Dr Michael Mosley says he will start taking one pill every day

Health expert Dr Michael Mosley says he is not a fan of vitamin and mineral supplement tablets, preferring to get all the nutrition he needs from a healthy diet. But the author, broadcaster and podcaster says there is one vitamin he makes an exception for.

Writing in MailOnline, Dr Mosley says he takes the pill through the winter, and says it has been found to cut the risk of colon cancer and dementia. Dr Mosley said he usually stops taking the vitamin D pill in the spring, but this year will keep on taking it every day.

He wrote: "During the winter months, when the sun is weak, I’ve always followed NHS advice and swallowed a daily tablet, because I know vitamin D is so important for a whole host of reasons. But usually by this time of year, when the sun is strong and summer is well on its way, I stop taking it."

Dr Mosley says he has been getting all the vitamin D he needs in the summer from sunshine alongside oily fish and eggs, but he added: "Each year I get older and studies have shown that as we age our bodies become less effective at absorbing vitamin D from food and our skin also becomes less efficient at converting sunlight into this nutrient."

He said the NHS recommends 10 micrograms (mcg) a day of vitamin D in pill form while in the US the recommendation is 15mcg and 20 if you're over 70.

Dr Mosley said: "I take 25 mcg (1,000 IU), which is within the limits of what’s considered safe but closer to the sort of doses studies show you need to take to ward off infections, cancers, and maybe even dementia."