Vitamin D is sometimes called the “sunshine” vitamin because the body produces it when exposed to sunlight. The dilemma is that many of us are not getting much sunshine because we have been dutifully protecting our skin from the sun. We have been told to avoid the sun or to put on sunscreen each time we go out to prevent getting skin cancer. So what may be happening as a result is that a lot of us are becoming Vitamin D deficient. And I am one of those people.
In the same week I visited both my general practitioner and my dermatologist. Both doctors had something to say about Vitamin D.
My dermatologist gave me a print out of a fact sheet from the American Academy of Dermatology entitled “Don’t Seek the Sun: Top Reasons to Get Vitamin D From Your Diet” which you can view by following the link. My dermatologist made it clear to me that I should not be seeking sunshine to get my Vitamin D.
When I got my annual physical, my GP ordered blood work to test my vitamin levels. And lo and behold I was found to have a Vitamin D deficiency. Makes sense to me. I am very cautious about the sun due to my fair complexion and tendency to freckle and get moles. I rarely if ever sit out in the sun and when I do I slather on the sunscreen.
Here is the letter from my doctor: “Your Vitamin D levels are quite low. This can contribute to a variety of medical conditions (cardiac, bone and mental health issues are commonly related) and is relatively common as it is primarily received through the sun and diet. I recommend 20-30 minutes of ambient sunlight at least 3x/week along with taking 50,000 IU of Vitamin D once a week.”
So basically one doctor is ordering me to avoid the sun and the other doctor is prescribing a three times a week regimen of sun exposure without the use of sunscreen. What is a patient to think or do?
Like many of you I turned to the Internet for information about this topic. All I had to do was stay right here on Health Central to find all sorts of interesting information and resources about Vitamin D and Vitamin D deficiency. I had no idea that a Vitamin D deficiency could cause so many health related problems.
Check out this list:
• “Low Vitamin D Level May Increase Risk of Death”
• Low Vitamin D Levels are linked to Depression.
• Vitamin D is important for good bone health.
• Low levels of Vitamin D are linked to heart disease.
• It is common for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome to be deficient in Vitamin D.
• Carol Bradley Bursack reports that Vitamin D helps with brain functioning on Our Alzheimer’s site.
• Last but not least, David Mendosa of our Diabetes site reports in his post, “How Much Vitamin D?”that: “Too little vitamin D is also linked to diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and breast cancer and prostate cancer, according to the February 2006 issue of “The Johns Hopkins Medical Letter.”
