Vitamin D is a problem in the UAE, largely because we don’t get enough. This is undoubtedly strange considering that our main source of vitamin D is the sun. But it is the sun itself which is the problem. Many people believe that because we live in a hot, sunny climate we make enough vitamin D, but in fact we may be at a higher risk.
Most of us spend the majority of our time avoiding being outside, mostly due to the temperature. We tend to go from car to office to home with very little opportunity in between for our bodies to make the vitamin D that is required daily for our immune system. This problem only increases during the summer months.
But vitamin D is a vital part of our routine. It helps decrease the risk of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to numerous cancers; it can also lead to rickets in children and both osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults. The direct result is that bones can often soften with age and deformities and fractures become more common.
The science is thus: when the skin is exposed to the sun, ultraviolet sunrays are absorbed into the body and this triggers vitamin D3 production. This is then transported to the liver and kidneys and transformed into something which can be used by the body. The two most important by-products of this are in supporting a normal immune system and balancing the levels of calcium and phosphorus in the body.
Those particularly at risk include infants, the elderly and people with a darker skin tone, all of whom find it more difficult to process Vitamin D thanks, respectively, to growing pains, a decrease in kidney functions and an excess of melanin in the skin.
For those with lighter skin tones, 15-20 minutes of sun exposure a day (following correct sun block application) should be enough. For others, Vitamin D levels can be supplemented by foods such as egg yolks, oily fish and fortified cereal.
When the UAE sun starts to burn, a change in diet can prove a vital role in keeping healthy. For example, 30g of herring offers 225 International Units (IU) of vitamin D and 30g of salmon gives 142 IU. Taking into account that males and females aged nine-50 require 200 IU daily, infants, children and those aged 51-70 need 400 IU, and those over 70 years, 600 IU, such supplements become a necessary part of daily life.
