21/06/2024
It is such a beautiful day in Wellington for a stroll today. It's always good to get out for a walk, breathe in the fresh air and feel the warmth of the sun, and absorb some of that much needed Vitamin D.
However, will you be absorbing any Vitamin D today? Unfortunately, the answer is NO! The winter sunlight is just too weak to promote vitamin D synthesis.
According to the dminder app, our next Vitamin D opportunity is 38 days away!
We are noticing in the clinic that some of our patient's moods are flat and energy levels are low. This Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or winter depression occurs at this time of year.
This could be due to many factors, one of which may be related to low levels of vitamin D.
Before we prescribe vitamin D, we always ask our patients to get their vitamin D levels tested. This provides us with a benchmark, and then we can prescribe the right amount of Vitamin D. We then ask our patients to get retested 3 months later. The reason for this is that we want to make sure that your Vitamin D levels have reached an optimal range and to adjust the dose to avoid Vitamin D toxicity.
The best form of Vitamin D is via sun exposure. However, we also need to be mindful of over exposure to the sun's harmful rays as well. You can also obtain vitamin D through foods, such as salmon, tuna, beef liver, egg yolks, fortified milk, and cereal and mushrooms. But if you are deficient, then obtaining Vitamin D from foods is unlikely to be enough. Are you getting enough vitamin D?
