Sunshine Vitamin

Someone was asking how much sun exposure do they need to produce vitamin D in the skin. Usually it takes about 30 minutes. However, there are some exceptions to this rule and most people will need to supplement with vitamin D or eat foods enriched with Vitamin D.

Here are some of the exceptions. Depending upon where you live, the availability of the proper UV light exposure may not be there. In latitudes above 42 degrees north between November and February is insufficient to produce cutaneous vitamin D. The line is approximately from northern California to Boston in the US. Anywhere north of this line does not have the capacity to produce cutaneous vitamin D. The further north you go, the time of decreased capacity may extend up to 6 months of the year. So supplementation with foods and supplements to get vitamin D is essential.

I'll talk more about exceptions tomorrow.