Are You Getting ENOUGH Sunlight?
I hope, by now, you’ve learned to IGNORE all the sun haters out there.
The world is literally suffering and dying from a LACK of vitamin D. And, of course, sunlight is your primary, #1 source of this life-saving nutrient.
But how much sun do you need for optimal vitamin D—and when is the best time to get it?
Let’s dive in…
The short answer to the question of how much sunlight you need is… It depends.
It depends on where you live, how old you are, your skin tone, and the season of the year.
Where you live and the time of year, affects how much vitamin D you’ll make from sunlight at any given time.
The farther away from the equator, the longer you need to spend in the sun to get enough vitamin D.
You see, when you expose your skin to sunlight, the UVB rays interact with cholesterol-like fat in your skin cells.
This ultimately converts a protein called 7-DHC into vitamin D3, the active form of vitamin D.
Because vitamin D status is SO critical for overall health—and because the amount you get from the sun varies so much, I recommend two things:
- Download the D Minder app for your phone.
This app tracks the sun at your specific location and tells you when you can get vitamin D—and how long you’ll need to spend in the sun to get enough.
It also factors in your age, skin tone, whether you’re taking vitamin D supplements, and more.
- Get your vitamin D levels tested periodically.
This way, you’ll know for sure if you’re hitting your target or not.
The typical goal for vitamin D is a level greater than 30 ng/L. But I like to aim for an optimal value. And that’s greater than 50 ng/L.
If you decided to skip my earlier suggestions, I’d aim for 15-30 minutes of sunlight during the middle of the day—from about 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.—when the UVB rays are the strongest.
P.S. Not having your D levels tested regularly? The next best thing is to look for common warning signs. CLICK HERE for the TOP 4 RED FLAGS of a vitamin deficiency.
SOURCE:
“Recommended summer sunlight exposure levels can produce sufficient (> or =20 ng ml(-1)) but not the proposed optimal (> or =32 ng ml(-1)) 25(OH)D levels at UK latitudes.” J Invest Dermatol. 2010 May;130(5):1411-8. doi: 10.1038/jid.2009.417.
