Vitamin D is essential for our body. Not only do children need vitamin D for the development of strong bones and teeth, we need vitamin D throughout our lives to keep our bones strong. Vitamin D ensures that we can absorb calcium and phosphorus from food. In addition, vitamin D plays a role in both children and adults in the proper functioning of the muscles and the maintenance of the immune system.
WHERE DOES THE VITAMIN FOR OUR CHILDREN AND OURSELVES COME FROM?
A large part (about 90%) of our vitamin D is produced by our skin itself (under the influence of sunlight). Vitamin D is therefore also called the sunshine vitamin. Only 10% comes from food. What foods contain vitamin D? Few foods contain vitamin D. Oily fish (herring, mackerel, salmon and sardines), organ meat (liver (pâté)), some types of fish oil and egg yolks contain vitamin D.
So whether you get enough vitamin D depends on what you eat, but above all on how much time you spend outside in the sun. Sunlight is the most important way to build up vitamin D. White Europeans all descend from hunter-gatherers in Africa. Africans ate differently and also spent much more time in the sun, partly because it shines longer around the equator. When they migrated north, their skin became lighter over time in order to still be able to produce enough vitamin D.
This is exactly why people with tinted or dark skin need extra vitamin D. Their skin produces vitamin D less easily. Meanwhile, research published in the Dutch Journal of Medicine (Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde) shows that 60% of all Dutch people could use extra vitamin D in winter.
It is becoming increasingly challenging to catch enough sunlight and produce enough vitamin D, with more children playing indoors and office jobs or night shifts, or through applying too much sunscreen.
In addition, oily fish with their vitamin D are not exactly children's favourites either, while fish fingers unfortunately contain hardly any vitamin D (and Omega-3).
From May to September, solar radiation is strong enough to produce sufficient vitamin D in the skin if you are outside for at least half an hour between 11:00 and 15:00.
In the months of October to April, solar radiation is not strong enough and you may need a supplement. Sunscreen blocks the absorption of UV radiation.
It can be wise to first spend 30 minutes in the sun without sunscreen.
Seniors aged 70 and older should even take 20 mcg of vitamin D daily.
It is becoming increasingly challenging to catch enough sunlight and produce enough vitamin D, with more children playing indoors and office jobs.
In addition, oily fish with their vitamin D are not exactly children's favourites either, while fish fingers unfortunately contain hardly any vitamin D (and Omega-3).
The older you get, the less able you are to produce vitamin D yourself due to thinner skin.
VITAMIN D IN ARCTIC BLUE PRODUCTS
A number of Arctic Blue products contain, in addition to the standard Omega-3 fatty acids, added vitamin D. We consider this important because many people have an increased need for vitamin D, namely children, young people, the elderly and adults who spend little time outdoors, or who have tinted or dark skin.
The combination of Omega-3 and vitamin D is a very logical one, because vitamin D is fat-soluble and is optimally absorbed in fatty stomach contents. Taking it during or after a meal is therefore the advice.
The daily dose always follows the table below from the Netherlands Nutrition Centre and is therefore 10 mcg.
We always use the most absorbable form of vitamin D, namely D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D is optimally absorbed by the intestines when some fat or oil is also present. Because the vitamin D in Arctic Blue products is contained in the omega-3 oil and this is taken during or after a meal, the vitamin D is also optimally absorbed by the body.
| Group | Age group | Who (*) | Extra vit. D (mcg) |
| Children | 0-3 years | everyone | 10 |
| Girls and | if you spend little time outdoors and/or have a | ||
| women | 4-49 years | tinted or dark skin colour | 10 |
| 50-69 years | everyone | 10 | |
| 70 years and older | everyone | 20 | |
| Pregnant women | everyone | 10 | |
| Boys and | if you spend little time outdoors and/or have a | ||
| men | 4-69 years | tinted or dark skin colour | 10 |
| 70 years and older | everyone | 20 | |
| * spending little time outdoors: less than 15 minutes a day | |||
View the fish oil especially for children here.
Too much vitamin D
In practice, too much vitamin D virtually never occurs in healthy people. It can only happen when someone takes more than 100 mcg per day over a long period. That is 10x the daily dose in the Arctic Blue products.
Spending a lot of time in the sun also poses no risk of excess vitamin D. The skin regulates its production.
If a GP or therapist has determined that your vitamin D status is too low (lower than 80 nmol/l), it may be necessary to take a higher dose (than 10 mcg per day) daily for several months.
In some cases, a GP may even recommend vitamin D injections. An optimal vitamin D status is between 80 and 150 nmol/l.
