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Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:54 am  |
I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on this issue.
I recently had my Vitamen D levels tested. Since I spend lots of time outdoors (I garden)I was not at all worried about how my levels would be. I KNEW I would have ample VitD!
Well, friends, my level was deficient! Since I am a woman of a certain age, lol, bone health is an issue for me, so to be deficient is a huge concern. I now take 50,000 iu twice a month.
My doctor told me that they are starting to see many women, even young ones, who are deficient or insufficient in VitD, because we slather ourselves up with sunscreen every time we are outdoors!
One dose of VitD, and I feel like I have been reborn. My energy levels are up and my itchy skin doesn't itch anymore!
If you are a chronic sunscreen user like me, please mention this to your dr next visit! It might be worth a quick blood test! |
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58, minimal wrinkles, some sagging, currently using, Clairisonic, Tua Trend, SafeTox and Face Focus! |
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Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:23 pm |
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| Therefore Mercola recommends that caucasian people spend 20 minutes, 3 x week outdoors with at least 40% of their bodies uncovered. |
In case anyone is interested, the amount of sun that you need to get sufficient vitamin D depends on your skin color (hugely determines how much time you need to spend in the sun), time of year, time of day, and latitude.
The best layperson's guide to this is Dr. Holick's "The UV Advantage". He has tables so you can look up how much time you need to spend in the sun. For example, in the peak of summer around mid-day, I need to stay out in the sun for 10 minutes 2-3 times a week to make enough vitamin D, but in late fall, in the morning, it would be more like 30-40 minutes 2-3 a week (with > 25% of my body exposed).
When I don't follow his sun tables--which are terrific by the way, I highly recommend them-- and can't get out to get enough sun, I supplement with vitamin D. |
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34 y.o. FlexEffect and massage. Love experimenting with DIY and botanical skin care products. Appreciate both hard science and natural approaches. Eat green smoothies + lots of raw fruit and veggies. |
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Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:41 am |
Okay, so I'm typing it up again… but am shortening it substantially...
Hey DarkMoon
It's great to see you back 
Yes, Dr. Holick provides really detailed and excellent advice in his book, "The UV Advantage":
http://www.amazon.com/UV-ADVANTAGE-Michael-F-Holick/dp/1596879009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330702162&sr=8-1
He says that you need to expose about 25% of your body to the sun 2-3 times a week for an amount of time listed in his sun tables. 25% of your body corresponds to exposing your arms and legs, or your hands, arms, and face.
To figure out how long you need to be outside, you need to know:
* Your skin type (types 1-6)
* Your geographical location/latitude (he breaks the world into 4 regions: Tropics, Subtropics, Mid-Latitudes, and High latitudes)
* Time of day
* Month of the year (this is roughly broken down into the four seasons, e.g., Spring is Mar-May)
The 6 Skin Types are:
Type 1 Skin: "I always burn, never tan, and am fair with red or blond hair and freckles (albinos, some redheads)."
Type 2 Skin: "I easily burn, hardly get tan, and am fair-skinned (people of northern European origin, such as Scandinavians or Celts)."
Type 3 Skin: "I occasionally burn and gradually tan (people of Mediterranean and Middle East origin)."
Type 4 Skin: "I rarely burn and always tan (people of East Asian origin and some Indians and Pakistanis)."
Type 5 Skin: "I seldom burn, always tan, and have medium-to-dark skin (people of African origin, South East Asians, and some Indians and Pakistanis)."
Type 6 Skin: "I never burn and tan darkly (people with "blue-black" skin, of African origin, and dark-skinned Asians such as Tamils) ."
For example, in Anchorage, Alaska, during the fall month of September, if you want to get enough sunlight to make vitamin D by being outside between 3 - 5 pm, you need the following amounts of sun each time you go out:
Type 1 Skin: 20 - 25 minutes
Type 2 Skin: 25 - 40 minutes
Type 3 Skin: 30 - 50 minutes
Type 4 Skin: 45 - 60 minutes
Type 5 - 6 Skin: 60 - 90 minutes
And you need this amount 2-3 times per week.
However, if you are vacationing in Honolulu, Hawaii, during the summer and want to go out at noon-ish, then you need
Type 1 Skin: 1 - 5 minutes
Type 2 Skin: 2 - 8 minutes
Type 3 Skin: 5 - 10 minutes
Type 4 Skin: 10 - 15 minutes
Type 5 - 6 Skin: 15 - 20 minutes
2-3 times per week. So you can see how dramatically the amount of sunlight you need to produce vitamin D varies by your location, the time of day, and time of year (not to mention, your skin color)!
And he says you need to do this for all periods listed in the chart, and then you will have enough vitamin D year-round (including during the winter, when you can't get vitamin D from the sun, but your fat cells will releases some of the vitamin D you have stored during the other months).
I find his recommendations to be very reasonable. He is only recommending a very moderate and reasonable amount of sunshine, as you can also see from his quite pale skin and lack of obvious sun damage in the photo of him on his website (the link that Claudia posted).
Dr. Holick also says that if you don't do this and follow his safe sun tables, then you should supplement by taking 1000 IU of vitamin D daily.
Another benefit of the tables is that if you double (or for some people, triple) the numbers in the table, that provides a great estimate of how long you can get away with being outside without sunscreen before you start turning red. I find this to be amazingly helpful in preventing redness (that very mild "burn") or sunburn when traveling or vacationing to new areas. As soon as I hit 2 (or sometimes 3) times the number in the table, I either put on sunscreen, cover up, or go inside. I've only got redness once since then, despite being in the tropics a few times over the past few years, and that was only during a boating trip when my sunscreen washed off my legs from the spray more quickly than I expected. So it's invaluable for having an estimate of your sun tolerance on vacation / going to the beach, too!
I hope this helps |
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34 y.o. FlexEffect and massage. Love experimenting with DIY and botanical skin care products. Appreciate both hard science and natural approaches. Eat green smoothies + lots of raw fruit and veggies. |
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Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:42 pm |
| cm5597 wrote: |
| P.S. Plus, if you are getting your dose of sunlight by wearing a bikini, Dr. Holick says that you can take the times listed in the table, and divide them by three to figure out how much sun you need to get adequate vitamin D production. So you can reduce the amount of sun that a given area of your body gets by exposing more of your body. HTH |
OH I just lay naked in the back by my pool in Florida, after 4 kids and at 58!  .....SURE!
In all seriousness thanks for all the great information you posted cm, much appreciated. I think I might just have to splurge on this book!
Great to see you again!  |
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I'LL SEE YOU ON THE DARKSIDE OF THE MOON.... |
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Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:46 am |
| littlepleasance wrote: |
| So it's possible to overdose on vitamin d supplements? I have merely assumed that I have to be vitamin d deficient and take about 3 x 2000 IU pills three times a week. Is this excessive? |
I suppose it's possible to overdose, but you can probably make an educated guess based on your skintone, your latitude, your intake, and your UVB exposure over the last year or so. High vitamin D can be just as harmful as low: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807EFDC143BF930A25750C0A9649D8B63 |
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30-ish, sensitive fair skin, oily and acne-prone, faded freckles; tretinoin since Oct 2010 |
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