Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and phosphate to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy, and in the UK most of it comes from summer sunlight.
Why vitamin D matters
- Bones and teeth. It controls how much calcium and phosphate you absorb.
- Muscles. Low vitamin D is linked to muscle weakness and aches.
- Severe deficiency causes rickets in children and bone pain (osteomalacia) in adults1.
The UK advice
From about late March or early April to the end of September, most people make enough vitamin D from sunlight on their skin. From October to early March the sun is too low in the UK, so everyone should consider a daily 10 µg supplement in autumn and winter12.
| Who | Advice |
|---|---|
| Adults and children over 4 | Consider 10 µg a day from October to March |
| Children aged 1 to 4 | 10 µg a day, all year |
| People who aren't often outdoors, or usually cover most of their skin outside | 10 µg a day, all year |
| People with dark skin (for example, of African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background) | Consider 10 µg a day, all year |
Food sources of vitamin D
| Food | Per 100 g | Per serving | % daily |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fat spread, fortified | 7.5 µg | 0.8 µg10 g | 8% |
| Salmon, farmed, cooked (varies) | 7 µg | 8.4 µg1 fillet (120 g) | 84% |
| Sardines, canned in oil | 4.8 µg | 4.3 µg90 g | 43% |
| Breakfast cereal, fortified (varies) | 4.2 µg | 1.3 µg30 g bowl | 13% |
| Eggs | 3.2 µg | 3.8 µg2 eggs (120 g) | 38% |
Very few foods naturally contain much vitamin D5, which is why food alone rarely gets you to 10 µg a day in winter. Some supermarket mushrooms are exposed to UV light to boost their vitamin D; the label will say.
Common myths
MythYou get enough from the sun all year.
FactNot in the UK from October to March, when the sun's UVB rays aren't strong enough.
MythSitting by a sunny window counts.
FactGlass blocks the UVB rays your skin needs to make vitamin D.
MythSunbeds are a safe way to top up.
FactThey raise your risk of skin cancer. Use a supplement instead.
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References
- NHS. Vitamins and minerals: Vitamin D. nhs.uk.
- Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. Vitamin D and Health. Public Health England, 2016.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
- Public Health England. McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID). GOV.UK, 2021.
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin D: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. ods.od.nih.gov.