The Vitamin D Facts

Vitamin d facts and myths is the subject of this post. The more I’ve read and talked with people, the more I realize that there is a lot of misinformation. Let’s talk about what is true and what is simply myth we’ve come to accept as fact.

Vitamin D and Sunshine

Yes, it’s true that vitamin D is made in your body from sunshine. However, it’s a myth that you can get the benefits of sunshine using a sunscreen. Not so!

Vitamin d is made by the sun’s UVB rays. And of course, that’s what sunscreens block. So that leads to a dillema; how can you get the benefit of sunshine without damaging your skin?

The answer is to limit your exposure without sunscreen, then go ahead and put on the sunblock, the hat, or otherwise cover up.  However, there is something you need to be aware of.  In order to get enough sunshine for adequate vitamin d, you need to expose over half your body to sunlight.  That means a pair of shorts and a t-shirt (or a bathing suit).  And if you live in a climate where it gets too cold for shorts and a t-shirt for months at a time…well, there goes your vitamin d!

How much sun?  Well, that depends on the time of year, whether you live in an area with smog, etc.  The best way is to check the UV rating of your zip code on any given day (or even hour).  Here’s a site where you can put in your zip code in the upper left of the screen, and you’ll get not only the UV rating (left-hand colum) but also your forecast.  If your UV rating is less than 3, you won’t get the benefit of sunshine.

OK, so sunshine may not be an option for you.  What’s next?

The Minimum Daily Requirement is All You Need

Currently, the minimum daily requirement (MDR) is 400 IU (international units).  That’s fine if you’re a small child, but not if you’re past about 7 years old.

The vitamin d fact is that the MDR was set over 70 years ago, when it was determined that 400 IU was the amount of vitamin d needed to prevent a child from developing rickets.  Well that’s fine and dandy, but the older you get, the larger your bones are, the more vitamin d you need to keep them strong.  No, 400 IU isn’t enough as an MDR for adults!

(The good news is that there is a movement afoot in the medical research community to raise the MDR, to be based on body weight.  The bad news is that the FDA hasn’t officially adopted it.)

Here’s more information about the causes of vitamin d deficiency, and how much you actually need.

You Get All the Vitamin D You Need From Food

Think again.  Let’s say that 400 IU was all you needed as an adult.  Let’s also assume that you don’t get out in the sun very often and that you don’t take supplements.  What are you getting from your food?

Surprisingly little!  I did an inventory of my cabinets and fridge the other day, searching for vitamin d on the labels of foods.  Except on my cereal box and carton of milk, there was none.  Zip.  Nada.

I don’t eat cereal very often for other reasons, nor do I drink the milk (just use splashes of it here and there in recipes…or on my cereal).  So, what’s left?  Pretty much nothing that would amount to anything.

Vitamin D is Toxic

Sure, you can overdose on vitamin d, but you’d have to be taking an awful lot of it, in addition to getting all the sunshine you need!  You’d need supplements of over 30,000 IU a day continuously over a period of weeks.  That’s a whole lot of sunshine and supplements!

What this vitamin d myth came from was that cod liver oil was the most common vitamin d supplement.  Unfortunately, it’s also an excellent source of vitamin a.  And the vitamin a toxicity is far lower.  So by taking the cod liver oil, you were getting more than you bargained for, especially since vitamin a is plentiful in foods.

The Vitamin D Facts:  It’s What Your Body Needs!

Your body needs vitamin d for optimum health.  And if you can’t get it from sunshine, which virtually no one in the United States, Canada or Europe does, you need to take supplements.  You aren’t getting it from your food in the quantities you need for good health.

The good news is that you can get what you need from supplements, and vitamin d is quite inexpensive.  So give your body what it needs!

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