New recommendations from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), and supported by the Government, state that everyone in the UK should be taking a daily vitamin D supplement throughout the winter months.
A landmark statement made by the Government on the 21st July[1] reads, ‘During autumn and winter, everyone will need to rely on dietary sources of vitamin D. Since it is difficult for people to meet the 10 microgram recommendation from consuming foods naturally containing or fortified with vitamin D, people should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D in autumn and winter.’
Dr. Louis Levy, Head of Nutrition Science at Public Health England confirms, “A healthy, balanced diet and short bursts of sunshine will mean most people get all the vitamin D they need in spring and summer. However, everyone will need to consider taking a supplement in the autumn and winter if you don’t eat enough foods that naturally contain vitamin D or are fortified with it.”
Despite this, a new customer survey[2] commissioned by Vega Vitamins has shown that the general British public is in the dark when it comes to the sunshine vitamin.
- A shocking 79% of UK adults don’t take a vitamin D supplement, despite 47% expressing concern that they are deficient in vitamin D
- Surprisingly, only 20% had heard about the Government’s latest recommendations
- Only 10% of parents give their children a stand-alone vitamin D supplement every day – meaning 9 out of 10 parents don’t!
- 73% think they can get their required amount of vitamin D everyday from the food they eat, which is not the case
Adrienne Benjamin, Nutritionist at Vega Vitamins gives her opinion on the results and expresses her concern of the public’s lack of awareness when it comes to Vitamin D supplementation:
“In recent years, vitamin D has been identified as being increasingly important for supporting health at all ages. As sunshine is the main way we get vitamin D and we see little sunshine in the UK, particularly in the autumn and winter months, we are encouraged by the government’s latest recommendations.“
Unfortunately, the Vega Nutritionals survey shows that this message has not reached most of the UK population and by launching this new range of products, we at Vega hope to be able to help spread the government’s message to people throughout the UK and to give people an easy-to-use range of vitamin D supplements to suit their individual needs.”
Why do we need Vitamin D?
Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, both of which are needed for healthy bones, teeth and muscles. Vitamin D also contributes to the normal function of the immune system. Most people in the UK find that they are lacking vitamin D during the autumn and winter months due to the lack of sunshine and because they cannot get the required daily amount through diet alone.
Introducing the NEW range of Vitamin D for all the family
Vega Vitamins have launched a vitamin D range using state of the art technology and based upon clinical evidence.
The new range contains products for every member of the family and includes sprays, chewable tablets and infant drops.
The products are available at two different doses – 10mg (400iu), as recommended for everybody by the government, and 50mg (2000iu), an intensive dose for adults wishing to supplement at a higher level.
Infant-D drops have been developed specifically for babies and toddlers to provide 10mg of vitamin D per drop. (RRP £6.95)
Everyday-D 10mg is suitable for children (4+) and adults and is available in a tasty orange spray or as blackcurrant chewable tablets (100s and 500s). (RRP £5.95)
Urgent-D 50mg is for adults wanting a higher dose of vitamin D and is available as a fresh mint spray or as blackcurrant chewable tablets. The Urgent-D chewable tablets were used in a 2016 clinical trial, which showed conclusively that people with insufficient levels of vitamin D become sufficient after using the product for three months[1]. (RRP £7.95)
The EveryDay-D and Urgent-D sprays use unique technology patented by Medlab Australia.
Dr Luis Vitetta, Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney Medical School and Director of Medical Research at Medlab Clinical, says, “From our studies we have found that the Medlab/Vega oral spray is hyper-absorbable and that vitamin D appears in the bloodstream in less than 4 minutes, and maybe even as quick as one minute after application.”
“We also found that once in the bloodstream, the vitamin D appears to be deployed into virtually all tissues extremely rapidly, particularly in individuals who may be insufficient in their blood vitamin D levels’’, explains Vitetta.
The Vega Nutritionals vitamin D products are all available online at Vega Vitamins and cost between £5.95 and £7.95 depending on the product.
[1] Witte K. et al (2016) The VINDICATE study J Am Coll Cardiol 67:2593-603
[1] GOV.UK – PHE publishes new advice on vitamin D. PHE Publishes New Advice on Vitamin D
[2] Vega Vitamins Consumer Survey, October 2016, 2,005 people surveyed from across the UK
About Vega Nutritionals
Vega Nutritionals forms part of the Cultech group of companies, a bioscience company based in south Wales that was established in 1994 and is recognized as an innovator and premium quality manufacturer within the nutritional supplement industry. Cultech manufactures a wide range of supplements for companies in the UK and worldwide.
What do Entertain The Kids think?
Entertain The Kids were sent a Vega Vitamin D spray. A pleasant tasting spray taken daily. In an easy to carry spray bottle that will fit neatly into your handbag or pocket. It is too early to say whether there have been any positive results but there have been no negative.
