I know that seems to be a contradiction but..I was wondering if anyone knows whether it's possible to still get vit d if it's kind of sunny out this time of year in england.

A friend needs some vit d so I told her I'd ask some people in the know!

Was it my imagination or is there some kind of a chart people are looking at for sunshine?

Thanks!

(also, does uva/b protection interfere with the process?)

Based on what ScienceGirl (I think) posted a little while ago, no, it's not possible for our bodies to produce vitamin D from the sun in winter in the UK (although the very south of England is borderline and you might be able to on particularly sunny days).

I'm pretty sure sunscreen will interfere with the process although that is just my intuition.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

It's true that you can't produce enough vitamin D in the wintertime, but if you get enough sun in the summertime, you can store up enough vitamin D that will last you through the wintertime. Where exactly does your friend live? And is she British (pale-skinned)? I can post the resultshere on how much sun she needs to ensure adequate vitamin D levels year-round.

Best Wishes

thanks for the replies. she lives in london. not sure where she's going to sunbathe :-)

badawie Wrote:
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> thanks for the replies. she lives in london. not
> sure where she's going to sunbathe :-)


Ain't much sun in London!!!!

Ha,ha...

F1

The Fruitarian One Wrote:
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> Ain't much sun in London!!!!

There's probably more sun here than in the rest of the UK!

Rob (in London)

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

Although the current RDA for vitamin D is 400 IU, a number of the world's top experts believe that the RDA should be raised to 1000 IU, and a couple of them predict that it will be raised in the next decade. Research has strongly suggested for quite some time that 400 IU is inadequate. The guidelines below for sunning one's self in London on based on a daily intake of 1000 IU (not 400 IU).

According to Dr. Michael Holick (one of the worlds experts on vitamin D), as long as you don't live above 70 degrees latitude--which means roughly the Artic circle--you CAN get get adequate vitamin D from the sun to sustain you year round. Despite this, a large fraction (30-50%) of our population is deficient in vitamin D, because people don't go outside much. He says that there is no need for average people (meaning those who don't have excess needs for vitamin D) to supplement.

Assuming your friend is ethnically British or Northern European, then she has type 2 skin:

Type 2: "I easily burn, hardly tan, and am fair skinned (people of northern European origin, such as Scandinavians or Celts)."


To get enough vitamin D, she needs 2-3 sun exposure sessions each week, during which 25% or more of her body must be exposed. This could mean her face, hands, and arms are exposed, or her arms and legs are exposed.

For someone with TYPE 2 skin color living in the high latitudes (50-70 deg), one sun exposure session would be:

APRIL-MAY
25-40 minutes of sun if between 10 AM-12 PM
15-25 minutes of sun if between 12 PM-3 PM
25-40 minutes of sun if between 3 PM-5 PM

JUNE-AUGUST
20-30 minutes of sun if between 10 AM-12 PM
10-15 minutes of sun if between 12 PM-3 PM
20-30 minutes of sun if between 3 PM-5 PM

SEPTEMBER
25-40 minutes of sun if between 10 AM-12 PM
15-25 minutes of sun if between 12 PM-3 PM
25-40 minutes of sun if between 3 PM-5 PM


For the high latitudes, it's not possible to produce vitamin D from October through April (aka "vitamin D winter". However, if you follow the above regime and are neither underweight, nor overweight, then your body will store extra vitamin D in your fat, which will be released when the winter comes. Vitamin D expert Dr. Holick says:

"You cannot make vitamin D in high latitudes during the winter months. However, if you live in the northeastern United States and follow this guideline between May and October, you will make enough vitamin D to last you through the winter. Vitamin D is stored in your body fat and released in the winter when you need it. (However, if you are obese, this this process is much less efficient, as the body tenaciously holds onto the vitamin D.) If you don't get this amount of sunlight between May and October, then during the winter months consider alternate forms of vitamin D, such as pill supplements and indoor tanning facilities..."

Of course, if you are worried or simply just want ensure that you have enough vitamin D, you could go outside for longer than Dr. Holick recommends. That's what I do: I try to go outside for about 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week, and I wear a bikini. (I live in the mid-latitudes and have light skin, so this is more than adequate for me.) Or, during the "vitamin D winter" for your latitude, you could take a vitamin D supplement during the winter only--this would at least save you the expense of using one during the spring, summer, and early fall--if you want to be 100% sure that you get enough.

If anyone else wants such information--how much to sun based on latitude (or your city), skin color/ethic background, and time of day and year, I can look up the exact amount of sun exposure (by time of day and time of year) you need to maintain adequate vitamin D levels all year round, and post that information here.

Also, there is more information on vitamin D and how incredibly important it is here: [www.rawfoodsupport.com]. If you need convincing or need more information, check it out.


Best Wishes

P.S. Yes, sunscreen interferes with vitamin D production, so if you are wearing it, assume that you're not getting any vitamin D.

The Fruitarian One Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> badawie Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > thanks for the replies. she lives in london.
> not
> > sure where she's going to sunbathe :-)
>
>
> Ain't much sun in London!!!!
>

Man that's pretty sad...I'm from Peckham, S.E London and I have great memories of the summers of the early 70's when I was a kid, back then the summers where real scorchers!

F1
> Ha,ha...
>
> F1

i found that my eczema cleared up within days of supplementing with vitamin D!