Vitamin D supplements – do I need them and am I getting enough?
Vitamin D often referred to as the ‘sunshine vitamin’ because your body produces vitamin D naturally when bare skin is exposed to sunlight, plays a crucial role in bone health, immunity, and muscle strength. Research suggests there are consistently low vitamin D levels across all ages of life with deficiency in vitamin D being common among children and adults living in Ireland. Limited sun availability for large parts of the year in Ireland means we are reliant on food sources to supply this essential vitamin but good sources of vitamin D foods in Irish diets are limited (oily fish, eggs and meat or fortified foods).
Should I take a vitamin D supplement?
This depends on factors such as, your age, skin-colour, time of year and physiological factors such as pregnancy.
How much vitamin D do I need?
To minimise the risk of vitamin D deficiency among the Irish population the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has published a series of vitamin D reports in infants, young children, and adults, on how to address this by looking at both natural food sources of vitamin D, fortified foods and appropriate doses of vitamin D from food supplements. The extensive FSAI reports focussed on vitamin D nutrition for infants (0-1 years), young children (aged 1-5 years), and 5- to 65-year-olds living in Ireland and, for the first time, sets out supplementation recommendations across the lifespan from infancy to older adulthood.
Table 1. What are the recommendations for vitamin D supplements among children and adults living in Ireland? *
* Check with your pharmacist or healthcare professional to ensure that you are taking the right dose of supplement as too much vitamin D from food supplements can cause a build-up of calcium in the blood.
Are the Irish population meeting these supplementation guidelines?
New research is being carried out by researchers in the Nutrition Pillar, of the SHE Centre in TUS Athlone, this research is investigating parents and caregiver’s awareness of, and adherence to, the vitamin D supplementation guidelines among 1 to 5-year-old children. The results of this research indicate that there is generally poor awareness of, and adherence to, vitamin D guidelines and researchers found several factors that can help or hinder with guideline adherence. A paper on this topic will be published later this year with future results to follow!
References:
Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2020a). Scientific Recommendations for Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for 1 to 5-Year-Olds in Ireland. [online]. Available from: https://shorturl.at/TTHPh
Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2020b). Scientific Recommendations for Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for Older Adults in Ireland. [online]. Available from: https://shorturl.at/62BmD
Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2020c). Update to 2007 Scientific Committee Report: Recommendation for a national Policy on Vitamin D Supplementation for Infants in Ireland. [online]. Available from: https://shorturl.at/rEFV3
Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2023). Vitamin D: Scientific Recommendations for 5 to 65 Years Olds Living in Ireland. [online]. Available from: https://shorturl.at/7k1PS
Thank you to student Dawn and Dr Áine O’Connor for developing this blog.
