Happy Vitamin D Day!

November 2, 2012

November 2nd is Vitamin D Day, as declared by organizations throughout the world, assembling together to spread awareness on vitamin D and the vitamin D deficiency pandemic.

Sunlight has long been recognized as a major provider of vitamin D for us. It is produced in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet B rays. However latitude and season can affect both the quantity and quality of solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface. During the winter, vitamin D deficiency becomes even more prevalent, as the sun becomes less intense and shines less overhead. Vitamin D “blood levels” are usually lowest at the end of winter, after weeks and weeks of the body no longer getting vitamin D from its own skin. Read more

Make sure to get your vitamin D by other means! There are few dietary sources of vitamin D, with oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines) being the richest source of the nutrient. Helping to satisfy consumers’ quest for vegetarian and more natural vitamin D rich ingredients, Lallemand’s yeast is exposed to UVB rays during the regular production process that naturally transforms the sterols present in yeast into vitamin D. In this way, Lallemand yeast products can be used as sources of vitamin D to enhance the vitamin D content of bread, and food products* and can also be used as a dietary supplement.

*At this point in time, the EU regulatory status of the vitamin D yeast is undetermined. In North America its use is allowed and our customers add it to bread and we are working with food companies that want to fortify their yogurt, fruit juices, etc.