Vitamin D should be taken all year round: Cardiologist's advice
Illustrative photo (Freepik)
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient primarily produced in the body through exposure to sunlight. Many people take it as a supplement. It is important to know whether you need to take a break from it in the summer and which foods have most of this vitamin.
Role of vitamin D
Vitamin D acts like a hormone. It helps to form and maintain strong bones, regulates normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood, and improves calcium absorption.
The compound also helps support a healthy immune system and control cell growth.
However, there are instances when vitamin D can even harm the human body.
Most people take the vitamin without prior testing or consulting with an endocrinologist (as this specialist is the most competent in prescribing the vitamin). Therefore, the harmful effects of vitamin D are most often associated with its overdose.
Should you take break from taking vitamin D?
Cardiologist Natalia Ivaniuk says vitamin D should be taken year-round without interruption.
"We do not live in Miami, Italy, or Spain. People do not sunbathe every day to produce vitamin D through ultraviolet radiation and do not consume it in sufficient quantities from food," said the doctor.
If you have been taking vitamin D for 9 months and decide to take a break in the summer, your vitamin levels will naturally drop significantly.
Larger doses will then be needed to bring it back to normal. Therefore, it is not recommended to take a break from vitamin D supplementation.
Foods rich in vitamin D
Typically, for a healthy person to get their dose of vitamin D, it is enough to be out in the sun and consume foods that contain vitamin D.
Include the following foods in your diet:
- Fatty fish - mackerel, tuna, trout, salmon
- Dairy products - butter, hard cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, whey, whole milk
- Beef liver
- Egg yolks
However, some people may need more than this, such as:
- Infants
- Elderly people, especially those who do not go outside
- Obese individuals (high body mass index)
- People with unbalanced diets, such as vegans
- People with gastrointestinal and liver diseases
Earlier, we reported which vitamin deficiencies lead to mental health problems.
We also wrote about 7 signs of vitamin deficiencies that should not be ignored.
Sources: The Instagram page of cardiologist Natalia Ivaniuk, the Take Care of Yourself medical community website, and the Public Health Center.
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.
