Dress up warm and get outside. When the sun is out spend some time in it. The vitamin D on our skin from the sun is really useful in winter to boost our levels. In the winter months we do need to think about our vitamin D production. From May to October, the ultraviolet light from the sun is not strong enough during the shorter, darker days to produce sufficient vitamin D levels. Instead, unless we're taking supplements, we get nearly all our vitamin D from the food we eat. The problem is that even when we eat the right foods, those foods are unlikely to contain enough vitamin D to make up for the lost sunlight. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can cause fatigue, cramps and general aches and pains. I went along to a session one evening last week where Dr Ala Farah spoke about the importance of us getting enough Vitamin D for our bone health. If you’d like to know more about Lifestyle Medicine then hop on over and follow Dr Farah on Instagram.

How to boost your vitamin D intake

Although you may have little control over some of these factors, it's important to be mindful of the ones you can change. The key to boosting your vitamin D levels when it's most needed over the winter months is a combination of healthy lifestyle habits, like supplementing the right foods with vitamin D tablets and spending time outside in the sunshine. Today I plan on sitting in the sun while I eat my lunch to get sun on my forearms. And I will be having salmon on a bagel to get some oily fish in too.

Food for thought

The best food source is oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel. Other sources include egg yolks, red meat, certain mushrooms, and fortified products such as spreads, yoghurts and breakfast cereal. Although I would be careful with breakfast cereals due to the sugar content.

A diet providing the optimum amount of vitamin D from food would contain:

·       Oily fish such as salmon and sardines

·       Cod liver oil (but don't take this if you are pregnant).

·       Egg yolk, meat, offal and milk (contain small amounts).

·       Some leafy, green vegetables and certain mushrooms.

The British Dietetics Association makes it clear that sunshine - not food - is where you get most of your vitamin D. Crucially, even a healthy diet that includes the food listed above is unlikely to provide sufficient levels. So get outside in the sunshine when you can for up to 15 minutes to prevent sun burn happening.