Did you know you can boost your vitamin D levels with sunshine and improve your health at the same time? You may be deficient in this vitamin and not know it. For example, because of recent about Vitamin D, I began taking 1,000 IUs of vitamin D in January. Then I vacationed in February in sunny Hilton Head, where I began reading Textbook of Bio-Identical Hormones by Dr. Edward Lichten. In the Vitamin D chapter, he wrote that he took 5,000 IUs of Vitamin D3 daily for a year to resolve his insomnia.
Since I had experienced insomnia, I started taking 2,000 IU of D3. Yet my blood test for 25-hydroxy Vitamin D came back in late March at 28 ng/ml, marked “INSUFFICENT.” Was I was ever surprised! Dr. Lichten writes that vitamin D sufficiency begins at 30 ng/ml, and optimum levels are 50-55 ng/ml. Fortunately, vitamin D supplementation is cheap; 2,000 IU capsules of Carlson’s vitamin D3 cost 6 cents/day!

Obviously I plan to continue with 2,000 IU daily and get sunshine to rebuild my vitamin D stores before winter. At the end of the summer, I will have another vitamin D blood test.

Are You at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency?
Risk factors for vitamin D deficiency include being over age 60, living in a long-term care facility without getting outside, working indoors during most daylight hours, being overweight, residing during winter in northern latitudes (like Detroit, Denver, Seattle, Boston), taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, and living with many days of grey skies or air pollution.
At a recent Vitamin D Symposium, William Grant, PhD, reported that persons over age 60 produce only 25% of natural vitamin D from sun exposure that persons under age 20 make! No wonder health often declines when people age. At the same conference, Bruce Hollis, PhD, said the amount of vitamin D that a Caucasian makes in 20 minutes takes an African-American 120 minutes. He reported that over 42% of African-American women are deficient in vitamin D compared to 4% of Caucasian women.

Vitamin D Fights Many Health Challenges
Vitamin D had a multitude of health benefits. According to the “Uncensored Family Guide to Vitamin D” by Bill Sardi, found at http://www.lifespannutrition.com/30MinutesSunshine.pdf, Vitamin D will help your body
? Reverse hardening of the arteries to reduce risk for heart attack
? Fight infections
? Strengthen your resistance to cancer
? Rebuild bones
? Decrease cavities in persons of all ages.
? Improve your mood
? Protect against falls, broken hips, and loss of balance
? Reduce risk for weight gain
For even more information, download the report at the link listed above.

Use Sunshine to Store Vitamin D Now
According to Dr. Robert Heaney, one hour of outdoor sunshine in a bathing suit or shorts around 11 am produces about 10,000 IU of Vitamin D. You may make less if you are older than 60 or have dark skin. Compare that to 400 IUs in a multivitamin or 1,000 IU in a vitamin D3 capsule. Obviously, you can increase vitamin D levels faster by having fun in the sun. Since your body uses up half of your vitamin D in 15 to 30 days, you need regular sun exposure to accumulate vitamin D for winter. Dr. Heaney says you need vitamin D blood levels of 50 ng/ml before you begin to store this vitamin.

Dr. David Williams, editor of Alternatives newsletter, suggests you get 30 minutes of summer sunshine without sunscreen, long sleeves, or hats, at least three times a week before 11 am or after 3 pm, so you make vitamin D but avoid skin cancer. The good news is that you can’t overdose on Vitamin D made by sunshine.
For safe sun exposure, Dr. Joseph Mercola, at www.mercola.com, recommends going out into the sun gradually, starting with about 10 minutes/day. Increase your time slowly, until you spend an hour in sunshine. He recommends staying out of the sun during the harmful times from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During those hours, he suggests being in the shade or wearing long-sleeve shirts, long pants, and a wide-brim hat.

If you must be out in the sun for long periods of time, both physicians advocate avoiding sunburn and using sunscreen. Be aware, however, that SPF-8 sunscreen blocks 95% of Vitamin D synthesis, so you need some sun exposure without using sunscreen if you want to produce Vitamin D.

Hopefully, I’ll see you outdoors soon!

© Sandy Baumann, 2008

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Sandy Baumann, M.S., is an author and professional speaker. To engage her services, email sandybaumann@hotmail.com. See www.FeedYourBrain.org for more information.