Vitamin D: You hear about it everywhere. But what is it important for, what happens when there is a deficiency, and what foods contain it? We have all the answers.
Especially in winter, you hear and read about it all the time: Vitamin D. We have the answers to the most important questions for you.
Table of contents
What do I need vitamin D for?
The vitamin is vital for the human body. Its task is to regulate calcium and phosphate metabolism, which plays an important role in bone structure and tooth development.
Vitamin D ensures that the absorption of calcium and phosphate from the intestine is improved. It is therefore essential for bone metabolism and thus for the prevention of osteoporosis. Anyone suffering from a deficiency will also notice this in muscle weakness.
How do I get enough vitamin D?
Under the influence of sunlight - more precisely UV-B rays, our skin can produce vitamin D3. Especially now in winter, when the days are short and often foggy, many find it difficult to get enough sun.
So how efficient the production of the vitamin is is related to the time you spend outdoors. In Germany and Austria, we can only produce enough vitamin D over the main for 6 months.
And we often do not manage to do this sufficiently either. Because sunscreens inhibit the formation of up to 90 %.
However, it can also be taken in through food. Animal foods contain D3. Plant foods contain D2.
However, it is virtually impossible to cover your needs completely and exclusively with food. For example, you would have to drink 22 glasses of whole milk a day.
Or: 5 times a week 1 kilogram of fatty fish. Therefore: Go outdoors as often as possible and soak up a big load of sun rays.
Vitamin D in winter
In winter, things get a little more complicated. Because from October to March the body lacks the sun's rays.
Even if the sun shines in winter, it is too low to have sufficient UV radiation. So in winter, you live off the vitamin D stores you've accumulated in summer.
Unfortunately, even the sun in the high mountains is not enough to recharge our batteries. But sun and fresh air simply do you good. So grab your skis and head for the mountains. :)
Can you fill up on vitamin D in the solarium?
Vitamin D in summer
If you spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer, your body builds up vitamin stores. But only if you are regularly in the sun. Too much sun protection prevents the body from absorbing UV-B rays, which are urgently needed for the production of the vitamin.
So it's very important to get plenty of sun from April to September and to go outdoors regularly in winter, too. 10 to 15 minutes a day is enough.
Vitamin D and obesity
However, if you are overweight, this does not work. The vitamin is stored in body fat, but is very often not released into the blood when people are overweight. This is the reason why especially overweight people suffer from vitamin D deficiency.
Even a weight gain of just 10 percent can cause vitamin D levels to drop by more than 4 percent.
How do you know if you have a vitamin D deficiency?
You can hardly determine this yourself. The current vitamin D level can only be tested with a blood test.
The 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 level is examined in the blood serum. It should be between 50 and 80 ng/ml so that one can survive the winter months without any problems.
By the way: Almost 2/3 of Austrians and Germans have an undersupply of Vit D.
A vitamin D deficiency is disturbing:
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The storage of calcium
If you have too little Vit D in your body, it interferes with the storage of calcium in the bones. This reduces bone density and decreases bone mass.
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The bone development
Infants and young children can develop skeletal deformity due to insufficient vitamin D. In Europe, however, this condition is almost non-existent.
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The bone density
If the vitamin D level is too low, one can suffer from bone softening. Signs are bone and muscle pain and frequent bone fractures.
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The muscles
Muscles such as the hamstring and shoulder girdle ache
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The skill
This affects older people in particular. They have a higher risk of falling if their supporting apparatus does not function properly.
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The health
Too little of the vitamin is said to promote prostate, breast and colon cancer. Infections or high blood pressure are also consequences of too little sunlight.
Our conclusion:
If you get plenty of sun in the summer, you can still enjoy it in the winter. Food supports you, but you can't rely exclusively on it.
If you are unsure, have a blood test done. Then you have certainty.
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