During these winter months, many of us don’t get much “outside time” regardless of whether we live in Arizona or Minnesota.

 

While decreasing exposure to sunlight may be better for our skin in the long run, it can be not so good for the rest of our bodies. You see, humans need sunlight to convert vitamin D from the nutritional form to its active form. That means that we need adequate sunlight for the healthy function of our bodies. Experts recommend 15-20 minutes of direct sunlight per day as healthy and safe.

 

Sunlight alone is inadequate if we don’t have enough of the nutritional vitamin D around to convert. Low levels of vitamin D are more common than you might think. Getting tested by your Doctor, as a regular check- up, is easy and inexpensive.

 

Low vitamin D levels have been linked to a whole list of ailments including osteopenia, depression, nerve pain and some cancers, especially of the colon.

Getting our vitamins naturally, through our diet is best of course. Eggs, cold water fish such as salmon and dairy contain lots of good ol “D”. Supplementing our vitamin D by getting 1-2 thousand units per day is safe, easy and inexpensive. Overdoing it is possible, as D is a fat-soluble vitamin unlike vitamins B and C, but unlikely.