There has been a lot of talk lately about Vitamin D and the controversy on what it does, how much you need, and how to get it. Let me set it all straight for you.
Vitamin D is extremely essential for your body and skin; it helps with everything from maintaining your eye function to helping with the absorption of other vitamins into your body. It is also one of the main vitamins that help with your bones, teeth, and nails, and it also provides your body and skin with heavy anti-carcinogen and antioxidant properties. Vitamin D is also widely used to treat psoriasis.
Sunlight is the main form of getting your daily dose of Vitamin D because the ultra violet light hits your unprotected skin and gets absorbed into your body where your kidneys and liver convert it into minerals that your body can utilize. Now this is where we get into some controversy – they are telling us to let your skin go unprotected each day to get your vitamin D, but you have most likely heard to never go outside without putting on your sunscreen first. Well – there can be a happy medium – you only need 5-10 minutes per day of unprotected sun exposure to get enough vitamin D so this should not be long enough to let your skin get damaged or burned – just make sure that you do apply sunscreen before going out for longer periods of time.
Sun exposure is the best form of getting your vitamin D but there are some foods you can eat and supplements you can take if you really don’t want to sit in the sun for any period of time unprotected, or if you live in an area where it is dark for long periods of time and your body is not able to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D through sunlight. Milk is generally fortified with Vitamin D – double check the label but if you drink a few cups a day this should be enough to protect you. Salmon, tuna, and sardines are all very good sources of Vitamin D so add those to your diet as well.
So, drink your morning tea on your porch and get your daily dose of vitamin D to help your skin and body, but then be sure to go apply your sunscreen before going out for the day to protect your skin from the sun’s heavy rays.