29/10/2025
Visit your local Websters Pharmacy to stock up on vitamin D tablets this winter.
Vitamin D helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, which is important for bone, teeth and muscle health.
Our main source of vitamin D is sunlight. In Scotland, we only get enough of the right kind of sunlight for our bodies to make vitamin D between April and September, mostly between 11am and 3pm.
From October to March, we need to get vitamin D from our food and supplements. Since vitamin D is found only in a small number of foods, it might be difficult to get enough from food alone.
Good sources of vitamin D include:
oily fish – such as salmon, herring and mackerel
red meat and offal – such as liver and kidney
egg yolks
fortified cereals, soya products and spreads
Supplements
Everyone in Scotland should consider taking a daily supplement of vitamin D containing 10 micrograms (400 IU). This is particularly important during the winter months.
Between April and September, most people aged 5 years and above will probably get enough vitamin D from sunlight when they are outdoors. They might choose not to take a vitamin D supplement during these months.
There are some groups of people that are at higher risk of having low levels of vitamin D (deficiency). These people should take a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms (400 IU) vitamin D throughout the year.
This includes:
-all pregnant and breastfeeding women
-infants and children under 5 years old, (unless they are consuming more than 500 ml infant formula per day)
-people who have low or no exposure to the sun – this includes -people who cover their skin for cultural reasons, are housebound, stay indoors for long periods or live in a care home
-people from minority ethnic groups with dark skin such as those of African, African-Caribbean and south Asian origin – these people need more sun exposure to make as much vitamin D
