With only 12 minutes of sunshine in a week, are Bretons at risk of severe winter depression? Vitamin D deficiency can have harmful consequences on the body, but solutions exist to overcome the lack of sun this winter.
12 minutes of sunshine in Brest, 20 in Lorient or even 26 in Rennes. Between February 1 and 8, 2024, Brittany barely saw the sun. With a cruel lack of vitamin D, the Bretons will have to watch out for winter depression. Rest assured, there is nothing alarming and solutions exist to avoid the deficiency.
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To have a sufficient daily intake of vitamin D, it is recommended to “expose yourself to the sun for 15 to 20 minutes every day in the late morning or afternoon“, explain ANSES (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety). Risks of deficiency are common every winter with very specific clinical risks such as muscular disorders (for example a drop in muscle tone or tetany attacks) or bone disorders.
The main people at risk are the elderly, particularly for the risk of osteoporosis. We also find infants, pregnant women and postmenopausal women.
To remedy the lack of vitamin D, it is possible to consume foods rich in vitamin D such as fatty fish (sardines, mackerel salmon), dairy products (notably good salted butter very popular with the Bretons), eggs or even dark chocolate and certain mushrooms (chanterelles, porcini mushrooms and morels).
Vitamin D is essential for the proper functioning of our body. Its main function is to increase the concentrations of calcium and phosphorus in the blood.
