Vitamin D Benefits from Sun Exposure - Pt 1 of 3

Vitamin D could very well be the most important nutritional you don't know about.  This past Thurs I had the privilege of watching a lecture given by Dr. Myron Wentz regarding vitamin d benefits.  And what I learned was, in a word, amazing.  This will be the first of a 3-part blog series to relay what I learned from this lecture.

First off, Dr. Myron Wentz is an internationally recognized microbiologist, immunologist, and pioneer in the development of human cell culture technology and infectious disease diagnoses.  He developed the first commercially available test for diagnosing infection with the Epstein-Barr virus...better known as Mono.


In today's world, we have been told that any exposure to the sun could result in sun burn and/or skin cancer.  And so we lather on sunscreen to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of the sun.  However, by doing that we are missing out on some extremely beneficial effects of the sun.  In fact, Dr. Wentz stated, "The sun is as essential to your body as oxygen".  In addition, this fear of the sun has resulted in a large majority of the population to be vitamin D deficient.


What does the sun have to do with vitamin D?  We get most of our vitamin D from the sun...specifically the ultraviolet light.  Our body transforms the light and creates vitamin D.  In fact, a mere 15-30min of exposure to the sun when it is at its highest point in the sky results in approximately 15,000-20,000 IU of vitamin D.  To put this in perspective, the recommended daily value of vitamin D (as given by the FDA) is only 400 IU/day.  But don't worry...it is impossible to overdose on vitamin D.


Now, maybe you have heard from various individuals that we can get all the vitamins and minerals we need from what we eat.  That depends upon your definition of "need", but for now let's see what it takes to obtain 15,000-20,000IU of vitamin D from our diet:


To get this amount of vitamin D from your diet, you would need to eat:

• 30 cans of sardines OR
• 100-200 glasses of milk OR
• 100-200 bowls of fortified cereal OR
• 500-1000 egg yolks

I don't know about you, but there is no way I could eat that amount of food.  So, I would much rather get that amount from the sun. If you are an individual who immediately puts sunscreen on before going out, remember this.  Putting on just an SPF-15 sunblock will reduce the amount of vitamin D your body produces by 90%!!!  Instead, spend some time in the sun without sunblock first to get your vitamin D benefits before putting on sunscreen.


As I said, this is the first of a three part series.  There is literally too much information to include in just one blog, and I just wanted to provide a foundation.  In the next two parts of the series, I will cover specific benefits of vitamin D, including protection from the flu.  You'll be interested to hear about some physicians now recommending vitamin D supplements over the seasonal flu shot.  We will also cover the differences in teens who have adequate amounts of vitamin D vs. teens who do not.  Benefits of supplementing your diet with vitamin D.  Studies on the effects of vitamin D and MS.  And many more points.  Stay tuned.


To Your Health