Getting Vitamin D from Sunlight

[ginkgo]

I see in many places on the internet where people who are supposed to know what they are talking about will say to get 20 minutes of sun exposure a day to get enough vitamin D. Here is an example. David Katz MD usually has some great articles.

David Katz, M.D.: Vitamin D and Calcium: Is the IOM Right to Recommend We Get Less?

If you can't get a good 20 minutes a day of sun exposure, dietary vitamin D is essential.

So just how stupid is that? It is like saying that you can buy any house in the U.S. for $50,000. Or it is like saying that if you work at your job for 8 hours today then you will make $160. That is only if you make $20 an hour. If you make $10 an hour you only get half that-- $80.

How much vitamin D that you get from sun exposure depends on 2 things-- time (like 20 minutes) and UV index for where you are at any given time. UV index can vary from 0 to 14. You can look up on the internet what your UV index is. Like for me tomorrow my UV index will be:

Intellicast - Phoenix Hourly Forecast in Arizona (85004) (UV index 11 at 1PM or index of 2 at 5PM). At 6PM it will be a UV index of 1. Note that Arizona does not follow daylight savings time.

Now UV index depends on time of day, time of year, latitude, altitude, cloud cover and pollution.

[garentee]

I work outside all day and my doctor told me that even so I need to take Vitamin D...and my levels were a bit on the low side(2 years ago)I would be skeptical that the sun produces enough vitamin D...

[firenexx]

Well, supposedly if you wash the affected area with soap within 48 hours, the D will not be absorbed.

I would think that it would also depend on the amount of skin exposed, no?

[Clint Cora]

The dog walks usually do this for sun exposure for me. Interestingly enough, in my case, I get more sun exposure during the winter on my all day ski trips than outside in the summer.

[taylor]

Just take a supplement. It's super cheap and easy to get tons of D. Most people have low levels even with D in their diet and it has many health benefits while posing almost no risk of taking too much.

(At least that's what I've read on the subject.)

[firenexx]

Yes, just make sure you take a D3 supplement and not D2, oh, and don't drink any products fortified with D2 as that will interfere with your ability to utilize D3 (Sorry, you can't drink any milk anymore, or even soy milk or rice milk except for 1 or 2 brands.)
Also, some are even weary of any synthetic calciferols, for reasons that would take a book and a degree in biochemistry to explain.

It's much better just to get it from the sun. Too bad if you're like me and live someplace north.

[stanmrak]

An easy rule of thumb for getting vitamin D from the sun:

If your shadow is longer than you are tall, you won't get any vitamin D. In winter, even in mid-day in most parts of the world, this will be the case.

The middle of the day, just when they tell you to stay out of the sun, is when you make it most effectively.

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by stanmrak

An easy rule of thumb for getting vitamin D from the sun:

If your shadow is longer than you are tall, you won't get any vitamin D. In winter, even in mid-day in most parts of the world, this will be the case.

The middle of the day, just when they tell you to stay out of the sun, is when you make it most effectively.

Yes I have been watching the length of my shadow for years. How much vitamin D you get, does also depend on how much of your body is exposed. I sunbathe where I am lying down under the sun in a bathing suit.

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by Clint Cora

The dog walks usually do this for sun exposure for me. Interestingly enough, in my case, I get more sun exposure during the winter on my all day ski trips than outside in the summer.

Actually at the latitude of Montreal, during 5 months of the year, around 1st day of winter, you cannot get any vitamin D from sunlight. At Boston latitude it is 3 months of the year where you cannot get any vitamin D from the sun. None at all.

[shawnmihalik]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

Actually at the latitude of Montreal, during 5 months of the year, around 1st day of winter, you cannot get any vitamin D from sunlight. At Boston latitude it is 3 months of the year where you cannot get any vitamin D from the sun. None at all.

See, this just can't be true, because people have lived the for centuries without supplements.

[stanmrak]

Originally Posted by shawnmihalik

See, this just can't be true, because people have lived the for centuries without supplements.

Well - it is true. Try doing some research instead of using grade-school logic.
Actually, I think it's more like 6 months out of the year in both locations. October thru March at least.

[Clint Cora]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

Actually at the latitude of Montreal, during 5 months of the year, around 1st day of winter, you cannot get any vitamin D from sunlight. At Boston latitude it is 3 months of the year where you cannot get any vitamin D from the sun. None at all.

Well, one thing for sure is that about a month into my ski season, I already have 'racoon' eyes from wearing my ski goggles. Actually, the bottom half of my face is tanned while the top half that is usually covered by goggles isn't.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by Clint Cora

Well, one thing for sure is that about a month into my ski season, I already have 'racoon' eyes from wearing my ski goggles. Actually, the bottom half of my face is tanned while the top half that is usually covered by goggles isn't.

You can get sun burnt with cloud cover. The point he's trying to make is that the sun being out doesn't mean you are getting vitamin D. The time of the day and the day of the year is an important factor

[shawnmihalik]

Originally Posted by stanmrak

Well - it is true. Try doing some research instead of using grade-school logic.
Actually, I think it's more like 6 months out of the year in both locations. October thru March at least.

I actually misread ginko's post. I didn't realize that it said only part of the year.

[justmee]

i dont think i get enough tbh

there were low times when i hardly ever saw sun whenn i was nocturnal.