May 6, 2013
Vitamin D continues its news dominance with a new study looking at improving vitamin D levels and reducing insulin resistance issues in obese vitamin D deficient persons. For those people with supplemented vitamin D and increasing levels, there was a corresponding decrease in insulin resistance. That is a good thing.
Vitamin D has been completely misunderstood until recently. Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University has produced some of the best data on Vitamin D deficiency and disease. He was actually kicked out of the Boston University Medical Center Department of Dermatology because they disagreed with his philosophy on the sun and health. Can you imagine that? He said that the sun was important for health and promoting natural Vitamin D production.
It turns out that he has been vindicated by over 500 studies. The insanity of believing that nature has it wrong (by my physician colleagues) regarding the sun and health has finally been disproven.
From Dr. Holick:
"Vitamin D is not a vitamin but a hormone. It is unique in that it is made in the skin as a result of exposure to sunlight. Photosynthesis of vitamin D has been occurring on earth for more than 750 million years. Some of the earliest life forms that were exposed to sunlight for their energy requirement were also photosynthesizing vitamin D. Both children and adults have in the past depended on adequate sun exposure to satisfy their vitamin D requirement. It is well documented that at the turn of the last century upwards of 80% of children in the industrialized, polluted cities of northern Europe and northeastern United States suffered from the devastating consequences of vitamin D deficiency rickets. The skin has a large capacity to make vitamin D. Exposure of a person in a bathing suit to a minimal erythemal dose of sunlight, which is typically no more than 15-20 minutes on Cape Cod in June or July at noon time, is the equivalent to taking 20,000 IU of vitamin D orally. It is now well documented that in the absence of any sun exposure 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day is necessary to maintain healthy levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the circulation. An analysis of the NHANES III data has demonstrated that neither children nor adults are receiving an adequate amount of vitamin D from their diet or from supplements. "
Remember these rules for the summer sun:
1) Burning your skin is always bad!
2) The lighter your skin the more likely you are to need sunscreen within 1/2 hour of intense sun exposure.
3) 30 block is perfect. Use these brands.
4) Women need to remember that face makeup has SPF in it. You may need to expose your arms to get some sun exposure.
5) Milk is not a great source of Vitamin D despite what we are led to believe. It takes 100 glasses to equal 15 minutes of the sun.
6) Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours when sweating or swimming.
The counter argument to the sun and exposure is that skin cancer is a serious problem. It is increasingly an issue in our youth. Over tanning outdoors and the use of tanning beds are a bad idea all around and especially with our teens. North Carolina is banning its use in children less than 18 years old. However, vitamin D deficiency may be equally or more important for human health. It is all about balance. Get enough sun for adequate vitamin D, but do not burn your skin or get excessive sun exposure.
