The Sunshine Vitamin
Hey kids! - So, Vitamins – what’s the big deal?
Vitamins – what’s the big deal? Everyone needs vitamins to stay as healthy as they can be. Vitamins help you to have healthy eyesight, blood, skin and help to heal cuts, bruises and fight infections. They really are important! And because your body is still growing, you can put the best building blocks in place by eating healthy food containing all of the vitamins you need.
You’ve been told to eat your greens, eat lots of fruit, to drink up your milk and it’s all for a very good reason. Healthy foods are packed with lots of good things like vitamins which keep us healthy, help us to grow big and strong and allow us to have as much fun as we can!
There’s one special vitamin, Vitamin D, which is also called ‘The Sunshine Vitamin’. The reason it’s special is because it helps utilise calcium in the body. Without it we can absorb no more than 15% of the calcium we consume (¹). In fact 88% of primary schoolchildren don’t meet recommended Vitamin D intakes (²). You can increase the amounts of Vitamin D in your body by spending time outdoors in the sunshine. That’s good news for kids who love to kick a football, use a skipping rope or just run around outdoors. The Sunshine Vitamin D strengthens your bones and that’s just what you need if you’re a busy kid! But unfortunately we don’t get a lot of sunshine in Ireland, so when it comes to Vitamin D, you can also boost your intake by drinking fortified milk like Avonmore Super Milk as part of a balanced diet.
Why not check out our great Ideas for Outdoor Playtime, we’re sure you will love them!
And remember, when we do get sun, be careful as too much sun isn’t good either. It’s great that we get Vitamin D from the sun, but we need to be careful as too much sun can hurt. Wear a t-shirt, hat and sunglasses; not only will you look cool, but you will also help to stop you getting too much sun.
1. Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med (2007) 357 (3): 266-281.
2. Kiely et al. Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance. (2005). National Children’s Food Survey.
Ideas for Outdoor Playtime
