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Vitamin D is one of thirteen essential vitamins that the body needs to function normally. It’s well known that vitamin D is important for bone health but there’s increasing evidence that it also plays a role in many other areas of good health including the immune system, the cardiovascular system and mental health. It may also be protective against certain types of cancer. There are still many unknowns, some controversy and lots of ongoing research into exactly what vitamin D does and how much of it we need.
It’s estimated that as many as 50 per cent of the world’s population are deficient in vitamin D. In the UK, approximately 25 per cent of people have low levels of vitamin D and could be at risk of developing a deficiency. Such was the concern that in 2016, Public Health England published advice that everyone should consider taking a vitamin D supplement during the winter months and that those in at risk groups should take one all year round. This
For most of us, feeling cold is a temporary thing that we can quickly correct by turning up the heating or pulling on another layer. For some however it is much more of a problem and feeling cold all the time isn’t a pleasant sensation. In these situations, it’s wise to look a little deeper and consider if there might be a medical reason for your cold intolerance.
Molar pregnancies are not normal pregnancies, they cannot survive and they never result in the birth of a baby. Things go wrong when the sperm fertilises the egg and although the egg implants into the wall of the uterus as it would in a normal pregnancy, the contents of the egg do not lead to a normal embryo developing.
We don’t really know why ovulation can cause pain and why some women experience discomfort in the middle of their menstrual cycle. While ovulation pain is harmless, it’s worth knowing what else might be causing your lower abdominal pain, so you know when to take action and what you can do to ease the pain.
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Bleeding between your periods? It’s common. Of all the women going to see gynaecologists each year, 20 per cent do so because of abnormal bleeding. While most bleeding between periods is harmless, it can sometimes be a sign of an underlying medical condition that needs treatment.
Dr Juliet McGrattan looks at the most common causes of bleeding between your periods:
What is intermenstrual bleeding?
When vaginal bleeding happens unexpectedly between periods it is called intermenstrual bleeding (IMB). Whether it’s only happening occasionally or between every period, you should take steps to find out the cause. If you are experiencing pelvic pain, pain during sex (dyspareunia) or when you get your period it is very heavy, then these are signs that there might be an underlying cause for your IMB.