Dietary elements like Vitamin D and magnesium are essential for health, but are deficient in many peoples’ diets. We asked the experts at BetterYou to explain the importance of these vital nutrients
What is the importance of Vitamin D to health?
Vitamin D is responsible for a number of functions in our bodies including calcium regulation, ensuring calcium enters the bone to maintain healthy bones and teeth. It also supports a healthy immune system, protecting the body from illnesses such as the common cold and plays a fundamental role in ensuring normal muscle function.
Why are so many people Vitamin D deficient?
We get the majority of our vitamin D from exposure to sunlight. However, in the UK the UVB rays are only strong enough between April and September for vitamin D production, meaning for large parts of the year, it is impossible for our bodies to produce vitamin D from the sun.
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This, along with the UK’s notoriously cloudy climate and our increasingly indoor lifestyles has resulted in an estimated 10 million of us falling into the deficiency category.
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What is the most effective way of supplementing Vitamin D intake?
Maintaining optimal vitamin D levels is essential for everyone, however traditional methods of supplementation – such as tablets and capsules – can be challenging for some people. For example, those with dysphagia, young children and the elderly can find swallowing tablets difficult and unpleasant.
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There is also an increasing number of people suffering from malabsorption of nutrients in the gut due to autoimmune conditions such as IBS, Crohn’s, Colitis and Coeliac disease, which means an alternative way to supplement has become essential.
Pill-free supplementation, such as BetterYou’s DLux Vitamin D Oral Spray range, provides a convenient alternative to traditional tablets and capsules.
Proven in a clinical trial to be just as effective as capsules at elevating vitamin D levels, the oral sprays deliver nutrients to the bloodstream via the buccal membrane of the inner cheek.
What is the importance of magnesium to health?
Magnesium is a commonly overlooked yet vital nutrient and is crucial for healthy bones as it makes up part of the skeleton’s framework. Its presence in every cell of our body is essential and a deficiency is nothing short of disastrous for the cell’s life.
Magnesium is crucial for healthy bones, makes you resilient to stress, relaxes muscles, aids sleep, calms your nervous system and provides you with endurance and energy. As many as 70 percent of us could be at risk of a magnesium deficiency.
What is the most effective way of supplementing magnesium intake?
A growing number of trials and studies show the effective absorption levels of transdermal magnesium compared to tablet and capsule supplementation.
Applied directly onto the skin, magnesium is quickly absorbed into the epidermis, through to the blood vessels and muscles beneath, completely bypassing the digestive system where many nutrients, including magnesium, are poorly absorbed.
How can supplements help in the fight against coronavirus?
Public Health England recently updated its guidance, urging the nation to consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people will be exposed to less sunlight by remaining indoors during the spring/ summer months – a time when we would usually be rebuilding healthy vitamin D stores.
Whilst evidence does not suggest vitamin D can directly help in the fight against coronavirus, the hormone plays a crucial role in supporting an efficient immune system – and weakened immunity increases our risk of experiencing severe illness and infection.
Furthermore, a 2019 report from researchers at The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing at Trinity College indicates that vitamin D plays a crucial role in preventing respiratory infections, reducing antibiotic use and improving immune system response.
What is the history and philosophy of BetterYou?
Founded by Andrew Thomas in 2006, BetterYou was the first company in the world to develop a topically applied magnesium and nutritional oral spray and has been pioneering product development in this area ever since.
Committed to developmental science and absorption research, the brand partners with some of the finest research institutions in the world, including the universities of Cardiff, Ulster and Sheffield, St Mark’s Hospital in London and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.
With each new innovation, BetterYou continues to meet the growing needs of its customers’ modern nutritional requirements. Whilst utilising sustainably sourced ingredients of the highest quality, BetterYou provides scientifically formulated products with the most effective and convenient delivery methods possible.
As BetterYou continues to grow, its commitment and passion for developing exceptional natural health supplements remains unwavering, and a cornerstone of the brand.
How does BetterYou develop and test its products?
Committed to serving the ever-evolving needs of its customers, BetterYou’s mission is to fill the nutritional gaps that are often left by modern diets and lifestyles – this means consistent innovation and education.
Every innovation is developed in conjunction with the Pharmacy and Pharmacology Research Team at Cardiff University, led by DR Charles Heard, where absorption testing forms part of the launch of every product.
How does BetterYou contribute to climate concerns?
Beyond its packaging initiatives, the forward-thinking brand launched The Better Planet Project in 2019 – an environmental project that focuses on targeting all aspects of its environmental footprint, including the initiatives of suppliers, growers and retail partners. This includes the avoidance of pesticides and harmful chemicals used by its partner farms as well as ensuring environmentally sensitive transport and packaging.
Improving the environmental impact of product packaging is of paramount importance and involves many elements, including the public and commercial recycling technical ability (as well as the intentions) of the authorities. BetterYou continues to lobby governments to expand their recycling policies and importantly to ensure better communication of these to all.
Where can I find BetterYou products?
The BetterYou range can be found in-store at Boots, Holland & Barrett and Lloyds Pharmacy, online at betteryou.com, ocado.com and amazon.co.uk as well as from all good independent health stores and pharmacies.
