The information on this page is adjusted from Vitamin D | NHS inform

Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, which is important for bone, teeth and muscle health. Our main source of vitamin D is sunlight. In Scotland, we only get enough of the right kind of sunlight for our bodies to make vitamin D between April and September, mostly between 11am and 3pm. From October to March, we need to get vitamin D from our food and supplements.

Supplements

Everyone in Scotland should consider taking a daily supplement of vitamin D containing 10 micrograms (400 IU). This is particularly important during the winter months.

Between April and September, most people aged 5 years and above will probably get enough vitamin D from sunlight when they are outdoors. They might choose not to take a vitamin D supplement during these months.

There are some groups of people that are at higher risk of having low levels of vitamin D (deficiency). These people should take a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms (400 IU) vitamin D throughout the year.

This includes:

• all pregnant and breastfeeding women
• infants and children under 5 years old, (unless they are consuming more than 500 ml infant formula per day)
• people who have low or no exposure to the sun – this includes people who cover their skin for cultural reasons, are housebound, stay indoors for long periods or live in a care home
• people from minority ethnic groups with dark skin such as those of African, African-Caribbean and south Asian origin – these people need more sun exposure to make as much vitamin D

When we check Vitamin D levels results are often reported and deficient (<30nmol/L), insufficient (30-50nmol/L) or adequate (>50nmol/L).
In most cases, if your level is deficient or insufficient we would advise the following:

Vitamin D Deficiency (<30 nmol/L)

The practice will contact you to advise that you have vitamin D deficiency. In line with NHS Lanarkshire Guidelines, we are likely to prescribe high dose vitamin D replacement (40,000- 50,000 iU) once per week for seven weeks.

After seven weeks of high dose vitamin D we recommend that you continue a maintenance dose of 800iU (20 micrograms) long term. This will be added to your repeat prescription

Vitamin D Insufficient (30-50 nmol/L)

It is recommended that those with insufficient Vitamin D take a supplement with 800 iU (20 micrograms) of Vitamin D each day.

As vitamin D insufficiency is extremely common is Scotland NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Scotland recommend that those with Vitamin D insufficiency buy these supplements over the counter, from the supermarket or pharmacy, rather than it being prescribed by a GP.