HOW TO GET VITAMIN D FROM THE SUN.

Many people now know about vitamin D and they know that we can make it from the sun.  What most people do not know is that you cannot make vitamin D from just any sunshine.  You must have direct enough sun that the UVB's can get through the atmosphere and hit your skin.  These UVB's then turn cholesterol (7-dehydrocholesterol) into vitamin D3.  Vitamin D3 is then taken to the liver where it is made into the active form of vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D).  Where I live in Pasco, Washington you can make vitamin D from April 5th to September 5th.  The trick is to know when you can make vitamin D on those days.  As an example, the only time you can make vitamin D on April 5th is between 11:40am and 12:20pm.  This time window keeps expanding until June 21 which is the biggest window (in the US) to make vitamin D.  It then starts shrinking again until you cannot make vitamin D anymore.  The window in Pasco gets as big as 9:20am to 3:40pm.  This means that you can never make vitamin D in Pasco after 3:40pm on any day of the year!!  

In Spokane, Washington the window is even smaller and you have to wait till the 9th of April at noon to start making Vitamin D.  You need to know about which day and what time of day you can make vitamin D.  Here are a few general rules I follow to make sure I get vitamin D from the sun anywhere in the US.

1.   I do go outside at noon or as close as possible for 15 minutes.
2.  I expose skin to the sun (being modest).  
3.  I go outside in the spring and summer.

Notes:
You can only get vitamin D in the spring and summer in most places in the US.
I do not go out early in the morning or later in the evening. (you will not make any vitamin D)  

VitaPastor

Marshall

Copyright 2012 Marshall

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