Vitamin D: how much sun do you need to not have a deficit?

Vitamin D is a micronutrient that the body does not produce on its own and, therefore, it has to be incorporated from the outside, with food or from sunlight. However, its contribution from the diet is low…

Thus, the safest and most durable way to incorporate this vitamin and to cover our needs is from sun exposure. But how much do you need to safely increase your vitamin D stores?

How to increase your vitamin D stores

in the plant world Vitamin D is hardly found in any significant way: the most important source is mushrooms, mostly sun-dried.

Between the foods with the highest amount of vitamin D They are followed by eggs, oily fish and enriched products (as is usual in some milk, cereals or juices).

The most effective is to ensure the contact of the sun with the skin. In fact, vitamin D obtained from the sun’s contact with the skin lasts twice as long of time in the body than that obtained with food.

When we are exposed to the sun, Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is produced in the skin, which is the same form in which it occurs in food. In the liver it is transformed into calcidiol (25-OH vitamin D), which is the inactive circulating form of this vitamin.

And when the body needs it, the kidney turns it into calcitriol (1-25-OH vitamin D), which is its active form, ready to act on tissues.

An analysis to measure your vitamin D levels

Normally, in the analytics, its blood content via calcidiol, which is much more stable than calcitriol. According to the levels it is considered:

Deficiency: values ​​are less than 20 ng/mlInsufficiency: between 21 and 29 ng/mlSufficiency: above 30ng/mlOptimal levels: between 30-60 ng/ml, although up to 100 ng/ml is considered normal.

A very common vitamin deficiency

Among our population it is very common to detect vitamin D deficiencyand that despite the fact that we live in a country with many hours of sunshine.

It is believed that the causes of so many people with insufficient levels of vitamin D should be found in the fact that most we spend the day locked up at home or at work…

On the other hand, it also influences use of sun protection creams that prevent the arrival of ultraviolet rays, essential for the synthesis of vitamin D3 in the skin.

What happens if you lack vitamin D

Vitamin D is considered today as a hormone due to its involvement in important and varied functions of the organism.

In fact, its deficit is related to muscular problems (such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia), with a low immunity and with diseases or disorders as diverse as cancer, obesity, diabetes, muscle or joint pain and inflammation (arthritis), multiple sclerosis or depression…

How much sun do you have to take?

To obtain the necessary amounts, it would suffice to expose to the sun an area of ​​skin equivalent to the face, hands and arms as minimum about 15-20 minutes 3 or 4 days a weekwithout sun protection.

The ideal time to make better use of sunlight would be at noon, when the sun is highest, although a longer period of exposure at other times would also produce the necessary amount.

It must be taken into account that dark-skinned people would need twice as much of time to cover the adequate dose.

The help of a supplement

To cover daily needs, especially in the Nordic countries that enjoy little sun, or to recover optimal levels when there is a deficit, vitamin D preparations or supplements are recommended, ideally in the form of cholecalciferol.

Cholecalciferol has a lot less risk of toxicity than calcidiol, which is usually prescribed in the form of ampoules (Hidroferol®). Vitamin D is measured in International Units (IU) or micrograms (µg): 5 µg equals 200 IU.

The recommended daily maintenance dose in adults who cannot access the sun it is about 1,000 IU, and 1,500-2,000 IU in people over 70 years of age, since they have more difficulties in activating the vitamin.

In cases of deficiency, it can be increased to two 4000 IU capsules of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) daily for three or four months, after which a control test is carried out. if it is taken with foods that contain fat (oil for example) is better absorbed, since it is a fat-soluble vitamin.