4 easy ways to get the most from your vitamin D vitamins:

November's almost here, summer is a distant memory, and if you live in the UK, so is the sunshine! This means if you're not already topping up with vitamin D vitamins, now's the time to start. Exposing your skin to sunlight triggers your body to make this vital vitamin naturally, but in winter months when you're not able to do this, your D status will take a hit.

Vit D is one of the most important vitamins for staying well. It is essential for supporting bone and cardiovascular health, the immune system, and general well-being. So it's worrying that vitamin D is the UK's most common deficiency, with a whopping 1 in 6 of us believed to not be getting enough to stay healthy.

The NHS recommends taking vitamin D between October and March, but for many people it's sensible to top up all year round, because daily sun exposure isn't always enough to stimulate enough vitamin D production – even in high summer! The skin of a person in their 70s makes roughly 25 percent of the vitamin D3 produced by a person in their 20s! And age isn’t the only factor you need to consider: skin pigmentation, sunscreen, how much skin you expose, and where you live in the world can also have a big impact…

But now that the sun's taking a break, there's no chance your body will be making enough, so no excuses, it's time to get yourself some vitamin D vitamins. And if you want to get the very most from your daily D, here are 4 easy tips that could help:

1. Use slow-release vitamin D vitamins

When you take a large high-dose oral vitamin D vitamins, much of the nutrient will be lost as it makes its way through your digestive system and liver. What does survive will dramatically spike your Vitamin D blood levels and then drop off just as quickly, leading to periods where your vitamin D levels fall too low again.

You can avoid this by using a slow-release formulation, like our Vitamin D3/K2 patch. Choosing a slow-release patch means the vitamin D is gradually drip fed into your bloodstream throughout the 8 hours you wear the patch. This keeps your vitamin D levels stable and consistent. These lower, continuous levels of vitamin D are much easier for your body to absorb and make use of. Don't just take our word for it, several studies have shown that the body can absorb smaller amounts of vitamin D released over time much more efficiently than a single large dose.

2. Choose the right form of vitamin D:

Take a peek at the ingredients of vitamin D vitamins and you'll notice they contain either vitamin: D2 (ergocalciferol) or D3 (cholecalciferol). So which is best? We'd recommend going for Vitamin D3, because this is the form that your body makes when you expose your skin to sunlight. It's a lot more effective at raising and maintaining blood levels of vitamin D compared to D2, so if you want to boost up your D levels faster, a supplement with D3 is a must. That's why all our patches with vitamin D contain D3, rather than D2, even our Multivitamin! You can shop the full range here.

3. Consistency is key:

If you want to feel the benefit from ANY supplement you have to commit to taking it regularly, rather than gulping down the odd tablet here and there, and vitamin D vitamins are no exception! If you want the long term gains vitamin D can offer for bone health and immunity, you'll need to maintain steady blood levels.

Our patches are a great way to do this because they have very few side effects compared with oral supplements, so you won't be put off taking them because they upset your stomach, or you hate the taste, smell or texture.  You don't need to use a patch with a meal or a glass of water. You can use them everywhere and anywhere! Simply pop your pack somewhere you'll see them every day, like your bedside table, or next to your toothbrush, pop one and wear for 8 hours – job done!

4. Take your vitamin D vitamins alongside foods with healthy fats:

Want to supercharge how well your vitamin D vitamins work? Make sure your diet includes plenty of healthy fats. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, which means it can be stored by your body a lot more effectively when you've been eating healthy fats, found in foods like avocado, nuts, eggs and olive oil. Pop you patch on first thing, breakfast on avocado on toast and you've set yourself up for the day – easy and delicious!