The case in summary There is disagreement among professionals about what is the optimal level for vitamin D in the blood. Vitamin D is efficiently produced in the body when the sun’s rays hit the skin, but this is less effective when the sun is low in the sky, such as in winter. Vitamin D stores are replenished in the summer and can be used throughout the winter. It is important not to get too little vitamin D. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The best way to get vitamin D is to sunbathe. In the middle of summer, when the sun is high in the sky, the body effectively creates vitamin D when the sun’s rays hit the skin. – In the summer, 10–15 minutes of warm sun rays on the face and hands is enough for us to produce what we need for a day, says Haakon E. Meyer. He is professor of social medicine at UiO and senior physician at FHI. You get sun on your face on cold, fine days at this time of year too, but now the sun’s rays don’t work as well. When the sun is low in the sky, as it is for half the year, the rays have to pass through so much atmosphere that the UVB rays are filtered out. It is these rays that we need to form D vitamins. LOVES THE SUN: There are good reasons to be happy in the warm sun. Photo: Jørgen Leangen / news Fortunately, we have a stock that we can consume when winter comes. Difference between women and men – Most of us stock up in the summer, and it is often lowest in late winter and spring. What we should be careful about is not getting too little vitamin D, says Meyer. “It is normal for the level of vitamin D to vary during the year.” Haakon E. Meyer In a recent survey conducted by Norstat for news, 22 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 answer that they take vitamin D daily. At the same time, 75 per cent of those aged between 80 and 99 say the same. This survey also shows a big difference between women and men. 40 percent of women take vitamin D daily, while only 25 percent of men do. In the survey, which was carried out by Norstat in collaboration with news, 1,000 people were asked whether they take vitamin D daily. So what can we do to get enough vitamin D in the dark? You have to be very conscious of what you eat in order to get enough vitamin D through your diet. Eat cod liver Cod liver is the food that contains the most vitamin D. If you eat 100 grams of cod liver, you will get enough vitamin D for a whole week, according to Matvaretabellen.no. Photo: Sylvi Inez Liljegren / news D vitamins are fat-soluble vitamins. This means that the excess is stored in muscles and fat on the body, and can be used as and when we need them. Eat fatty fish If you eat 100 grams of salmon or herring, you will get 10-15 micrograms of vitamin D. If you prefer tinned mackerel in tomato, you must eat 200 grams to get enough for a daily dose. Photo: Leif Nøttestad Eat food with added vitamin D In Norway, vitamin D is added to some dairy products, such as low-fat milk and certain types of butter and margarine. If you are betting on getting enough through the milk, you have to drink quite a lot. You need to drink 12 glasses to get enough for a day. Vitamin D is also added to some types of bread and other foods. Eat eggs It is the yolk that contains D vitamins. An egg yolk contains 7.5 micrograms, so if you eat two eggs you will get enough for a day. Photo: egg.no Eat chanterelle Here, 100 grams of raw chanterelle is enough for a daily dose. Raw chanterelles have even slightly more vitamin D than regular chanterelles Photo: Tuva Tagseth / news The alternative is of course to take cod liver oil or D vitamins in the months with R in. But there is one problem with all this. What is enough? – There is no consensus among professionals as to what is the optimal level for vitamin D, says Xiaomei Mai. She is a professor of social medicine and nursing at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Vitamin D is important for all cells in the body. The vitamin helps the intestine absorb calcium and phosphorus, which are needed to have a strong skeleton. Too low a level of vitamin D creates a risk of osteoporosis, which makes the bones in the body break more easily. Prolonged lack of vitamin D can lead to rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. “Vitamin D supplements may slightly reduce the risk of acute respiratory infections overall, but the latest clinical studies showed that the supplement did not reduce the risk of COVID-19.” Xiaomei Mai However, what is agreed is that less than 30 nmol/li of the blood is defined such as vitamin D deficiency. According to the Health Survey in Trøndelag (HUNT), between 6 and 13 per cent of the population have such a low level. The same survey shows that 40–60 per cent of us have below 50 nmol/l, but the researchers are unsure whether this has an impact on health. The general advice is 50 nmol/l. 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: Norwegian Directorate of Health The store of vitamin D that you built up by being out in the sun in the summer must be made active so that the body can use it. It is done first in a process in the liver, and afterwards in a process in the kidneys. What are you doing? I trust that I get enough vitamin D through my diet. I take vitamin D every day during the winter months. I take vitamin D occasionally Show result Vitamin D can be linked to diabetes, blood pressure, certain forms of cancer, depression, infections and much more. But researchers have little evidence that the connection is caused by vitamin D. – A few years ago, vitamin D was seen as a miracle cure for everything. Enthusiasm for this vitamin has dampened considerably, says Meyer at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Can it be too much? Too much vitamin D can cause the risk of bone fractures as a side effect. If you take too much of the vitamin, you can get poisoning, but this is very rare. Meyer in FHI is not aware that this has happened in recent times in this country.
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Some Norwegians have little vitamin D in their bodies – tips on how to get enough – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
