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Specialists in functional and integrative medicine have been talking for years about vitamin D deficiency and its many health consequences, including weakened immune systems and low moods. And now, the rest of the world seems to catch up, starting with England and Wales.
According to a new study from the University of Birmingham, England and Wales have come up with a plan to combat the vitamin D deficiency epidemic, which is constantly taking over. Breadth, adding it to the wheat flour. The research, which was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that requiring the mandatory fortification of vitamin D in wheat flour would prevent 10 million new cases of vitamin D deficiency and save a lot of money in the country . How much money exactly? They estimate about $ 65 million, just over $ 72 million.
But is "epidemic" really the right world to use? What is the magnitude of the problem of vitamin D, really? In the UK, it is estimated that 20% of adults have a deficiency of this essential vitamin – and some believe that this number could reach 50% in the United States. The explanation of this phenomenon is multifactorial. It includes not eating enough vitamin D-rich foods and using sunscreen, and spending too much time indoors, which poses a risk of deficiency because we are supposed to get the vast majority of our vitamin D. the sun.
If you are wondering why you can not just take a vitamin D supplement, you are not alone. But according to the lead author of the study, Magda Aguiar, Ph.D., from a public health perspective, it would be more effective to boost the foods commonly consumed. "While supplements and fortified foods are important sources of vitamin D for the UK population, evidence suggests that UK supplementation policies are not working," said Aguiar.
This is particularly true for groups that already have a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, including obese people, darker skin or people 65 years of age and older. As Aguiar said, "we are now hoping that UK policymakers will consider a new national policy to strengthen foods such as wheat flour with vitamin D to address this serious health problem. will bring significant benefits to the population, especially to the most vulnerable groups. "
The good news is that this same policy has already worked. Finland has fortified all its breads with vitamin D and lowered the deficiency rate from 13% to 0.6% of the adult population. So whether it's the sun, a supplement or a loaf of bread, there are fewer vitamin D deficiencies.
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