How much sunlight exposure does a person need?

I rarely go outside anymore, what is a good amount of time I go out in the sun for?

20 minutes of direct sunlight is sufficient.

Every day?

Yes that is every day. There are a couple stipulations to the 20 minute rule. For one thing it must be at the hottest point of the day, between 10 am and 2 pm. If it is at a cooler time of day you need to be in the sun longer. Also, 20 minutes is for whites with less melanin in their skin. The darker your skin the longer you need to be in the sun to get the same amount of vitamin D. Also, for the skin to absorb most of the vitamin D, you cannot wash the sun-exposed areas with soap for 48 hours.

As soon as your skin starts to turn pink--that's when it's time to seek cover and you've probably absorbed some 15,000 to 20,000 IUs at that point.

One serious problem is that sunlight exposure may not count for many months in the year if you live too far away from the equator and that's probably most of us here!

For example, according to a 2008 study of 637 southern Arizona residents, only 22.3 percent achieved "normal"
25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of more than 30 nanograms per milliliter. Understand that 30 nanograms per milliliter is the minimum considered adequate for good health and the optimal range is 60-100 nanograms per milliliter.

In hot places like Arizona a lot of people spend time indoors to protect shield themselves from the heat. Arizona is actually over 3000 miles north of the equator, which means that during when Earth’s northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun for several months out of the year, there won't be any vitamin D producing rays available.

The solution is during non-producing vitamin D sunshine months, taking a 5,000 IU supplement is probably the way to go.

Stop it IH, it was freaking 114 here today in Phoenix - nice and crispy...

20 minutes a day without sunscreen or heliocare/Polypodium leucotomos? Even though I take other antioxidants, I'm still afraid of sun damage. Doesn't all the sun exposure add up over the years, then when you are older your skin will start to take its toll?

It's a bit of a scare tactic IME. If you get quality antioxidants you should be fine IMO.

Krill oil for it's astaxanthin content would be good. Tocotrienols also. Hyaluronic acid as well.



Here's an article on selenium. http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Selenium-may-counter-summer-sun

"Increasing levels of selenium in the diet could protect the skin against damage caused by ultraviolet rays from the sun, suggests new research from Edinburgh University in Scotland"


BTW, beware of the toxins in sunscreen.

j87x wrote:20 minutes a day without sunscreen or heliocare/Polypodium leucotomos? Even though I take other antioxidants, I'm still afraid of sun damage. Doesn't all the sun exposure add up over the years, then when you are older your skin will start to take its toll?

I've noticed that since being on IHs regime I don't burn as easily. To further test the anti-oxidant theory I bought some Astaxanthin this summer. Supposedly 1 pill is good for 4 hours of protection. Anyway I went to North Carolina and went out during the hottest portion of the day for 5 hours without any sunscreen on. The first four hours went by and I didn't even turn pink. This is pretty amazing for me since I am fair skinned and usually burn easily. Anyhow I didn't get a chance to take another pill so after the last hour in the sun I started to turn pink.

Which is better, Astaxanthin or Polypodium leucotomos?

is taking vitamin D even neccesary for me? I live in san diego

1..... - Yes, especially in the winter time. Even if you lived in Hawaii you'd still probably need it, unless you work outdoors for a living.

IH- how much vitamin d should I take in the fall and winter? I spend about 30+ minutes a day in the sun and I live in SD.

Thanks

1..... - If you're out in the sun between 10:00am and 3:00pm, then you're probably getting what you need, that is during the summer months. In winter times, there isn't sufficient UVB radiation, regardless of how much you spend outdoors. So in your case you'll want to consider taking around 5,000 IU per day until around March or April.

IH-

You 've mentioned somewhere of an anecdotal report of someone claiming hair regrowth after being on vit D for 3 months with a single dose of 50000 IU /weekly .
Do you think there is a merit in such a high weekly dose or it's better supplementing with like 5000 IU daily?

edony - A 50,000 IU per week is just a rapid way to reach desired levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels which is between 60 and 90 ng. This is a temporary measure when a patient is found to be low, which these days is extremely frequent. In any case, 5,000 IU per day is good for just about everyone and that will build on itself.