Sunscreen and Vitamin D levels
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free skin care · 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!

free skin care · Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:07 am

Some of the symptoms of Vitamen D deficiency or inefficiency are:

Bone pain, chronic backache
Muscle weakness or muscle cramping
Depression
Weakened immune system
Thyroid problems
Chronic fatigue
High blood pressure
And my favorite "mysterious health issues"

I did not experience most of these symptoms, and my levels were extremely low.

free skin care · Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:05 am

Really interesting Kgeaux. Only the other day I was reading an article my Mercola on vitamin D deficiency. It is on the homepage of Mercola dot com. If you type in your e-mail address next to the booklet labeled 'Your free guide to the benefits of sunlight'you can read it for free. It is really interesting.

I too supplement with Vitamin D but, as the article states, it is pretty easy to overdose on Vitamin D unless it comes from sunlight.

Therefore Mercola recommends that caucasian people spend 20 minutes, 3 x week outdoors with at least 40% of their bodies uncovered.

Having recently been told I have major sun damage on my face I do not intend to stop wearing high factor sunscreen on my face. Instead I am just going to make up the 40% from the rest of my body as I think my face has had enough UVA and UVB rays to last a life time.

I keep meaning to put this in to practice but I live in England and it is not so warm this time of year. The neighbours will probably think I am very strange lying on a deck chair, half clad in February lol.

free skin care · Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:21 am

It is such a balancing act to get just the right amount of VitD. I am taking a prescription strength supplement, and will have to have regular blood tests to see if the dose is correct!

I agree that it is so much simpler to expose at least part of our bodies to sunlight daily! I am doing that, too, but it sure goes against everything my derm used to tell me!

Thanks so much for the info about the website. I am going to go read and learn!

free skin care · Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:23 pm

Quote:

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.

free skin care · Thu Mar 01, 2012 8:06 pm

cm5597 wrote:

Quote:

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.

This sounds fantastic cm, most recommendations are so generalized. Is this in a book or is there a web site with the information? One more question is geographical location considered? I am in Florida that's why I ask. Smile

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:25 am

http://www.uvadvantage.org/

Here's his web page. I've been refered to this source a few times.

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:01 am

OMG, I spent a long time typing up a really long response and then I hit submit, and I had to relogin to EDS and my post was gone...vanished...I'm so sad Sad

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:01 am

OMG, I spent a long time typing up a really long response and then I hit submit, and I had to relogin to EDS and my post was gone...vanished...I'm so sad Sad

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:06 am

ClaudiaFE wrote:

http://www.uvadvantage.org/

Here's his web page. I've been refered to this source a few times.

Thank You Claudia! Smile

cm5597 wrote:

OMG, I spent a long time typing up a really long response and then I hit submit, and I had to relogin to EDS and my post was gone...vanished...I'm so sad Sad

That has happened to me many times in the past, sorry cm......I have had trouble with the site loading a few times this morning? Sad

free skin care · 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 Smile

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 Smile

free skin care · Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:04 pm

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 Smile

free skin care · 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 Smile

OH I just lay naked in the back by my pool in Florida, after 4 kids and at 58! Bad Grin

.....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! Very Happy

free skin care · Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:30 pm

Since I tried this product last summer, which actually has vit. D in it as a protection for the skin, and found that my skin actually never got more hyperpigmentation, or burnt, neither got much of a tan though while working the eight hours in and out during the sunlight hours... I'm a bit puzzled about the vit. D issue, whether taking it actually protects the skin, being that the reason why it is produced naturally when one sunbathes, to protect the skin/body... Rolling Eyes

I took this product internally, sorry, I can't find the english version so it is in spanish:
http://www.ifc-spain.com/productos/heliocare®-ultra-d

I don't know what the "Fernblock" ingredient has,... If I find out I'll post it.

free skin care · Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:59 pm

Found that "Fernblock", the main ingredient of the supplement I mentioned above, is Polypodium leucotomos extract.
If anyone interested, there is a lot of information about it on the net, like for instance:

http://www.raysahelian.com/polypodium.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15583582

free skin care · Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:09 pm

ATester wrote:

Found that "Fernblock", the main ingredient of the supplement I mentioned above, is Polypodium leucotomos extract.
If anyone interested, there is a lot of information about it on the net, like for instance:

http://www.raysahelian.com/polypodium.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15583582

Thanks ATester will have a read a bit later. Very Happy

Here are a few articles about the benefits of Vitamin D, I think we are lacking and the suns a great source in correct amounts.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-benefits

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161618.php

free skin care · Mon Mar 19, 2012 11:39 am

Here are a few sources of vitamin D. Many people don't know about all of these sources:

1. Fish (especially fresh salmon, tuna and sardines)

2. Cod liver oil (If you're worried about overdosing on vitamin A, then select CLO that has reduced Vitamin A, such as Carlson or Nordic Naturals) http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=CL-1776

3. Mushrooms. Just as we tan and make vitamin D in the sun, so do mushrooms. You can either expose mushrooms to the sun until it darkens or you can buy Sun Bella mushrooms, which are zapped with UV light. I should mention, however, that mushrooms produce Vitamin D2, which is somewhat less potent than the Vitamin D3 that humans make.

4. Eggs. Eggs contain about 5% of the daily recommeded intake of vitamin D in its yolk. However, some eggs, such as Eggland's Best have nearly 4 times that amount due to a special hen diet.

I hope this was helpful.

For more information, check out this article about how to increase your vitamin D levels: http://www.ehow.com/how_5282002_increase-vitamin-levels.html

free skin care · Mon Mar 19, 2012 5:13 pm

I agree, this is really important. My D levels were checked a year and a half ago, and I was deficient: 19, whereas 20-29 is considered insufficient and 19 and below is deficient. And I was deficient in spite of eating lots of fish and taking codliver oil (600mg/day). To be fair, I had stopped drinking milk for some time.

My French doctor had me supplement 100,000 IU four times over 9 months, and then from July 2011, I took 2000IU a day. Last week I found out that my level is now at 49, yay! (Optimal is 50-80.) So now I think I can back off to about 1000IU/day, and recheck in a year or so.

BTW, if you have your Vit D level tested, be sure to ask for 25(OH)D levels--that's most accurate.

Also, magnesium is essential for optimal D absorption (that's why Cal-Mag-D is a common combo). My favorite magnesium supplement is magnesium malate, because the malic acid can help remove heavy metals that accumulate in the brain, and help reduce anxiety.

Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:04 am

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?

free skin care · 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

free skin care · Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:55 am

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09315.html

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

by J. Anderson and L. Young1 (8/0 Cool

Quick Facts...
Small amounts of vitamins A, D, E and K are needed to maintain good health.
Foods that contain these vitamins will not lose them when cooked.
The body does not need these every day and stores them in the liver when not used.
Most people do not need vitamin supplements.
Megadoses of vitamins A, D, E or K can be toxic and lead to health problems.

It is possible with any fat-soluble vitamins, HOWEVER deviancy of vitamin D is very much more common, especially since we avoid sun exposure, and many do not eat those foods which provide Vitamin D in sufficient quantities if at all.

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