Most of us don’t need an excuse to go soak up some rays on the beach during the summer months, but now you can have one if you want an excuse to give your boss. Vitamin D is created when our skin is exposed to the ultraviolet B that the sun provides. This fat-soluble vitamin is incredibly important to the functioning of our body. 

As I stated earlier, our skin can produce some vitamin D and this can meet at least some of the USDA recommended daily requirement. The caveat to this is you need to be outside to get this advantage. Research has found that sunlight that is filtered through windows doesn’t create the reaction on our skin. This doesn’t give you an excuse to go out and not put on sunscreen though. It only takes about 30 minutes exposed to direct sunlight to get our vitamin D. The moral to the story is you don’t have to go very long at all without sunscreen on.

Vitamin D plays a large role in the bones and calcium absorption. If you are deficient in vitamin D this can increase your chances for osteoporosis later in life. Our immune system also requires vitamin D.  This helps us fight both microbes and research is showing possibly influenza. Other research is starting to link vitamin D to both heart health and also our bodies ability to fight cancer. This research has a long way to go but the initial indications are thought provoking.

People who suffer from kidney problems, milk and egg allergies, and strict vegetarians are the most likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D can easily be absorbed from food sources such as fatty fish (tuna and salmon), eggs, meat, and fortified milk. Vitamin D can also be found in mass in uv irradiated mushrooms.  You can get 100% of the USDA recommended value simply by eating these mushrooms.

Deficiencies in Vitamin D have symptoms that mainly revolve around the bones for example rickets has been commonly seen in those who suffer from vitamin D deficiency because vitamin D plays a role in calcium absorption.

So get out and soak up a little bit of sun.  With vitamin D being so important to our systems, it is well worth your time to get sunlight.

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