the sun and vitamin D "in northern Maine"

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on January 3, 2009 at 6:41am

Where there is sun there is vitamin D. It does not matter about the temperature. Although when it is hot out it makes it easier to be outside! lol. Vitamin D can only really be absorbed properly through the skin, this is the reason that taking the vitamin will not work. If you are concerned about getting enough you can always purchase a light box and sit in front of it for 10 mins. per day. But you should get adequate amounts just by being outside for 30mins plus / day. Less on sunny days.

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Permalink Reply by Jef on January 4, 2009 at 3:40pm

I've wondered before about the light box. Somehow I doubt that the lightbulb has the same rays that make your skin produce vitamin D., but I could be wrong. Jennifer, have you read research that tells that a light box works for vitamin D? I know it helps depression, but I didn't think it actually helped one produce vitamin D. ? anyone else know the answer to this?

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Permalink Reply by Kasey on January 3, 2009 at 6:58am

Can we absorb it through windows? If I go outside I gotta cover up pretty much everything. Seems easier to stand in front of my window with my shirt off.

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Permalink Reply by Marte on January 3, 2009 at 9:03am

:D

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Permalink Reply by alex anthony on October 23, 2009 at 10:06am

no you cannot. interestingly enough when my nephew was born a couple of years ago he was slightly jaundiced - not enough to stay in the hospital - but enough to be under observation by the pediatrician. so the hospital pediatrician was like, just keep him in front of a window - uncovered - (surface area is important for vitamin D synthesis - this is the problem with the winter - your skin is covered up) for an hour every day.

when my sis settled on a pediatrician and we took him for his first exam she (the pediatrician) was like - modern windows filter out the rays that actually stimulate D production (first doc - hospital doc - was much older an unaware of this). so light filtered through most modern windows is useless to you - you need to be outside.

to my other point - the problem with winter sunlight isn't temperature - in the sense that temperature doesn't affect the quality of sunlight (although shorter hrs of sun during the day). the problem is that humans cover up in winter to preserve heat which significantly reduces the surface area of skin needed to produce D. So even if you spend a couple of hrs outside shoveling snow - you're covered up so much that only your face is exposed - you got very little vitamin D that day.

imagine the skin as a solar panel for vitamin D. if you block the light - you don't get any vitamin d. this is why some naturopaths recommend uv tanning beds.

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Permalink Reply by Teresa on January 3, 2009 at 7:09am

Jennifer is so correct about Vitamin D and the sun. Personally, I don't take any vitamins except for B12.

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Permalink Reply by Layla on January 3, 2009 at 8:15am

I have a light box I think that it most be the wrng kind because it said righ on the box that it does not give untra vilote rays. What kind would you buy? By the way,,,, Your twins are soso cute!!!!
Layla

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on January 3, 2009 at 8:55am

Hey Layla! Thanks. The point of the light box is to keep your melatonin levels down thus keeping your hormone levels up and elevating your mood. The light box itself does not give off much, if any vitamin D, but will help you feel better during the cold winter months.

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Permalink Reply by peanut on January 3, 2009 at 10:00am

My doctor told me that in northern winters you can't get sufficient vitamin D from the sun even if you are outside much of the day, because of the angle and distance of the sun. He suggested a supplement, but I'm thinking of a quick trip to Puerto Rico instead. :)

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on January 3, 2009 at 10:11am

ohhhhh - That's a great place to get your vit-D!

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Permalink Reply by Alexandra on January 3, 2009 at 10:42am

I take daily multi-vitamins, as well as supplement with fish oil and evening primrose oil for essential fatty acids. Vitamin D does not occur naturally in plant-based foods; the only way to get it from "nature" is to eat fatty fish like salmon and sardines. Most Americans get their vitamin D from fortified foods, especially milk.

This thread contains some dangerous misinformation about vitamin D.

MYTH: "You can get enough vitamin D from sunlight in northern climates during the winter." This is not true!! To manufacture vitamin D, your skin needs to be exposed to UV wavelength of 290-315 nanometers for 30- 50 minutes. Please note that this is full body coverage, i.e., you naked outside. Those wavelengths do not penetrate glass or plastic windows. If you live about the 42nd parallel, you are not even exposed to those wavelengths in the sunlight you get during the winter. In other latitudes, cloud coverage, pollution, shade and clothing block vitamin-D synthesis triggering UV waves by over 60%.

A light box won't provide you with the correct wavelengths for vitamin D synthesis either. Tanning beds that emit 6-8% UV light have been shown to be effective in preventing rickets.

MYTH: "You can't absorb vitamin D from supplements." FACT: Vitamin D in supplements usually takes one of two forms: ergocalciferol and cholcalciferol (both produced by non-vegan sources if that's important to you). The human body can effectively metabolize both into 20(O)HD, concentrations of which are measured during blood tests for vitamin D.

Raw foodists and other food activists like to talk about the good old days of healthy living before "processed foods," (and don't get me started about Weston Price's "primitive cultures" stuff) but the truth is that before fortified grain flours and dairy products with vitamin D were introduced into the food stream, rickets and other dehabiliting disorders due to vitamin deficiency were common in children and the general population. Vitamin D supplementation is essential to a raw and/or vegetarian diet and should not be ignored because of misinformation or wishful thinking (e.g., "all you need is the Life Force Energy in Raw Foods!!!").

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Permalink Reply by Blueberry on January 3, 2009 at 1:36pm

So how on earth did the human race even survive for millions of years before vitamin D came as supplement,if the sun doesn't provide enough

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