2 November is World Vitamin D Day, an event that seeks to raise awareness of a very modern condition: vitamin D deficiency. Want to know more about it? Read the RC REDOL article below and get all the important facts.
Vitamin D deficiency is a growing epidemic and a significant public health concern, but what exactly is at stake here?
The benefits of vitamin D are vast, as it helps prevent certain types of cancer, as well as obesity and diabetes, but also improves cardiovascular health. It is also vital in preventing and treating infectious conditions, but it also supports the development of the central nervous system and improves muscle tone and balance. At certain times in our lives, it is even more important, as it reduces the risk of falls and cognitive impairment, and even offers protective effects during pregnancy, including a lower risk of eclampsia and low birth weight.
However, unlike other vitamins, vitamin D is mostly produced by our bodies, mainly through sun exposure on the skin, but changes resulting from modern lifestyles have been identified as the main cause of this deficiency. The reality is that, although it can be obtained from food, it is mainly synthesised through the skin. This means that reduced time spent outdoors, increased time spent indoors or at school for children and institutionalisation or limited mobility for the elderly, all contribute to vitamin D deficiency. And this happens at the same time dietary changes are taking place, there is an ever-increasing ageing population and we observe a shift towards greater meat consumption.
What should you do?
You should prioritise spending time outdoors to allow your body to produce vitamin D through sun exposure. This is a practice that has its own challenges, as we’ve described in another article (https://rcredol.pt/?p=3186&lang=en), however, sun exposure helps absorb calcium from the food we eat and, ideally, 80-90% of our vitamin D should come from skin synthesis, with 10-20% from food.
However, it can be difficult to compensate for deficiencies in skin production through diet alone, making vitamin D supplements necessary in many cases. RC REDOL has some ready-to-market options in your country, such as various multivitamins that include vitamin D, in solutions for men, women and children. These products are also available in various pharmaceutical forms, such as oral liquids or tablets.
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