Vitamin D: Sunshine and So Much More

(Page 4 of 6)

February/March 2008
By Linda B. White, M.D. 
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Sunscreens also block UVB waves, the wavelength that stimulates the skin’s vitamin D production. According to Michael F. Holick, M.D., Ph.D., of the Boston University School of Medicine, a sunblock with SPF 8 reduces the skin’s vitamin D production by 95 percent. “If you wear sunscreen ‘properly,’ you’ll become vitamin D deficient,” he says.

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But what about skin cancer? Despite increased sunscreen usage, skin cancer rates have risen. One reason is that, until recently, sunscreens didn’t impede deeply penetrating UVA light, and presumably, our false sense of security led to more time in the sun and an increase in skin cancer.

What should you do? “Be sensible,” Holick advises. “Know your own skin sensitivity.” For instance, if you turn pink after 30 minutes in the summer sun, thenspending five to 10 minutes (in a bathing suit) in the sun should generate plenty of vitamin D. After that, apply sunscreen, cover up and seek shade.

Eat D-licious foods. Only a few foods contain much vitamin D. Sources of vitamin D include cod liver oil (1,360 IU per tablespoon); oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel (about 350 IU per 3.5 ounces); eggs (about 20 IU per yolk); and fortified milk, soy milk and orange juice (98 IU per 8-ounce serving). (We’re testing pasture-raised chicken eggs for vitamin D as part of our 2007 egg testing project. See October/November 2007 for the initial results. — Mother) 

Shiitake mushrooms can be an exceptional source of vitamin D, as noted in research published in Paul Stamets’ book, Mycelium Running. Shiitake mushrooms grown and dried indoors have only 110 IU of vitamin D per 100 grams. But when the shiitakes were dried in the sun, the vitamin D content rose to 21,400 IUs per 100 grams. Even more surprising, when the mushrooms were dried with their gills facing up toward the sun, their content rose to 46,000 IU!

Take supplemental D. Most North Americans can’t maintain healthy blood levels of D from sunlight and good diet. Therefore, many experts recommend 800 to 1,000 IU a day — several times the government guidelines of 200 to 600 IU.

The exact amount depends upon several things. If you’re dark-skinned or spend little time outdoors, you’ll obviously need more than a Caucasian lifeguard. And if you’re already deficient in vitamin D, you’ll need hefty doses just to get your blood levels up to normal.

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