How to have a great day at work: Keep taking your vitamin D supplements

In her regular column, business founder and wellness expert Nicola Elliott looks at one thing we can all do that will make our nine-to-five feel happier and healthier

Many of us are still not getting sunlight – even in the summer (Getty)

Such are the health benefits of vitamin D, official NHS guidelines now advise us to supplement the “sunshine vitamin” from September to April, but despite the sun making an appearance at last, many of us aren’t getting enough in the summer either. Apparently over half of us are deficient – even when there is a mini-heatwave happening. 

It’s a tricky balance getting enough vitamin D from the sun (our main source) for the suggested 5-30 minutes without sunscreen, while also protecting your skin from harmful UV rays.

I definitely wouldn’t want to go out with no sunscreen for half an hour in the full beam of summer sun. The deficiency issue is compounded by the fact that our bodies can’t store vitamin D. 

The vitamin is important because it supports so many of our body’s processes including maintaining healthy teeth, improving bone strength, heart function and muscle function while also supporting our immune system (great for keeping those pesky office colds at bay).

If you are pregnant, vitamin D can help with the baby's development, and if you work indoors.

It does all of this by enabling our bodies to absorb and use phosphorus and calcium – minerals that are essential to our wellbeing. Signs that you have a vitamin D deficiency can include constipation, gum disease, aching joints and bones and in the most serious cases, illnesses such as rickets and osteomalacia. 

The trouble is that by properly protecting our skin from harmful sun rays by using SPF, our bodies are hindered from making vitamin D because our body needs direct sunlight (it doesn’t work through glass) to make it. Before 11am and after 3pm it takes longer to synthesise sufficient vitamin D. However, the risk of sunburn is less. 

Skin types differ pretty substantially in how well they absorb Vitamin D so the lighter your skin, the more it will produce so you don’t need to spend as much time in the sun.

Those with darker skin need to spend longer in the sun to see the same vitamin D benefits. 

As many of us work indoors our opportunities for exposure to healthy doses of sunlight are further limited. So what to do? Firstly, look at your diet. getting enough of the right, good quality foods rich in vitamin D is ideal – and a good source can be found in red meat, fish and seafood, eggs and dairy products, tofu, soya milk and almond milk.

Instead of scrimping on SPF, which has multiple health benefits, supplements are good and the NHS recommends that adults take 400iu when sunlight is limited.

So, vitamin D supplements are a way to enjoy the benefits of the sunshine and avoid wrinkles – I think they call that a win-win situation.

Nicola Elliott is the founder of the wellness brand NEOM, and her book, ‘The Four Ways to Wellbeing: Better Sleep. Less Stress. More Energy. Mood Boost’, is published by Penguin