Why Vitamin D supplementation is advocated?

There are a number of reasons why Vitamin D supplementation is now advocated. These include:

• Government health advice to reduce sun exposure which can mean less Vitamin D is produced naturally by the body.
• Reduced sun exposure in certain groups of the population e.g. older people, for religious reasons/clothing, certain occupations, medical reasons, those with dark skin (as greater skin melanin content can reduce the skin’s ability to produce Vitamin D).
• Increased requirement at certain life stages e.g. the elderly population – whose skin may not be able to synthesize Vitamin D effectively.
• Those with increased dietary intolerances (e.g. lactose and dairy), allergens.
• People who are on a diet.