How Long To Get Vitamin D Levels Up From Sun
So how many minutes of sunshine would you need during a summer day around noon.
How long to get vitamin d levels up from sun. Your skin produces more than 10 000 iu vitamin d with just 30 minutes summer sun exposure in a bathing suit without sunscreen. So hold off that shower. After that follow up with good sun protection like a 30 spf or higher sunblock. The vitamin d council says that in as little as 15 minutes for a fair skinned person the body can produce 10 000 to 25 000 iu of vitamin d.
My friend and colleague vitamin d researcher michael f. The problem is too many people think that using sunscreen and other forms of sun protection leads to vitamin d deficiency and that the best way to obtain enough of the vitamin is through. Holick m d ph d has just published a valuable book on the importance of vitamin d to health and how you can use diet supplements and sensible sun exposure to avoid or overcome a deficiency which we now know is common worldwide. It s the vitamin d3 component of vitamin d that your skin produces when combined with sunshine.
This is the equivalent of about 20 to 30 minutes of sun exposure without sunscreen three times a week if you have fair skin. Myself and many other experts agree that an ideal range for vitamin d in healthy individuals is between 1 000 and 2 000 iu daily. The sun s ultraviolet b uvb rays interact with a protein called 7 dhc in the skin converting it into vitamin d3 the active form of vitamin d. According to the vitamin d council this.
However that creates a big dilemma because darker skinned people need to spend longer in the sun than lighter skinned people to produce the same amount of vitamin d. It is also recommended not to shower for 20 to 30 minutes after sunbathing for the skin to produce vitamin d. Allow 10 to 15 minutes or so of unprotected sun exposure to your arms legs abdomen and back. The sun is our best natural source of vitamin d.
He has developed a formula by which we all can calculate how much sun exposure we need based on skin. Most people can make enough vitamin d from being out in the sun daily for short periods with their forearms hands or lower legs uncovered and without sunscreen from late march or early april to the end of september especially from 11am to 3pm. How much time you need in the sun depends on the time of day season where you live and skin color.