New research from the University of Auckland suggests vitamin D could play an important role in bowel problems.

Professor Lynnette Ferguson said the number of gastrointestinal disorders is rising, and she sees a strong link to vitamin D deficiency.

She said while it's good New Zealanders are being cautious about overexposure to the sun, our vitamin D levels are falling and a lot of people aren't compensating for that.

"A lot of us are just not getting as much vitamin D as we ought to be, we're being much more conscious - as we ought to be about sunlight exposure, but that's our main source of vitamin D"

Professor Ferguson said the country needs to be more proactive, both with vitamin D supplemented foods, and with monitoring people's vitamin D levels.