Get Vitamin D from the Sun today!
Yes, unless there is cloud cover, today (March 6th) is the first day this year that the sun is high enough above my location in Cottonwood, AZ so that the rays that initiate the production of vitamin d in my skin will do so when I expose my skin between 12:30 and 12:40 pm.
For my skin type, I calculated with an online application that I need 4 minutes exposing my face, arms and hands to make “sufficient vitamin d” and 25 minutes at that time will give me a sunburn (ouch!)
As spring and summer come, there will be more opportunities at other times of day. Then October 5th is the last day that in the noon hour the sun is high enough in the sky for me to produce vitamin d from sun exposure. Fortunate for us, vitamin d is a fat-soluble vitamin and is stored in fat in the body. We can also get vitamin d from food, and I will discuss that later.
Let’s break this down so that you can calculate what applies to you. But first,
Why would you want to get vitamin d from the sun?
Quoting Dr. Mercola in 2008: “As with most nutrients and compounds, it is always best to get them from their natural sources, and vitamin D is no exception. In fact, according to these new results, [a study published in 2008 that showed : “ingested vitamin D is immunosuppressive”] it may be one of the most potent examples of what can go wrong if you veer too far from nature.
I have always found it peculiar that the only vitamin that is not in breast milk is vitamin D. To me that is a giant clue that we were NOT designed to swallow vitamin D. Newborn infants, just like you, were designed to get this from exposing their skin to natural sunlight.”
In addition, as reported in Dermato-Endocrinology April 2012: exposure to the sun has a number of health benefits unrelated to vitamin d production, such as:
- Enhancing mood and energy through the release of endorphins
- Immune system enhancement (for example old-time solariums for tuberculosis)
- Protects against melanoma and decreases mortality from it
- Helps heal skin diseases such as psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, and scleroderma
- Generates nitric oxide (NO), which may reduce blood pressure and generally improve cardiovascular health as well as being antimicrobial
- Regulates Melatonin (the “sleep hormone”) by way of pineal gland photoreceptors
- Synchronizes important biorhythms through the eye receiving sunlight
- Regulates body temperature
- Relieves fibromyalgia pain
What about the harmful effects of the sun like burning and cancer?
To answer that, we must look at the effects of different sun components. The sun emits over 1500 frequencies and it is the ultraviolet spectra, those frequencies shorter than visible light, that are biologically active to tan our skin or burn it, initiate the production of vitamin d as well as produce skin aging, wrinkling, and enhance the development of skin cancer. Ultraviolet light is divided into UVA, UVB, and UVC, with UVA the longest and UVC the shortest. We won’t consider UVC because it is filtered out by our atmosphere.
Our skin has the capacity to convert UVB rays from the sun into vitamin d. These rays do not penetrate the skin deeply, and most of them are filtered by the atmosphere. It is UVB rays the stimulate the production of vitamin d, whereas UVA can actually destroy vitamin d. This is one way we stay in balance when spending time outdoors in the sun, it’s a protective mechanism.
However in sunlight through windows, whether in your office, home or car -the UVB rays are filtered out, leaving you with UVA only. This is what causes you to tan, but also may promote skin cancer, wrinkles and aged skin.
What is involved in our body making vitamin d from the sun?
The factors that determine our ultraviolet (UV) exposure include:
- time of year
- time of day
- latitude
- altitude
- clouds and atmospheric conditions
- reflective surfaces you are surrounded by
- clothing
- skin color
Caution
What is not well known is that it takes some time for the body to produce the vitamin d. If you wash your skin with soap within 24 hours of exposure, you wash away the oils in your skin that are involved in the vitamin d production. It actually takes that long for the vitamin d to be absorbed through the skin and make it into the bloodstream and to the parts of the body utilizing it.
Let’s Calculate
Now, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research has published an online calculator for sun exposure levels for a healthy vitamin d status. It takes into account all the factors I listed above.
The first thing to fill out on the calculator is the date you are checking. Use today’s date if that is what you wish to know.
Then you need to input the location on the earth. If you live in London or Rome or Cape Town, you are in luck, they are available on the drop down menu. Most likely you will have to do further research to determine your latitude and longitude. Go to http://www.latlong.net/ to have it calculated for you. Then return to the Norwegian Institute for Air Research website and click the radio button for latitude and longitude and input your latitude and longitude numbers. Be sure to notice if the number listed is positive or negative.
The next thing on the form is skin type, so choose the button closest you how it could describe you. Then choose the nature of exposure, which this time of year is best kept midday.
Now you select the sky condition with a drop-down menu, and keep the ozone thickness medium unless you know otherwise.
Then you will input the altitude of your location. Unless you are at sea level, you may want to Google it, and be sure to convert feet to kilometers when necessary.
Finally, select the surface type. In wet climates, the closest may be lawn, and in the city or desert, it may be concrete.
Now you are ready to press the button for the calculation. After a few seconds of thinking, the site will display:
Recommended UV exposure of face, hands and arms at least every other day to obtain sufficient vitamin D, equivalent of 25 micrograms vitamin D
minimum recommended exposure time (hours:minutes) with a numerical result
Most likely this is a surprise, but remember it is at the time of day you selected. Spring and fall may not have the sun high enough in the sky to get the rays needed to make vitamin d at any time other than midday.
And as mentioned before, DO NOT wash off the oily layer where the vitamin d is made, or you will not absorb any of it!
OK, now get going making your own vitamin d from the sun!
For more information on vitamin d, see the blogs
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