Admittedly, vitamin D can be provided by food: mainly by fatty fish (cod liver, herring, mackerel), offal, butter, large quantities of egg yolk, whole milk.
But the simplest way to cover your daily needs remains more surely that of the sun’s rays which promote its synthesis in the skin: 15 to 20 minutes at the end of the morning or in the followingnoon and you ensure your body an adequate daily intake of vitamin D!
Certain populations appear particularly at risk in the event of a deficiency. Like the elderly. Because the “the body’s ability to absorb or synthesize vitamin D decreases with age”pleads the National Food Safety Agency (Anses), which adds that“low vitamin D intake can lead to osteoporosis”.
The special case of newborns
“Newborns, infants, pregnant women, postmenopausal women, whose hormonal upheaval leads to bone demineralization thus increasing the risk of fracture, and people with dull or dark skin, for whom the synthesis of this vitamin by ‘sun exposure is less effective’are also part of the populations at risk.
Does this mean that a cure is essential, for the latter, in autumn as in winter? ANSES insists: “It is possible to ensure satisfactory vitamin D status through exposure to the sun, by practicing outdoor physical activity for example, and foodensuring that vitamin D-rich products are part of the diet”.
However, for some populations “like newborns, supplemental vitamin D is needed to ensure satisfactory status ».
It should also be remembered that “the use of food supplements containing vitamin D can lead to excessively high intakes and cause hypercalcemia, i.e. too high a level of calcium in the blood, leading to calcification of certain tissues, and cardiological consequences and kidneys.
Beyond hypercalcemia, excess vitamin D intake can cause other disorders such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, weight loss or intense fatigue. »
In any case, it is best to seek advice from your doctor before considering a cure.
Sources: ANSES, Vitamin D: why and how to ensure an adequate intake? March 2, 2022
