Top UK Scientist Urges Brits To Take Vitamin D Supplements

With the technology we have today, more and more of us are spending far less time outside than we did in the past.

Of course, we all know that being cooped up indoors can have a detrimental impact on our health - but luckily, there are steps we can take to reduce that risk.

Geneticist Steve Jones spoke at the Hay Literary Festival in Wales this week to urge people to take Vitamin D supplements, The Guardian reports.

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to depression and fatigue among other conditions, and Steve argues that supplements are one of the most effective ways to prevent these symptoms.

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He said: "I never thought I would be a person who would take vitamin supplements, I always thought it was absolute nonsense, it's homeopathy. I now take vitamin D every day. Today, because I knew the sun wasn't going to shine, I took an extra one."

The most effective way of getting Vitamin D is from the sun, but in countries with a limited amount of sunshine, this can be easier said than done.

Living in a country like the UK, we should take a Vitamin D supplement daily.

The symptoms of a deficiency include bone pain, muscle weakness, tiredness, fatigue, and depression. Foods like fatty fish, foods fortified with Vitamin D, cheese and egg yolks all contain Vitamin D and can boost your levels, but that won't be enough to turn around a deficiency.

You can go to your doctor for a blood test to find out your Vitamin D levels and whether or not you're deficient.

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Steve added that he believes children are at even more risk: "Children today spend an hour a day less outside than they did 10 years ago. That's the smartphone and the tablet situation. Scottish children spend less time in the sun than any other children in the world," he said.

He also said that he believes the once-extinct bone disease rickets is making a comeback, adding: "Rickets is coming back and rickets is coming back at some speed. It is coming back because of a shift in human behaviour which we never thought would happen."

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Sorting your vitamin D levels could have health benefits across the board.

He said that along with children, Scottish people were at the highest risk in Europe. "Scotland is still the sick man of Europe. The Scots are the palest people in the world...and that's because their entire body systems are crying out for vitamin D," added Steve.

Topics: Life News, Real, Health

Marianne Eloise

Marianne writes about TV, film and internet culture for Nylon, VICE, The Guardian, Vulture, Time Out and more. She was previously a staff writer at Dazed.