The federal government recommends 200 IU daily of vitamin D for most adults, 400 IU for those 51 and older. Some other researchers, including the authors, believe those amounts are far below what's needed to prevent chronic disease.
Sunlight is the most efficient way to get vitamin D. These and other researchers have recommended 10 to 15 minutes of careful exposure to the sun most days, less for fair-skinned people, more for darker-skinned people.
The question of sunlight exposure is very controversial, especially among skin cancer specialists, who regularly see the damage, disease and death that results from excessive sun exposure. Many of these medical professionals argue for increasing vitamin D levels via dietary supplements rather than sun exposure.
Learn more
A thorough, dispassionate and evidence-based report on vitamin D is available from the National Institues of Health's Office of Dietary
Supplements. Another excellent source on Vitamin D, authored by the Natural Standard, is available. If you want to understand the scientific evidence about D, these documents are the best starting points.
Our own author and breast cancer survivor, PJ Hamel, wrote an excellent SharePost on vitamin D just last week.
The American Cancer Society last year put together a very good report on both risks and benefits of vitamin D relative to cancer.
For a dermatologist's perspective, check in with our medical expert in skin cancer, Dr. Kevin Berman.
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