Part two of our calcium, vitamin D and magnesium series
In the last post we looked at calcium, the messenger that lets your brain talk to your body and keeps your muscles and heart working. Calcium is the main act, the headliner everyone has come to see. But even the biggest act has a problem. On its own, it has nowhere to perform.
That’s where vitamin D comes in.
Think of vitamin D as the festival
Vitamin D is the festival. It loves the sunshine and wants everyone to come along and have fun.
Without the festival, the main act has no place to go. You can eat plenty of calcium-rich food, but without enough vitamin D your body only takes in a small amount of it, and the rest just passes through. Once the festival is on, calcium gets its stage, and your body can absorb far more of the calcium you eat.
No festival, no show. So if you’re looking after your calcium, you need to look after your vitamin D too.
What else does it do?
Giving calcium its stage is vitamin D’s biggest job, but vitamin D has a few other roles:
- Muscles. It helps your muscles work properly, which matters for strength, power and getting the most out of your training.
- Bones. By helping you absorb calcium and phosphate, it keeps your bones strong.
- Immune system. It plays a part in helping your immune system do its job.
The sunshine vitamin
Vitamin D is a bit different from other vitamins, because your body can make its own. When sunlight hits your skin, your body turns it into vitamin D.
The catch is that in the UK the sun is only strong enough to do this for part of the year, roughly from late March to the end of September. Outside those months, your skin can’t make much at all, however long you spend outside.
A few other things can mean you make less:
- Spending most of your day indoors
- Covering up most of your skin when you’re outside
- Getting older, as skin gradually becomes less efficient at making it
Can you get it from food?
A little, but it’s hard to get enough from food alone. The best supermarket sources are:
- Oily fish like salmon, mackerel and tinned sardines
- Eggs, especially the yolks
- Red meat, in small amounts
- Foods with vitamin D added, such as some breakfast cereals, fat spreads, and plant milks and yoghurts (check the label)
- Mushrooms that have been grown in UV light (some supermarket packs say so)
These all help, but for most people, sunshine and supplements do the heavy lifting.
Do you need a supplement?
This is one of the few times the NHS suggests a supplement for most of us. Its advice is that adults in the UK should consider taking 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day from around October to March, when the sun isn’t strong enough.
Some people are advised to take it all year round, for example if you rarely get outside, or usually cover up your skin.
Supplements are cheap and easy to find in any supermarket or chemist. More isn’t better, though. Stick to the recommended amount, and if you have a health condition or take regular medication, check with your GP or pharmacist first.
The takeaway
Calcium is the main act, but vitamin D is the festival that gives it a stage. Get outside when the sun is up, eat a few vitamin D foods, and consider a daily supplement for the darker months.
Next in the series is magnesium, the backstage crew that gets each act on, off and ready for the next.
If you’d like help building strength in a way that feels good and fits your life, book a free taster session or start a 14-day trial of the DV Coaching Studio.