It has been perfect fall weather: brilliant blue sky, temperatures in the upper 60’s, lots of sunshine and leaves! I love the fall! Walks in my neighborhood or in the park are perfect times to breathe deep, enjoying the sights and sounds of the outdoors. And there is that wonderful benefit yet of SUNSHINE, but it is diminishing as the seasons change. As I walk, my face lifted to the sun, the warmth and light feel so good!

As the month of October unfolds and the days become visibly shorter, I talk to my family, friends and clients about supplementing with Vitamin D3 as a matter of health through the darker months until spring returns. Numerous studies have been examining the benefits of Vitamin D the sunshine vitamin for effective doses and immune system response. Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer and breast cancer, and even reduces effects diabetes and obesity. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. That’s probably because it’s free; your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin.

There are only a few food sources for Vitamin D which include: parsley, egg yolks, shitake mushrooms, and Omega 3 fatty fish.  But, the best source remains sunlight with the recommended exposure to the skin of approximately 15 minutes daily. By the way, those healing rays of natural sunlight producing Vitamin D that the body can activate and use, they don’t penetrate glass. When you are stuck in traffic or sitting in your car for long periods of time, roll down the window for a few minutes and allow your skin to absorb some natural sunlight!


Here are some comments from Dr. Michael Holick regarding Vitamin D from his book, The Vitamin D Solution:

  • Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight. Vitamin D must be activated in your body by your kidneys and liver before it can be used. It is impossible to generate too much Vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs.
  • Sufficient levels of Vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient Vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium from food or supplements, useless.
  • The farther you live from the equator, the longer the exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Canada, the UK and most US states are far from the equator.
  • People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 to 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of Vitamin D. This is why prostrate cancer is epidemic among black men—it is a simple but widespread sunlight deficiency.
  • Chronic Vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight; it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body’s bones and nervous system.

It is a good idea to get your Vitamin D levels checked and consider a supplement through the fall and winter months. Current recommendations for adults is 1000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily. I recommend using a supplement in gel cap form instead of a tablet, with the Vitamin D3 derived from fish oil.

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