Vitamin D deficiency: 'I'm a doctor: Here's how winter cold snap could risk lives'

As the harsh cold snap hits during what the British Medical Association has labelled the ‘worst winter on record for health services’, Dr Hilary shares his top tips to help alleviate pressure on the NHS and how Brits can stay healthy throughout the colder months.

“Vitamin D plays a crucial role in your health - both physically and mentally. The colder months see a huge rise in Vitamin D deficiencies, which leads to higher illness rates alongside depression due to the lack of sunlight,” Dr. Hilary notes.

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a series of health issues, including:

Higher risk of COVID, norovirus and flu as vitamin D plays a key role in overall health, helping the body to fight off bacteria and viruses by stimulating our immune systems

Low mood as exposure to sunlight helps our bodies to produce vitamin D, which is necessary for our brains to produce serotonin aka the ‘happy chemical’

Higher risk of UTIs as vitamin D helps to regulate our immune system, in turn helping to prevent infections

Chronic fatigue thanks to vitamin D’s role in the production of melatonin aka the ‘sleep chemical’.

Without melatonin, you could be a risk of not just fatigue but also insomniaMuscle weakness as low levels of vitamin D greatly increases a person's risk of muscle strength lossIn response, Dr. Hilary Jones is sharing his top tips to tackle health issues this winter:

Self-testing

“It’s a habit many of us became familiar with during the pandemic and one we should keep up during the colder months.

“With GP appointments becoming increasingly hard to obtain in a hurry, getting into the habit of regular self-monitoring with DIY testing is a good idea, especially for vitamin D deficiency – an often missed side effect of shorter days and longer nights.”

Dr. Hilary is working with Newfoundland to encourage Brits to test this winter. Newfoundland offers an easy-to-use at-home vitamin D test (£7.99), which provides 98% accurate results in under 10 minutes.

Eat a vitamin D-rich diet

“Look to incorporate the ‘sunshine vitamin’ into your diet via foods such as oily fish, such as salmon and mackerel, or fortified foods like certain breakfast cereals and plant-based milks.”

Boost your diet with supplements

“We know vitamin D is important for good immune health, and there are many people who are deficient in vitamin D, who should be taking a supplement as recommended by the WHO and NHS. As there isn't enough sunlight in this part of the world for our bodies through winter to make sufficient amounts, supplements become increasingly important.”

To keep track of your vitamin D levels this winter, get your Newfoundland Vitamin D kit at https://www.newfoundland.io/products/vitamin-d