Yoon Ja-young is in charge of articles translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times. She is interested in improving the newspaper through AI.
Take enough Vitamin D
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By Yoon Ja-young
Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical has launched a beverage containing Vitamin D, amid growing concern over Vitamin D deficiency in the country.
A bottle of the “Kwang Dong 100se D” contains 1,000 international units (IU) of Vitamin D, which is equivalent to the Vitamin D in 2,000 cc of milk or 40 eggs. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in the United States recommends 600 IU of vitamins per day for those aged up to 70 and as much as 800 IU for those older than 70.
“There was demand for beverages with which people can easily get Vitamin D, but there wasn’t any in the market due to technological barriers,” said a spokesperson for the pharmaceutical company. “As Vitamin D is fat-soluble, it doesn’t dissolve in water. Moreover, the vitamin is easily destroyed during manufacturing or distribution,” he added.
Vitamin D is essential regardless of age or gender, as it strengthens bones by helping absorption of calcium and facilitates the building of immunity. One can get Vitamin D through food, supplements, or breast milk, but exposure to sunlight leads to the synthesis of most Vitamin D.
Koreans, however, have low amounts of Vitamin D. According to a 2011 study, eight out of 10 Koreans aren’t meeting the Vitamin D sufficiency level.
“The Vitamin D deficiency is increasing recently as people from all age groups have notably decreased their outdoor activities during daytime, due to studies or work. In the case of females, the overuse of sun block which screens their skin from sunlight is also estimated to have made them suffer from the deficiency,”said Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in a report.
Doctors thus have recommended paying more attention to Vitamin D, by exposing yourself to the sun briefly after lunch or through diet.