It seems like it’s been a long cold winter, which has stretched well into spring this year!  It’s thought that around 60% of people in the UK are vitamin D deficient and I’m one of them! Vitamin D is a hormone produced in the skin after being in the sun, it can also be found in some foods like oily fish. People with lupus are even more likely to be short of vitamin D due to our need to minimise our exposure to sun. The steroids we may take can also reduce our ability to absorb vitamin D. Symptoms of low vitamin D are fatigue and muscle pain. It also plays a role in the immune system so a shortage of it has been linked to diseases like MS. You can find out if you are vitamin D deficient by taking a  blood test and if you are low in it, you can improve your levels by taking a  supplement. This article explains how a recent study by a team at Newcastle University has proved for the first time that there is a definite link between vitamin D deficiency and energy levels. The Mirror also published this article  just over a week ago about  how our poor UK weather is resulting in more people suffering from a vitamin D deficiency!