This vitamin is crucial for health - but most of us don't get enough

Do you often feel tired, achy or low? It could mean you are suffering from a vitamin D deficiency. This is incredibly common in the UK with recent statistics showing that 1 in 6 of us have depleted levels of vitamin D.

Symptoms to watch out for

Many of us will have a vitamin D deficiency to a greater or lesser extent, so it's important to recognise the symptoms. The elderly will have a higher risk of dementia and children could develop Rickets, which is when the bones don't develop properly.

Also, look out for:

• fatigue

• low mood

• muscle strain

• slow-healing wounds

• high blood pressure

• pain in the lower back

• hair loss

• chronic pain

Why is it so common?

In the autumn and winter months, the sun often doesn't shine much or the sky could be overclouded. Also, we spend relatively little time outside and we use sunscreen - a good idea in hot weather but it does stop the production of vitamin D. Since the sun is the best source of this, our body struggles without it because not many foods contain vitamin D. It is artificially added to some dairy products such as low-fat margarine, but that isn't enough to meet our daily needs.

Some people are at higher risk of a vitamin D deficiency:

• dark-skinned people

• people over 70

• overweight people

What can we do?

1. In the summer let the sun shine on your skin so that your body can make vitamin D. You can do this by sunbathing while moving (a full day of 'baking' in the sun is not good for you). Go for a walk with bare arms and legs in the morning or afternoon.

2. In autumn and winter, a daily vitamin D supplement is important. Choose a good brand and always take vitamin D with some fat, because that can help with absorption.

3. Eating healthy fish also contributes to a good vitamin D level.

Tip: Take vitamin D with vitamin K2 to maintain the balance between the two vitamins. Some supplements contain both.

It may take a while before your vitamin D shortage is replenished. Have your blood tested again after taking supplements for about three months?

Many of us dream of moving to sunnier climes like Spain, Italy or the South of France where getting enough vitamin D would never be an issue. But the wet, cold weather in Blighty is what makes our gardens so green and lush so we can't rail against it! Also, as Australian author Kathy Lette points out there isn't anywhere else in the world where you can stroll past bookshops, pubs and fairy lights in the rain and pretend you are an extra in a Richard Curtis film. The only thing you need to do is remember how soaked Andie MacDowell got at the end of 'Four Weddings and a funeral' and have an umbrella at the ready!