According to a Belgian researcher, nearly half of the British population are affected by vitamin D deficiency, which may lead them to an increased risk of osteoporosis or some other forms of cancer.
Roger Bouillon of the University of Leuven in Belgium told the European Congress of Endocrinology in Glasgow, Scotland, he had been studying 20 years of data -- and found that about half the population -- 225 million people across Europe and more than 30 million in Britain -- had insufficient levels of vitamin D, according to foodconsumer.org.A shortage of vitamin D can lead to Type 1 diabetes and cancers of the breast, bowel and prostate, said Bouillon.
The most natural way to boost vitamin D levels is by eating oily fish and by getting some sunshine exposure, but doctors are reluctant to urge people to spend more time in the sun because of skin cancer risk.
