Everywhere you look this month, someone seems to be talking about Vitamin D. Good Morning America, Parenting Magazine, and numerous news organizations have focused on the possible benefits of the vitamin your body produces itself, yet most people seem to lack.
All this attention has led to some confusion. South Jersey Healthcare outpatient dietitian Deborah Stump helped shine some light on vitamin D last week by answering more than a dozen questions submitted to The Daily Journal’s Healthline.
“It’s a big topic right now,” said Stump. She added that recent studies have linked vitamin D to everything from diabetes to cancer prevention.
What is it?
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and form bone. It also strengthens the immune system.
How do I get it?
Getting vitamin D is as easy as going outside. Your skin turns UVB rays from sunlight into vitamin D. It also is found in most multi-vitamin supplements, stand-alone supplements, and in “fortified” foods such as milk and some fruit juices and cereals.
So, if it’s so easy to get, why are more than half of children and some 65 percent of adults not getting enough?
Turns out, according to Stump, some generally-accepted, healthy habits have had the unintended consequence of restricting vitamin D. The first: sunscreen.
“You need 10-20 minutes of sun exposure three times a week,” she said, adding that the exposure should come between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the sun is strongest. Sunscreen, of course, blocks those rays.
And yes, you have to go outside.
“One question asked if you can get sunlight through glass,” Stump said. “Glass lets about 78 percent of UVA rays through,” she said, “but it blocks all but about 5 percent of the important UVB rays. So, you have to get outside.”
Stump added that people should spend a little more time outside during the winter months, when the sun is not as strong.
Vitamin D took another hit as people moved away from eating saturated fats.
“As people started eating more poly and unsaturated fats, we saw a decrease in vitamin D,” she said.
How much do I need?
This was the most common Healthline question.
The Dietary Reference Intake for vitamin D is 200 International Units per day for kids and adults up to age 50, but that is being hotly debated. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 400 IU per day, and a quick check of a bottle of One-A-Day vitamins says that 400 IU covers 100 percent of my daily requirement.
Stump said even that may not be enough.
“There is a lot of research supporting 800-1,000 IU of Vitamin D per day,” she said.
What’s the use?
So why so much interest in vitamin D? Well, besides forming bone and helping the immune system, Stump said there is an association between vitamin D deficiency and Type 1 and 2 diabetes. Also, there is evidence that vitamin D can fight prostate, breast, and colon cancers as well as fight depression and improve cardio-vascular health.
Tags: cancer prevention, cereals, dietitian, dozen questions, fortified foods, fruit juices, good morning america, healthy habits, immune system, jersey healthcare, multi vitamin, parenting magazine, saturated fats, sun exposure, Sunscreen, unintended consequence, uva rays, uvb rays, vitamin d, vitamin supplements