Vitamin D comes from the sun. Everyone knows that.
But whyyyyyy do we need vitamin D? What does it even do?
And most puzzlingly: how do we get vitamin D? We’re humans, not plants.
All these questions occurred to me while I was soaking up that last few rays of summer sun this afternoon. Fun fact: in the UK, you can only actually get vitamin D from the sun in the months of March to September.
First, let’s chat about why you need vitamin D (mostly because how you get it is so much cooler… so keep reading!).
Vitamin D is important because:
+ it makes for strong bones because it helps absorb calcium
+ certain kinds of cancer have been linked to vitamin D deficiency
+ some studies show it can even help with autism and depression
Also who doesn’t love catching a few rays? As for how you actually get vitamin D from the sun…..
(catching the last few rays of summer in Scotland)
… The way that you get vitamin D from the sun is that your skin actually makes it with the help of the sun.
Generally, spending just 10-15 minutes in the sun should be enough time for your skin to take in some of that Sunny D (although the darker your skin is, the longer it’ll take).
And before you use this as an excuse to skip the sunscreen, you should know that for some reason, sunscreen actually doesn’t hinder our bodies’ ability to take in vitamin D.
In the UK, there simply isn’t enough sun around winter-time for skin to kick into vitamin-D-mode. Isn’t that kinda crazy?! But fear not, your body is smart enough to use vitamin D stores and extract it from food during these months.
Still think you’re not getting enough D? (teehee)
There are always over-the-counter vitamin D supplements but you shouldn’t take more than 25 µg (that’s 25 micro grammes). Too much vitamin D can result in hyper-absorption of calcium, which can mean nausea, constipation, confusion and other non-fun stuff.
Honestly, the only people who have to worry about their level of vitamin D are women who are preggers, people above 65 and kiddos under 6 (not that vitamin D would even cross their mind….).
Do you think you get enough vitamin D? What other random vitamins do you want to know about?
Related: What’s the Real Deal with Sunscreen and Why Sunglasses Are Actually Important