Vitamin D From October to March

From the middle of October until the end of March, the sun in this country sits too low for your skin to make vitamin D from it.

That is why the NHS advises everyone in the UK to consider a supplement through the autumn and winter.

10 micrograms a day. Often printed as 400 IU on the bottle. It’s one of the cheapest supplements out there.

It matters because vitamin D is what lets you absorb calcium, and calcium is what bone is built from. Low levels over time are linked to weaker bone and to muscle weakness. If you train hard and want to still be training hard in your seventies this is important.

More is not better. Stay at or near 10 micrograms.

Take it with a meal that has some fat in it, which helps absorption, and don’t stress if you miss a day.

Food can provide some vitamin D oily fish, egg yolks, fortified spreads and cereals. But most people aren’t going to eat enough of these regularly to compensate for the lack of sunlight exposure.

`Personally I have taken vitamin D for years now. Alongside Omega 3’s and creatine they are my daily constant for supplementation. I take summer and winter as I can be inside a lot in the summer and not get enough exposure.`

Getting outside in daylight through the winter still does your sleep, your mood and your body clock a lot of good, even in the months it is doing nothing for your vitamin D. So stick to my advice of trying to get some outdoor time!

A big area of confusion for people. Our Nutrition and Lifestyle Programme is run by Dr Amy George — a CrossFit coach and an HSN nutrition and lifestyle coach. She can help break down the noise on this. To get started have a fifteen minute call with Jeremy or Beth, free and no obligation, visit crossfitchiltern.com.