How To Defeat Vitamin D Deficiency In Manchester This Winter

As we transition into the peak of winter, we must stay on top of our health even more. With days getting shorter and nights getting colder, we need to find ways of making sure that our diet remains balanced and that we are getting the vitamins we need to strengthen our immunity against winter bugs and colds.

Vitamin D is vital as it absorbs calcium to promote bone growth and strengthen other bodily functions – as well as help boost our immune system. Our skin produces a lot of vitamin D when we are exposed to sunlight. This means that during the winter months, we are not as exposed to as much sunlight as we would during the summer, so we are more than likely to be lacking in a balance of vitamins.

It is reported that in Manchester there is only 24.4% of sunshine during daylight hours leaving 75.6% of the time without exposure due to haze, cloud or low sun intensity. In November we get 12 hours of daylight and in December this reduces to 7 hours with the approach of the Winter solstice. When we take a look this, the figures are quite concerning in terms of the amount of vitamin D we are likely to get during the winter months. According to statistics by The Greater Manchester NTS, adult groups most likely to be vitamin D deficient include 65 years+, breastfeeding and pregnant women.

Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include:

• Fatigue and Tiredness
• Becoming Sick or Infected More Often
• Bone and Back Pain
• Depression
• Impaired Wound Healing
• The Loss of Bone
• The Loss of Hair
• Muscle Pain

Another extension to this problem is being folate deficient by not having enough vitamin B12 (iron) to keep your red blood cells functioning properly. This leads to a problem called anaemia.

Symptoms of anaemia include:

• Pale skin
• Weakness
• Shortness of breath
• Persistent fatigue

Another concern from being vitamin D deficient is that death by cardiovascular disease becomes more likely.

So how do we get around this if we are indoors most of the time or the weather is always terrible, and are not exposed to direct sunlight? Well, VEGA fitness range may have answered that question with the launch of their new Vitamin D products, which aim to incorporate a healthy amount of Vitamin D through daily supplements.

They have launched three products – EveryDay-D, Urgent-D and an EveryDay-D spray.

Urgent-D is a vitamin D3 tablet has a strength of 2000IU. There are 60 in a jar that you take one a day and are even chewable with a tasty blackcurrant flavour. The tablet provides a healthy dose when used in moderation when you are not getting the sunlight you need. It is a healthy way of incorporating the vital vitamin you need to buy doxycycline online into your diet. The tablet provides you with four hours of sunshine!

EveryDay-D has 500 tablets in a jar with the same flavour with a strength of 400IU and are also daily tablets when the need for vitamin D is not as urgent. This will provide you with an hour of sunshine!

VEGA also offer a unique alternative to taking chewable tablets and that is in the form of the EveryDay-D spray. It comes in a flavoursome sweet orange flavour and provides 1 hour of sunshine and contains up to 200 doses.

The products are a fantastic way of making sure that your intake of vitamins is balanced and so that your immunity is also boosted during the Autumn and Winter months against the common cold and other bugs and viruses that we are prone to. What’s even better about the products is that they are for all the family and are catered to children as well as adults, with the new Vega Infant-D range for toddlers.

VEGA’s vitamin products are available in pharmacies and health food stores nationwide and can be purchased here: http://www.vegavitamins.co.uk/

Alternatively, there are other vitamin products across Manchester superstores that are just as good in making sure that you are getting the correct levels of vitamins in your system. Retailers sell multivitamins predominantly and most include iron, so you can get the right balance of vitamins incorporated into your diet.

Vitamin D helps to keep the levels of calcium and phosphate balanced as well as keeping regulation. Other surprising benefits also include helping to become resistant to disease such as the flu and heart disease. A study by scientists also showed that took vitamin D supplements saw an improvement to their depression and reduced anxiety levels. Did you know that vitamin D can also help to reduce weight? It was also found that because of the extra production of calcium by vitamin D supplements, it suppressed the appetite of those tested who took the supplement.

Living in Manchester can also add the a higher risk of being vitamin D deficient and this is because in cities buildings block exposure to direct sunlight and there is added pollution which blocks sun rays, making it even more important to add vitamin D supplements into your diet over the winter.