Vitamin D

Vitamin D had been getting a lot of press lately.
Adequate vitamin D is important for healthy bones; it acts like a key that lets calcium into bones to make, and keep them strong. There is also evidence that adequate vitamin D status can have a potential protective effect against colon, prostate and breast cancers. While weaker, there is also evidence that adequate vitamin D levels may play some role in the prevention and treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance and multiple sclerosis. 
 
Below are the recommendations for how much Vitamin D to get in one day.

Age	Males	Females	Pregnancy	Lactation
0-12 months	5 mcg (200 IU)	5 mcg (200 IU)
1-13 years	5 mcg (200 IU)	5 mcg (200 IU)
14-18 years	5 mcg (200 IU)	5 mcg (200 IU)	5 mcg (200 IU)	5 mcg (200 IU)
19-50 years	5 mcg (200 IU)	5 mcg (200 IU)	5 mcg (200 IU)	5 mcg (200 IU)
51-70 years	10 mcg (400 IU)	10 mcg (400 IU)
71+ years	15 mcg (600 IU)	15 mcg (600 IU)

Are you getting enough?
 

Food	IUs per serving*
1 Tablespoon Cod liver oil	1,360
3 ounces  Cooked, salmon (sockeye)	794
Tuna fish, canned in water, drained, 3 ounces	154
Milk, nonfat, reduced fat, and whole, vitamin D-fortified, 1 cup	115-124
Orange juice fortified with vitamin D, 1 cup (check product labels, as amount of added vitamin D varies)	100
*IUs = International Units.

 

There are very few foods that contain adequate vitamin D, but fortunately we can produce vitamin D from exposure to the sun.
 

Sunshine Vitamin
Vitamin D has been called the sunshine vitamin because we can make when our skin is exposed to UV light from the sun.  
There are several factors that influence the amount of vitamin D that can be made:

• Season and Latitude: For those who live about above the 42° latitude there is not enough UV light striking the earth from November through February the skin to produce vitamin D. 
• Sunscreen: Sunscreens with a sun protection factor of 8 or higher, block vitamin D-producing UV rays.
• Cloud cover: Complete cloud cover reduces UV ray strength by 50% 
• Skin Melanin content: Those with darker skin have a reduced ability to produce vitamin D 
 
The general recommendation is that 5-30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM at least twice a week to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen will usually lead to sufficient vitamin D synthesis.( Note: repeated UV exposure can lead to skin damage use sunscreen often.)  Now, 5-30 minutes is quite the range. If you are not outside often, or live above the 42° parallel, you may want to consider having you serum vitamin D levels checked at your next check-up. If your levels are low, your physician may recommend you take a supplement, as there are very few foods that contain sufficient amounts of vitamin D.