When the Clock Falls Back, It's Time to Increase Your Vitamin D

National survey shows Canadians coming up short on knowledge and use of the sunshine vitamin

TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2014 /CNW/ - November is Vitamin D Awareness Month, a time when Canadians are encouraged to take action to prevent deficiency of this star nutrient. The Jamieson Vitamin D National Survey, conducted by Leger last month, suggests that Canadians aren't taking adequate Vitamin D for optimal health. More important, the survey of 1,545 participants showed that Canadians have a poor understanding of Vitamin D's wide-ranging benefits.

"Genetic research has established that Vitamin D acts on nearly 3,000 receptor sites in the body," says Dr. Penny Kendall-Reed, a naturopathic doctor and the director of natural therapies at the Urban Wellness Clinic in Toronto. "Understanding all the ways that Vitamin D keeps us healthy is a tremendous incentive for taking it daily, especially with diminishing sunlight in winter."

Classified as a hormone, Vitamin D₃ is naturally formed in the body when skin is exposed to sunlight. But at Canada's northern latitudes, Vitamin D production in the body completely stops between late October and early April due to sunlight's low UVB levels.

The Jamieson Vitamin D National Survey revealed:

• Only 50% of adults and only 37% of children take Vitamin D supplements
• Vitamin D use differs by region
• About one-third of daily Vitamin D users take less than 1,000 IU
• Only 14% believe that supplements are the safest and most effective form of Vitamin D
• Only 13% are aware of Vitamin D's full impact on the body: maintaining bone health, helping prevent major diseases, promoting heart health, improving mood and neurologic function, and helping prevent colds and flu

"A strong, responsive immune system is the foundation of wellness," explains Dr. Gaetano Morello, a clinician in the Complex Chronic Disease Program at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre in Vancouver. "Our difficulty to naturally produce Vitamin D₃ during winter months makes supplementation essential for cold-and-flu prevention as well as for optimal health of all systems of the body."

Since Vitamin D₃ is present at very low levels in few foods naturally, major health organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society, now recommend that adults take a minimum of 1,000 IU Vitamin D supplement daily. "Vitamin D has been labeled a cradle-to-grave nutrient that supports optimal health at every stage of life," concludes Dr. Kendall-Reed. "Cold-and-flu season is in full swing, and if you are taking one supplement this winter to boost your immunity, make it Vitamin D."

For more information on the national survey and on Jamieson's innovative family of Vitamin D supplements, visit jamiesonvitamins.com

About Jamieson Laboratories
Established in 1922, Jamieson Laboratories is Canada's largest manufacturer and distributor of advanced natural-health products and a world-leading innovator in the development of proprietary formulas. With corporate offices in Toronto, Jamieson exports products to more than 50 countries. For more information, visit jamiesonvitamins.com, or call 1-800-265-5088. Join us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter@Jamieson_Labs.

SOURCE: Jamieson Laboratories

Paula Prociuk Blacklock, Jamieson Laboratories, [phone], [email protected]; Rob McEwan, Argyle Communications, [phone], ext. 242, [email protected]