Despite the ease with which an adequate vitamin D intake can be achieved, recent reports indicate its serious deficiency among particular demographic groups in this country. Vitamin D is important in its own right for healthy bones and teeth, but it also facilitates the absorption of many other essential nutrients including magnesium, vitamin B12, phosphorous, and iron. Vitamin D also helps to maintain a balance of the right elements required for healthy blood and bones and when it is present in sufficient amounts, it can also boost immunity.
The sun is the most available source of the vitamin and people who spend long hours working indoors, avoiding the hot weather, or avoiding the sun for fear of skin cancer or wrinkles can invite other health problems. Exposure to sunshine indoors won't help since the UVB rays necessary for vitamin D production do not penetrate glass. Anything that inhibits the transmission of the sun's ultraviolet B (UVB) rays to the earth's surface or anything that blocks the penetration of the UVB radiation into the skin will interfere with the body's ability to produce vitamin D. Sunscreens are often used to reduce risk of skin cancer but unfortunately, those with a sun protection factor (SPF) greater than eight can also prevent the skin from making the essential vitamin.
The dangers of this deficiency cannot be taken lightly. Production of the protein that binds calcium in the intestinal cells slows down when vitamin D is lacking, leaving the bones with less than enough of that nutrient, raising the risk for osteomalacia in adults and rickets in children. Calcium deficiency can increase the risk of several other chronic diseases, with recent research linking it to colon cancer and a higher risk of suffering a heart attacks and developing breast cancer.
A vitamin D deficiency can occur when dietary intake is lower than recommended levels over time, when exposure to sunlight is limited, when the kidneys cannot convert vitamin D to its active form or when absorption of vitamin D from the digestive tract is inadequate due to other diseases. To counteract these problems it is often necessary to apply sunscreen only after one is exposed to to the sun for a long enough time for vitamin D synthesis to elapse. For most individuals, sun exposure for five to 10 minutes two or three times a week on the arms, hands and face is enough.
Darker skinned individuals, including many of those of Middle Eastern decent, often require longer sunshine exposure than light-skinned people because the high melanin level on darker skin reduces the ability to synthesise vitamin D. One US study reported that 42 per cent of African-American women aged between 15 and 49 were vitamin D deficient, against 4 per cent of white women. Women in the UAE may be at particular risk. Those who cover all of their skin whenever they are outside for cultural or religious reasons are more susceptible to the deficiency and living in crowded urban environments creates an additional risk. Tall buildings and smog from heavy motor vehicle traffic can block UVB rays and prevent vitamin D production.
A poor diet may also compound the risks presented by the deficiency because, once it is made by an obese individual, it is stored in fatty tissue, where it is far less bio-available. Fat stores under the skin serve to impede the vitamin's release into the blood stream. While people in the UAE can easily maintain adequate vitamin D nutrition through sun exposure this is not the only way to do so. Those unable to get out into the sunshine can consume vitamin D fortified foods. While only a few contain good sources of vitamin D naturally - fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna among them - fortified milk and cod liver oil can serve as vitamin D supplements. Dietary supplements may in some cases be useful sources of needed nutrients but scientists agree that nutrient needs should be met primarily through consuming foods, or in the case of vitamin D, though natural exposure to sunlight.
The UAE is not the first country to face public health problems associated with vitamin D deficiencies. In the 1930s rickets became a major public health problem in the United States and led to a milk fortification programme that almost eliminated this problem. Now, nearly 98 per cent of the milk supply in the United States is fortified with vitamin D. Just two cups of vitamin D-fortified milk is usually enough to fortify the body against the risks of a slew of diseases.
Serah Theuri is assistant professor of clinical nutrition in the department of Natural Science and Public Health at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi
The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More on Quran memorisation:
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