Health bosses back coronavirus call on Vitamin D

Blackburn with Darwen’s health bosses are backing Public Health England’s recommendation for people to consider taking daily vitamin D supplements as the coronavirus lockdown continues.

For most people, the bulk of their vitamin D is made from the action of sunlight on skin.

However with sunlight scarce in the UK, PHE already recommends taking 10 micrograms supplements of vitamin D daily during the winter months and all year round if you don’t spend much time outdoors.

Now with the lockdown measures introduced in response to the coronavirus crisis forcing us all indoors for large parts of every day, PHE has reiterated the importance of its advice on Vitamin D.

Vitamin D’s main function is to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, which are vital for the growth and maintenance of healthy bones, teeth and muscles.

In extreme cases, low levels can lead to rickets in children – where the bones become soft and weak and misshapen as they continue to grow.

In adults, vitamin D deficiency can cause bone pain and muscle aches.

In Blackburn with Darwen, healthy start vitamins are given out free of charge to all pregnant women, new mothers for up to one year after giving birth, all women for as long as they continue to breastfeed and to all children until they reach their fourth birthday.

Dominic Harrison, Director of Public Health for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:

I can recommend everyone should now take a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of Vitamin D. It’s already well known that we might not be getting enough from sunlight or through our diets but with the coronavirus lockdown forcing us indoors, the advice now applies to many more of us which is why it is very important to take it on board.

Vitamin D has a range of benefits including for the musculo-skeletal system but crucially it also has important effects on strengthening the immune system – which is something even more important at this time as it will enable us all to be as healthy  as resilient as we can be if we do infected with coronavirus.

Councillor Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, said:

Vitamin D is vital in the maintenance of bone health and I would encourage people, parents and guardians whilst we are in lockdown to ensure everyone over the age of one takes supplements based on the recommended dose of 10 micrograms per day.