a lot of vitamin D, says Brustad. She also says that research has been done on vitamin D and health outcomes such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. – But today we have quite good research studies of high quality that have not been able to confirm that vitamin D protects against the diseases that you might have thought vitamin D could protect against a few years ago, she says.
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Never before have so many Norwegians taken vitamin D – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
