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Sustainable Scotland

Vitamin D , sometimes known as the sunshine vitamin because the body manufactures it in response to sunlight on the skin, is increasingly being thought of as important in preventing a variety of chronic illnesses. Vitamin D deficiency is now a strong suspect in Scotland’s poor health record, which gives it some of the highest rates of heart disease and cancer in Europe and, overall, chronic disease in the world. Another obvious characteristic of Scotland is its weather. Its geography and the Gulf Stream combine to give it a particularly damp, overcast climate where sunlight levels can be as low as parts of the Arctic Circle.

George Ebers, Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Oxford, can claim there is hard evidence of a causal link between genes and the environment to multiple sclerosis. In a genetic study for the Wellcome Trust he reports “We have known a long time that genes and environment determine MS risk . . . Here we show that the main environment risk candidate – vitamin D – and the main gene region are directly linked and interact.” Scotland has one of the highest incidences of MS in the world.

Shine on Scotland, supported by BUPA, are campaigning to have all school milk fortified with vitamin D. Campaigners would like legislators to allow GPs to recommend higher doses of vitamin D supplementation and to correct the current scare over sunlight (it is burning which is bad for the skin and heightens the risk of skin cancer. Regular, sensible exposure is healthy and has even been associated with improved moods).

Dietary sources of the vitamin are liver (which is very rich in vitamin A, which is essential for good health but is toxic in high doses, so stick to once a week); oily fish such as herring, catfish, salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna and eel; eggs; dairy produce; and fortified margarines and cereals. The perennial supplement cod liver oil is an excellent source as well as having been confirmed as the best provider of omega 3 oils. Choose good quality capsules or bottled oil.

If making an effort to consume meaningful quantities of vitamin D is a way of slashing Scotland’s shocking health stats (and the evidence just keeps stacking up) then let’s get on with it.

“Our study implies that taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and the early years may reduce the risk of a child developing MS in later life,” says Dr Sreeram Ramagopalan, lead author of the Ebers study. “Vitamin D is a safe and relatively cheap supplement with substantial potential health benefits. There is accumulating evidence that it can reduce the risk of developing cancer and offer protection from other autoimmune diseases.”

In addition, campaigners suggest, all milk, bread and orange juice should be fortified, negating the necessity for individuals to remember to take a ‘pill’.

One wonders how much distress and waste of money could be avoided by adding tiny amounts of this inexpensive substance to more of our diet.

DID YOU KNOW?

Figures for the UK published by Cass Business School , City University London, state that the cost of treating coronary heart disease is £3.5 billion, with costs of £3.1 billion attributable to lost working days; cost of stroke £2.3 billion; hypertension, which is under-reported, £0.8 billion; diabetes, £1.3 billion; and COPD, £1 billion.

The UK RDA (recommended daily amount) is five micograms, equivalent to 200 IUs (International Units). This is half that of the EU and the US RDAs. Campaigners and experts want this to be revised upwards and for clarity (the Food Standards Agency and BUPA, for instance, are giving contradictory advice).