Is sunlight exposure for vitamin D deficiency necessary?

General
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We have often heard people say “Go sit in sunlight and you will get Vitamin D”.
But do we know how much vitamin D do we actually get from sitting in sunlight?

The prevalence of Vitamin D in general population is about 70-100%. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to very high prevalence of rickets, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and infections such as tuberculosis.

Symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency are explained in the picture below

Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency447×447 43.6 KB

Sunlight is the natural source of Vitamin D, often called as “sunshine vitamin”.
When the sun rays hit the skin, 7-dehydrocholesterol in skin absorbs UVB radiation and is converted to pre-vitamin D3 which in turn isomerizes into active vitamin D3 in the liver and kidneys.

Usually 5-30 mins of direct exposure to sunlight without sunscreen, three times per week is sufficient to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D in the body. People with a darker skin tone may need a little more time in the sunlight as the melanin production in their skin is high which acts like a natural sunscreen. The best time for sunlight exposure is at noon or midday typically between 10 am to 2 pm.

Sunlight is great for the body but excessive sunlight exposure can lead to- sunburns, eye damage, aging of the skin, heat stroke and skin cancer.

Factors that affect the UV radiation exposure and vitamin D synthesis are season, time and length of day, clouds, environmental pollution, melanin content, and sunscreen. Thus after careful consideration of these factors sunlight exposure time and duration may vary.

How much sunlight exposure do you get in a day and is it really possible to get 30 mins of sunlight exposure in your busy work-life schedule?

MBH/AB

2 Likes
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The science is clear- but how realistic is 30 minutes of midday sun for someone working indoors all day? Maybe the bigger conversation is about diet and supplements for those who genuinely can’t get enough exposure. Great post!

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I live in latvia and it gets very little sun for more than half of the year so getting sunlight exposure is difficult for me. People living in such kinds of places have to check vit D levels regularly and take supplements or try to include them in diet although that is not enough. I try to get some sunlight exposure but I take vit D supplements too

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Vitamin D deficiency is getting so common these days and due to hectic lifestyle,people are not getting sunlight exposure properly hence food rich in vitamin D should also be added

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Yes, 30 minutes of sunlight exposure is enough to get the vitamin D exposure from sunlight.Vitamin d deficiency is prevalent among many people due to modern lifestyle habits.