Hi Adrian! No question… but sun is often limited in the winter months and cold weather makes sunbathing impossible. Krispin Sullivan, Certified Nutritionist, has often mentioned the importance of getting natural sun exposure on as much bare skin as possible for just limited amounts of exposure … enough to help accumulate vitamin D but not enough to cause UV damage to skin. She’s often quoted by her “naked at noon” advice in her book by that name.
We had a short thread on this topic in 2007…
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My experience is that as often commented by the vitamin D experts, as you age, your skin is less able to absorb and process the vitamin D from sunshine so supplementing becomes essential. When I was first tested, my 25 OH D level was 18… and that was at a time when I was an active golfer and gardener…out regularly in the sun without sunscreen. It took me years of high dose supplementing with vitamin D3 to get my level up to 70…
There are now many associated diseases linked to vitamin D deficiencies including dementia and Alzheimer's which is affecting increasingly large numbers of the population at younger ages than in the past.
The Internet is loaded with reports on the need for vitamin D and the consequences of deficiencies. Having the vitamin D test is very important and then supplementing at therapeutic doses is critical to making improvements.
Good to see you are still visiting the forum, Adrian.
Best to you,
Jackie
