Sun Bathing isn’t the only source of vitamin d
The sun is out and Summer is finally here. Most of us relate summer and sun to soaking up those rays and feeding our body with vitamin D. What most of us don’t realize is that the realistic amount of sun each individual truly needs to reap the benefits of vitamin D is extreme.
Depending on your skin tone and ethnic background, we need 45 minutes to 3 hours of sun exposure to truly get the benefits of vitamin D for our bodies. At that amount of time it can be tricky to protect your skin and not be exposed to harmful rays. As a very fair skin girl I always grew up spraying myself all over with sunscreen multiple times in a day just to ensure I wouldn’t burn, but still hoping for some sort of tan. Because everyone looks better tan right? Well thats what I thought, but another fun fact is that although putting sunscreen on can reduce your risk of harmful rays, it also reduces the ability of your body to synthesize vitamin D.
Okay, so what am I really trying to tell you? Overall the sun is not always enough when it comes to the amount of vitamin D our bodies truly need. Vitamin D aids in the prevention of some cancers, osteoporosis, depression, diabetes, and obesity. This makes it vital to make sure we are providing ourselves with enough.
We can do this by diet and natural supplementation. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, which means it needs fat to be absorbed. Although you need to watch your mercury intake, fatty fish such as tuna, salmon, mackerel, and sardines are all good options to add into your diet. Those of you who can tolerate dairy and eggs can add certain yogurts, cheese and eggs into your diet. As far as natural supplementation, it is best to consult with your doctor to see what the adequate dosage would be based on your bio-individuality.
Overall I’m not saying to stay out of the sun, go get yourselves to the beach and soak it up. Our bodies naturally feel better when we are outside and enjoying what our earth provides. Use your sunblock, and just know that you could still use some more vitamin D in your life.