When the clocks go back, it can feel like winter has arrived overnight. You wake up in the dark and travel home when it's already pitch black. By Christmas, Londoners get a measly 7 hours and 50 minutes of daylight, and if you live in northern Scotland, you're even worse off, with less than six and a half hours! Such limited opportunities to see some sunshine mean it's no surprise more people start looking into supplements, including vitamin D spray, tablets and patches.
Between October and early March, the sun is too low in the sky for our skin to make enough vitamin D from sunlight in the UK. Don't believe us? The clever people at the Norwegian Institute for Air Research have come up with a snazzy Ultraviolet Exposure Levels Calculator to help you to work out how much sunlight you need to boost your D status. Right now, on an overcast day, most people would have to expose their trunk, face and upper arms for over two hours to make enough vitamin D! Who has the time for that? And when the temperature drops? – Brrrr.
Around one in six UK adults are estimated to have low vitamin D levels, which can have a negative impact on everything from your bones, teeth and muscle health to keeping your immune system function tip-top. A must at this time of year when viruses are rampaging around schools and workplaces.
So, what's the best way to give your vitamin D levels a boost? Vitamin D spray, tablet, or patch? And why is it so important to keep it topped up?
Why would you need to use a vitamin D spray anyway?
Vitamin D is one of the hardest working vitamins, with loads of important jobs in your body. Firstly, it helps you absorb calcium and phosphorus, both essential for keeping your bones and teeth strong. It also supports your muscle function and helps your immune system work properly.
Your body makes vitamin D when UVB rays from sunlight reach your skin, triggering a process that eventually produces the active form of the vitamin. Clever stuff! But as we've already explained, in the autmun/winter the sun isn't strong enough for you to make enough.
And some people are more likely to be at risk of developing a vitamin D deficiency, including:
- People who spend most of their time indoors
- People with darker skin, as higher levels of melanin reduce the amount of vitamin D the skin produces from sunlight.
- Older adults, whose skin becomes less efficient at making vitamin D
- People who cover most of their skin outdoors, limiting their exposure to sunlight.
- People with digestive conditions, including Crohn's disease and coeliac disease, which can affect how well nutrients are absorbed.
For this group 'no pill' alternatives like vitamin D spray or a Vitamin D3 patch are worth exploring. Mouth sprays deliver vitamin D into the mouth, while patches are designed to supply it through your skin.
Could you be deficient in vitamin D?
Here's the tricky bit. Vitamin D deficiency often has no obvious symptoms, so you could have low levels without even realising it! But the most common symptoms include tiredness, muscle weakness, bone pain and, in very severe cases, an increased risk of fractures.
Before you rush to order a vitamin D spray, you might assume the simplest way to check your levels is to ask your GP for a blood test. But it's not quite that straightforward… Vitamin D deficiency is now so common that NICE advises against routinely testing everyone. Instead, testing is generally recommended for people with symptoms or other health conditions. We've written before about why vitamin D deficiency has become a bit of a silent epidemic in the UK, and why getting a routine blood test isn't always easy. To find out more read: Why vitamins with vitamin D are a must: Vitamin D deficiency is so common GPs won't test for it
It's worth bearing in mind that the NHS recommends EVERYONE should think about taking 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day during autumn and winter. And if you're not keen on adding yet another pill to your medicine cabinet, there are alternatives.
What sort of things can supplementing with vitamin D help with?
Winter isn't kind to our bodies. Not only is there the depressing darkness and drizzle and freezing temperatures to contend with, you'll probably also find yourself battling never-ending rounds of coughs and colds…
Vitamin D is a must in sniffle season because it helps regulate the activity of your immune cells, including T cells and macrophages, which both take centre stage in helping to defend your body against infections. With some studies suggesting topping up could help reduce the risk of respiratory infections, particularly in people with very low vitamin D levels.
As we've already mentioned, topping up with a vitamin D spray or patch could also help your body absorb calcium, which is essential for maintaining strong bones and teeth. It also keeps your muscles working properly and low levels can contribute to muscle weakness.
Bone and muscle loss is particularly common in women during and after menopause, when the loss of oestrogen means your bone health and strength can take a hit. So, if this is you, make sure you've added our vitamin D3 patch to your supplement must-haves. To find out our other menopause supplement recommendations, read The 5 PeriMenopause Supplements You Actually Need.
Why are oral supplements not always the best way to prevent deficiency?
If you've been taking your vitamin D spray or tablets like clockwork but your levels refuse to rise, it might be worth considering a different way to get your daily dose.
Traditional vitamin D capsules are absorbed through the digestive system, which can make them less suitable for people with certain digestive conditions or absorption problems – Crohn's and coeliac sufferers, we see you! But Vitamin D patches are different, because they deliver the active ingredients through the skin rather than relying on the gut.
Our Vitamin D3 patches are designed to release vitamin D gradually over several hours, making them an effort-free, 'pop on one and then forget about it' way of boosting your vitamin D levels. Ideal if sensory issues mean you struggle to swallow pills, or you've got a sensitive stomach, easily upset by taking supplements orally.
And don't just take our word for it. We've had some encouraging customer feedback too! One PatchWorks customer had struggled with low vitamin D levels for years, despite trying various oral supplements. After switching to our patches, he reported that his blood tests showed healthy vitamin D levels. You can read his story here.
What type of vitamin D should you take?
There are two types of Vitamin D: D2 and D3. Research repeatedly shows that D3 is superior at raising the levels of vitamin D in the body, with one study showing D3 to be a whopping 87% more effective at raising and maintaining serum concentrations (the amount in your blood). It was also much better at increasing stored vitamin D too, a must in the winter months when the sunshine vitamin is hard to come by!
And there's another benefit too! Whether you pick vitamin D spray, tablet or patch, make sure it's D3. Because this will do a much more efficient job of improving your calcium levels, essential for good bone health. D3 is the main ingredient in our Vitamin D3/K2 Patch. Combining D3 with K2 offers a double whammy of calcium absorption and helps calcium to reach your bones. Making this the ideal supplement if bone health is high on your list of vitamin D deficiency concerns.
For more tips on how to get the best benefits from your vitamin D supplement read: 4 Easy Ways to Get the Most From Your Vitamin D Vitamins
