New research from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School has revealed that only 42% of female shoppers made a conscious effort to include Vitamin D in their diet when purchasing yogurt.
According to the research, undertaken by ProU Yogurt, 15% of females are more likely to include Vitamin D in their diet to maintain a balanced diet because they believe it helps to prevent rickets which is caused by severe vitamin D deficiency. There was low awareness of the benefits that Vitamin D contributes in maintaining and building strong bones which help prevent osteoporosis.
Vitamin D is created when our skin is exposed to the sunlight, however, Ireland’s northerly latitude means that between October and March there is inadequate quality and quantity of sunlight to enable our bodies to produce sufficient vitamin D. This is compounded by our use of sunscreen and an increasingly indoor lifestyle.
Speaking about the importance of Vitamin D, Leading Dietitian, Sarah Keogh of EatWell said, “It is well known that calcium and vitamin D are essential for bone health. Without vitamin D, only 10-15% of the calcium in a food is absorbed, compared to 30-40% of calcium when vitamin D is present. Vitamin D also helps maintain normal muscle function.”
Given the outlined importance of Vitamin D, We asked Sarah for the three easiest ways to incorporate it into our diets.
1- Fortified foods
“By far the best way to incorporate Vitamin D into your diet is to eat something that is fortified with vitamins. There are very few foods that have a lot of Vitamin D naturally, so, something like the ProU Yoghurt would give you your full daily requirement of Vitamin D.”
2- Oily fish
“Oil rich fish, like salmon and mackerel, contain Vitamin D, but you’d need to be eating them both in a day if you’re going to get your daily requirement.”
3- Eggs
“Eggs will give you a portion of your daily intake of Vitamin D but, like fish, you would need to take something else to provide you body with its full intake of Vitamin D.”