Where does Vitamin D come from?
Vitamin D is created when ultraviolet light from the sun strikes the skin. UV light is usually only present at mid-day. Just a small change in your schedule could result in a large reduction in vitamin D. The only food that naturally contains significant vitamin D is fish liver. Our stone-age ancestors were hunter/gatherers or farmers and spent most of their time in the sun without a lot of clothes! Today, we get very little sun and use sun-block when we do. Our ancestors got ten times the amount of vitamin D we do today. Could Vitamin D be one of the Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue? Chronic fatigue usually starts in one of three ways. It can start with a sudden illness. This is the case of Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand. In other cases, people slowly go down hill over a period of many months. In yet other cases, it can be a combination of a gradual and sudden onset. This is what happened to me. I had been slowly going downhill for nine months. I was then given tetracycline for an
A. Since our bodies have the ability to make vitamin D, it is not technically a vitamin, but falls more in the category of a steroid-like hormone that just needs a jumpstart from sunshine. The problem is that most of us aren’t getting enough UVB rays to generate sufficient vitamin D. Here are some interesting points: • During the summer, 10 minutes of exposure of your hands and face (without sunscreen) provides about 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D3. A young person whose entire body is exposed to simulated sunlight produces the equivalent of 10,000-25,000 IU of vitamin D taken orally. • Don’t worry about getting too much vitamin D from sunlight. The same UVB rays that help make vitamin D will also destroy what is not absorbed quickly enough. • Wearing sunscreen blocks your body’s ability to make vitamin D. • People living north of the 37th degree-latitude line don’t get enough UVB rays in winter. A good rule of thumb is that you don’t get enough during the seasons when your s
Vitamin D can be made by the skin from sunlight. We usually do not get enough vitamin D from the sun because of sunscreens and our northern climate. Therefore, it is difficult to rely on the sun to get enough vitamin D. Diet and supplements are needed to make sure you get the needed amount. Vitamin D supplements are available at pharmacies, supermarkets and health food stores. NOTE: For vitamin D to work, you must get enough calcium every day. See the calcium chart for recommended quantities. Reading the label Food or supplements will list the amount of vitamin D in percentage (%) per serving. It is important to check the serving size to find out how much food or supplements provides the amount of vitamin D needed. To determine the IU amount, drop the % and multiply by 4.
The body’s main source (80-100%) of Vitamin D is UV Light from the sun. The brain produces more of the mood-lifting chemical serotonin on sunny days than cloudy days. Indoor tanning provides a level of control that cannot be obtained outdoors. You are 80% less likely to sunburn outdoors if you’ve already built up a base tan.
