A guide to Vitamin D

Sunlight and latitude

Skin makes vitamin D when UVB light reaches it. From October to March, at the latitude of Prishtina, that light is too weak for most of the day.

What people usually take

• 1000–2000 IU a day is the common maintenance range
• 4000 IU a day is the safe upper limit without supervision

Vitamin D contributes to normal calcium absorption and to the maintenance of normal bones.

Take it with fat

It is fat-soluble, so it is absorbed noticeably better with a meal containing some fat than on an empty stomach.

When a test is worth it

A 25(OH)D blood test tells you where you actually are. It makes sense if you have been indoors a lot, if you cover up in the sun, or simply if you would rather know than assume.