You probably aren’t getting enough vitamin D. Health Canada believes this will help

To boost vitamin D to Canadians, Health Canada is now requiring milk and margarine producers to more than double the amount of it in their products.

According to the federal health agency, one in five Canadians is not getting enough of the so-called “sunshine” vitamin. Experts say that the main reason for this is the lack of sunlight, which our body uses to produce Vitamin D.

“The reality is that we live in Canada,” said Brenda Hartman, a professor of nutritional sciences at Western University in London, Ontario. “We don’t make vitamin D from the sun, you know, six to eight months of the year.”

The days are shorter and sunlight is less intense during the winter months due to the low angle of the sun due to Canada’s high latitude. According to Statistics Canada, Possibility that people experience lVitamin D levels more than double in winter.

This is of concern to experts, who say vitamin D is essential – it’s known to help the body absorb calcium. Strengthens bones and teeth. Research also gives suggestions Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis.

Other ways to get vitamin D include diet and supplements, such as pills or drops.

While Health Canada has required the addition of vitamin D to milk and other products for decades, it has increased the amounts to ensure more people are meeting the recommended daily dose.

In 2022, as part of its food fortification strategy, Health Canada created a new regulation This allowed companies to voluntarily limit the amount of vitamin D in cow’s milk, goat’s milk to more than double, and margarine to almost double.

By December 31, 2025, the regulation becomes mandatory.

For milk, this means it has about 2.3 micrograms to five micrograms of vitamin D per cup, while Margarine is now about 13 micrograms per 50 gramsOr about three tablespoons.

“By using mandatory fortification with very common foods, it becomes a more equitable approach to ensure that the entire population benefits,” said Marie L’Abbé, director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center on Nutrition Policy for Noncommunicable Disease Prevention.

Yogurt, kefir and plant-based beverages are also allowed to contain vitamin D, although they are not required. As more people turn to non-dairy beverages, Health Canada said it is important to ensure options also include vitamin D.

What is the recommended daily amount of Vitamin D?

Depending on your age, Health Canada recommends individual allowances daily. For infants, it is 10 micrograms, for older children and adults, it is 15 micrograms, and for older adults it should be 20 micrograms.

If a cup of milk now has five micrograms, that means you would need to drink two to four cups of milk, depending on your age, to meet the recommended daily allowance if it is your only source of vitamin D.

“We need to eat at least four to five dairy products per day, which is not always possible,” said Despoina Manoussaki, a pediatric endocrinologist and associate professor at the University of Montreal who studies bone health.

He said this would include drinking two glasses of milk, yogurt and some type of cheese. other food sources According to Health Canada, naturally occurring vitamin D includes egg yolks and fatty fish.

“We know that vitamin D supplementation is quite effective, easy and inexpensive and helps maintain normal levels,” Manousaki said.

people who take certain types of medications or certain medical conditions You may also need to take more vitamin D.

A typical vitamin D pill gives someone 25 micrograms – also expressed as 1,000 international units – of vitamin D.

Although it is possible to take too much vitamin D, experts say it is very rare and it would be necessary to do so over a long period of time to have significant health consequences.

Some of them may have health effects Calcium build-up that weakens bones and causes damage to the kidneys or heart.

The maximum amount varies depending on age, but Health Canada says the average adult should not take more than 100 micrograms per day – that’s equal to 4,000 international units, more than 20 glasses of milk or several vitamin D tablets.

“The amount you can actually … get from the sun will never get anywhere near the level where we’ll start to see some side effects or adverse effects associated with higher intakes,” Hartman said.

“You really only see it with supplementation. You don’t see it with food at all.”