SIMPLY HEALTH: Make Vitamin D When the Sun Shines

posted 07/07/2008
Make D while the sun shines. Okay, but what about the other nine or ten months of the year? It turns out that Vitamin D deficiency is widespread. Research has discovered new functions of this vitamin, raising awareness of its importance. We have known that vitamin D builds strong bones and is used to prevent and treat osteoporosis. Diseases of Vitamin D deficiency (like rickets) were associated with third world countries—not here in Hometown, USA. It turns out that Vitamin D plays a huge role in the immune system and is now implicated in a host of diseases. With our cloudy days, even if you supplement with a daily multivitamin, you may well be deficient in Vitamin D.

Lack of Vitamin D is believed to play a part in the development of multiple sclerosis, juvenile onset diabetes, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and other autoimmune disorders.

Vitamin D is also a potent inhibitor of cancer cells, especially cancer of the breast, prostate, ovary and colon. In studies of patients with breast and colon cancer, the death rate was 30 to 50 percent lower in those patients who had high blood levels of Vitamin D.

In addition, Vitamin D is essential to maintaining the calcium, phosphorus and magnesium balance in the body. Low vitamin D levels can cause muscle weakness, bone aching and increased falling in the elderly. Deficiency of Vitamin D may also increase risk of hypertension, heart attack and heart failure.

Other than synthesizing Vitamin D in our skin when exposed to sun, the only other way we can get it naturally is with the ingestion of oily fish like salmon. Curiously, wild salmon has four times the Vitamin D per serving when compared to farm-raised salmon. Note that frying fish destroys half of its vitamin content.

Diseases Now Linked To Vitamin D Deficiency

• Multiple Sclerosis

• Juvenile Onset Diabetes

• Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Colitis

• Cancer of Breast, Colon, Ovary, Prostate

• Hypertension

• Heart Attacks

Milk is supplemented with a small amount of Vitamin D (100 i.u. per cup) but sadly, soda consumption has outstripped milk intake and is not a significant source of Vitamin D in most people's diet. Pressure is mounting to get the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow supplementation of Vitamin D in other foods including juices and cereals.

In one study, 65 percent of infants born in Boston during fall through winter were Vitamin D deficient at birth. Fetuses rely on the mother's supply of Vitamin D during gestation, and since breast milk contains little Vitamin D, supplements and some sun exposure are needed after birth. Children also spend so much time indoors nowadays - playing video games, on computers, watching TV - that they frequently miss their opportunities to make their sunshine vitamin.

It doesn't take too much sun exposure to make your Vitamin D - just 15 minutes daily to the arms and legs or face, hands and arms.

Here's the rub though. November through March, above latitude 34 degrees (eg., north of Los Angeles), there is insufficient ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation to stimulate Vitamin D production in the skin - even if it was warm enough to bare your skin.

Here in the Maritime Pacific Northwest where "mostly cloudy with a chance of rain" is the norm, we probably only have three months to reliably get our vitamin D from the sun.

However, don't sunburn or rush to the tanning beds. Excessive ultraviolet radiation exposure increases the rate of skin aging, damage and skin cancer. Although the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin D is still 400 i.u. daily, many experts now recommend 400-1000 i.u. daily for children and up to 2000 i.u. daily for adults. Although fat soluble and potentially toxic with overdose, it would take supplementing Vitamin D at greater than 10,000 i.u. a day to reach toxic levels. To be safe, don't take more than 2000 i.u. per day unless prescribed by your health care practitioner.

Medications can also limit the absorption of Vitamin D supplements including diuretics, prednisone and other steroids, nicotine (all tobacco products including nicotine gum), some cholesterol lowering agents, and weight loss drugs that cause mal-absorption like Orlistat.

Vitamin Details

You need 15 minutes of summer sun exposure daily to make Vitamin D.

Sunscreen with SPF of 8 or higher blocks skin production of Vitamin D.

Dark-skinned people are often deficient in Vitamin D as skin pigment decreases UVB penetration.

It takes a darkly pigmented person 4-5 times more sun exposure to get the same amount of Vitamin D.

Ability to synthesize Vitamin D decreases by 75% after age 70.

Obese people may be deficient since Vitamin D is stored in fat and is less available to other cells in the body.

Know where you stand. Get your Vitamin D level tested once a year with a simple blood test. If your level is very low, you may be given a high dose treatment to take once a week for 8 weeks to build up your level, followed by regular supplements. So get your D while the sun shines—and make sure your supplements are sufficient.

< PREVIOUS COLUMN

NEXT COLUMN >

To comment on the column, email susan@sanjuanislander.com

editor@sanjuanislander.com

About Us | Advertising Info | Contact Us | Privacy Policy