Research suggests that vitamin D may help protect us against heart attacks, dementia and cancer, and that it acts as an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral agent. So the question is... are you getting enough?

Most of us have a vague awareness that the "sunshine vitamin" - vitamin D - is associated with good health, an awareness accompanied by a suspicion that in the UK's gloomy weather, we don't get enough of it. But an everincreasing volume of medical research is suggesting specific ways in which vitamin D can help to protect against serious conditions; and it is also becoming clear that taking it supplementally is just as effective as metabolising it through exposure to sunlight. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]