In the world of wellness, vitamin D doesn’t tend to generate as much hype as, say, creatine or magnesium. But that doesn’t mean it’s light on health benefits compared to its counterparts.

In fact, if you were to ask any GP what supplement you need to be taking, chances are they’ll say vitamin D. 

The main role of vitamin D is to help regulate calcium in the body, which in turn helps keep our bones, teeth and muscles working properly. If our vitamin D levels are too low, we risk becoming deficient and could suffer side effects ranging from tiredness and weakness, to bone pain and even deformities. 

Consider a vitamin D supplement a silent hero of everyday health, working its magic in the background to keep your body healthy and strong. Here are four reasons why it’s a fave among healthcare professionals:

Our bodies create vitamin D from direct sunlight hitting our skin. That’s all well and good during summer, but what about autumn and winter?

Here in the UK, the only sun most of us get to enjoy during the colder months is through the office window (which doesn’t really count), or during the weekends (if we’re lucky). 

During autumn and winter, it’s actually impossible for our bodies to make enough vitamin D through sunlight, which has led the UK government to issue guidance advising everyone to consider taking a vitamin D supplement from October to March. 

Your bones love vitamin D because it helps to absorb calcium, which is crucial for their health. And by ‘health’, we mean that calcium works to build and harden bones, in turn strengthening them and making them less likely to fracture. 

But there’s another essential vitamin in this relationship, and it goes by the name of K2. Where vitamin D absorbs the calcium, vitamin K2 steps in to direct that calcium to where it needs to go: your bones and teeth. Not only does this improve vitamin D’s effectiveness, but it also makes it safer by keeping the calcium away from your heart and arteries.

Constantly feel you’re fighting a cold? This might be because your vitamin D levels are too low. An eye-opening study found that half of Brits have low vitamin D levels, which has been found to increase the risk of infections as well as autoimmune diseases. 

To get a little science-y, vitamin D provides all-important support to our ‘immune cells’ - including B cells, T cells, dendritic cells and macrophages - which fight infections. It also controls inflammatory responses (important for lowering autoimmune disease risk), and helps the production of so-called interferons, which protect the body against bacteria and viruses. 

So, in short, vitamin D gives an extra and much-needed boost to your body’s immune system, which is the first line of defence against disease and infection. 

With some vitamins and minerals, it’s relatively easy to get your daily intake through the foods you eat. Not vitamin D. 

There are only a handful of foods which contain a natural source of the vitamin, including: 

• Egg yolks 

• Oily fish - salmon, sardines, trout 

• Red meat 

• Liver 

Spot the problem? All of these foods are animal-derived, meaning it’s pretty impossible for vegans and vegetarians to get vitamin D through food alone. And because some of these foods should be eaten in moderation (such as red meat), even non-vegans and non-vegetarians will find it hard to fill their vit D quota through diet. 

Vitamin D is a quietly essential vitamin that works hard in the background to support our bodies and overall health.

Extracted’s Vitamin D3 + K2 contains the optimum doses of D3 and K2 (100µg each), is enhanced with calcium, and features our revolutionary ABSORB® technology which increases the bioavailability of each and every nutrient by up to 5x.

Shop Vitamin D3 and K2 today!