1. Is fortifying milk and cereals with vitamin D a good practice?
Yes. The amount of vitamin D produced by the body may be insufficient, especially when there is limited exposure to sunlight (winter, places with overcast and cloudy weather or when the style of living bring poor opportunity for the skin to be exposed to sunlight). Since dietary vitamin D is found naturally only in a few foods, such as cod liver oil, dietary intake may not be sufficient for most people. In the UK vitamin D is added to many fortified cereals and infant preparations and, by law, to margarine. Vitamin D was originally added to margarine to reduce rickets and osteomalacia in some parts of the UK (as butter is a source of these nutrients and margarine is often used instead of butter). Most vitamin D is obtained from the action of sunlight on the skin, but some groups of people have less exposure to sunlight, e.g. some children and older people, particularly if they live in the northern part of the UK.
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2. Can I get my vitamin D from yogurt and cheese?
Unlike some countries, milk is not routinely fortified with vitamin D in the UK but in general, dairy products do contain some vitamin D. Since there is no Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin D, you will not find it listed on most food labels.
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3. Are there other uses for vitamin D?
Yes, there is a topical form of vitamin D cream that is used to treat psoriasis. Research is being done in other areas, including the potential use of vitamin D to help control
autoimmune conditions.
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4. Is vitamin D a necessary component of calcium supplements?
Since absorption of calcium is dependent on vitamin D, many manufacturers of calcium supplements add vitamin D to assure optimal calcium uptake. If you have adequate amounts of vitamin D from other sources the additional vitamin D is not necessary. The amount of vitamin D in these tablets is not likely to lead to excess vitamin D or be harmful either.
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