Vitamin D is a unique vitamin, which is made from the cholesterol in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight. Thus, it is said that it's important to get enough sun for maintaining the optimal vitamin D levels (unless taking supplements). But, too much exposure to sunlight also has its own set of health risks.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/the-right-way-to-get-vitamin-d-from-the-sun/photostory/77370069.cms?picid=77370237
Not everybody absorbs vitamin D3 in the gut as others do. This can cause vitamin D deficiency. So, what causes vitamin D critically low? And what are the right way and the optimal exposure time to get Vitamin D from the sun?
All comments and contributions are welcome.
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A deficiency in vitamin D can result from inadequate exposure to sunlight, inefficient production in the skin, not enough vitamin D in your diet, and health conditions that can affect it including, gastrointestinal disorders, renal diseases, and liver diseases.
The most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is in your body is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test. A level of 20 nanograms/milliliter to 50 ng/mL is considered adequate for healthy people. A level less than 12 ng/mL indicates vitamin D deficiency.
What is the healthiest way to get vitamin D?
Spend time in sunlight. Vitamin D is often referred to as “the sunshine vitamin” because the sun is one of the best sources of this nutrient. ...
Consume fatty fish and seafood. ...
Eat more mushrooms. ...
Include egg yolks in your diet. ...
Eat fortified foods. ...
Take a supplement. ...
Try a UV lamp.
But, some of the effects of vitamin D deficiency include:
Fatigue or tiredness.
Bone pain.
Joint pain.
Muscle pain.
Sour mood.
Low energy.
More frequent illness.
Anxiety.
In persons with vitamin D deficiency, treatment may include oral ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) at 50,000 IU per week for eight weeks. After vitamin D levels normalize, experts recommend maintenance dosages of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) at 800 to 1,000 IU per day from dietary and supplemental sources.
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Lack of sunlight exposure is cause for vitamine D deficiency in infants and on average 40 minutes exposure of children on the morning sunlight is vital to maintain adequet vit D.
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Dear Dr. Manal Hadi Kanaan, this guideline provides comprehensive information and practical recommendations about the causes and consequences of vitamin D deficiency, sources of vitamin D, and diagnostic approaches, along with age-by-age recommendations for dietary intakes:
Article Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficienc...
Also, discussing the health effects of vitamin D, I would like to invite you to check out our latest published research on the effect of vitamin D supplementation in patients with COVID-19.
Article The Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation on Mortality Rate an...
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Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy Test results are positively correlated with DNA methylation. DNA methylation is a mechanism used by cells to regulate gene expression. Vitamin D3 supplementation increases DNA methylation in a dose-response manner in persons with vitamin D deficiency. Maternal vitamin D status plays a role in determining DNA methylation state in the germline of successive generations. Detection of methylation changes in the unexposed second-generation demonstrates that maternal vitamin D depletion can have long-term effects on the epigenome of subsequent generations. For more information kindly check the following link:
https://www.secondopinionphysician.com/shop/walsh-protocol-lab-test-vitamin-d25-hydroxy/
Despite the name, vitamin D is considered a pro-hormone and not actually a vitamin. Vitamins are nutrients that cannot be created by the body and therefore must be taken in through our diet. However, vitamin D can be synthesized by our body when sunlight hits our skin. It is estimated that sensible sun exposure on bare skin for 5-10 minutes 2-3 times per week allows most people to produce sufficient vitamin D, but vitamin D breaks down quite quickly, meaning that stores can run low, especially in winter.
https://www.secondopinionphysician.com/shop/walsh-protocol-lab-test-vitamin-d25-hydroxy/
Vitamin D3 is a fat-soluble vitamin, not everyone has the same ability to absorb this vitamin in the intestine, which may cause a vitamin D deficiency. When people are over the age of 60, many lose some of the skin enzymes needed to metabolize the cholesterol metabolite and convert it into vitamin D.
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Vitamin D deficiency is one of the factors that increase the risk of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, and it may increase the severity of the condition, as it can cause exposure to osteoporosis and bone fracture.
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Vitamin D deficiency can be caused by specific medical conditions, such as: Cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease, and celiac disease: These diseases do not allow the intestines to absorb enough vitamin D through supplements. Weight loss surgeries. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15050-vitamin-d--vitamin-d-deficiency
Regular sun exposure is the most natural way to get enough vitamin D. To maintain healthy blood levels, aim to get 10–30 minutes of midday sunlight, several times per week. People with darker skin may need a little more than this.. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-from-sun
Vitamin D deficiency can happen when a person:
does not consume enough vitamin D
is unable to absorb or metabolize the vitamin D
does not spend enough time in ultraviolet B (UVB) sunlight
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318060#causes
Manal Hadi Kanaan
Dear Professor,
Thank you for the interesting topic of discussion.
As far as my knowledge goes, Vitamin D deficiency is caused by less exposure to sunlight, kidneys cannot convert Vitamin D into an active form and digestive tract cannot adequately absorb Vitamin D.
The right way to get Vitamin D from the sun is to expose oneself to sunlight. I have seen my doctor friends suggesting that sunlight of the morning hours is most suitable for this purpose. That light is soothing and does not cause much harm to the skin when exposed for a long time. In India, doctors usually suggest patients to expose themselves to sunlight for 10-30 minutes on alternate days.
Best regards,
Anamitra Roy.
Dear manal hadi kanaan
very interesting topic to discuss
vitamin D has many responsibilities and duties in the body and is important for best health, I think it is important for the best health that your ability to make vitamin D from sun exposure, and it is important to get enough amount from vitamin D from your food daily, and the best ways to get enough vitamin d in your diet is to eat a variety of healthy foods from all of the food groups
The optimal wavelength of sunlight for vitamin D synthesis is ultraviolet-B, around 292 nm. UVB is the shortest wavelength of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface and falls by 3-4 orders of magnitude as the wavelength decreases from 315 to 280 nm due to absorption and scattering in the atmosphere. Therefore, exposure to the optimal wavelength is unreliable, even when the sun is shining. Vitamin D synthesis can occur at wavelengths >300 nm but pigmentation reduces transmission of longer wavelengths through the skin to reach 7-dehydrocholesterol. Sunlight around midday is most likely to include the shorter wavelengths required for vitamin D synthesis. Risk of harm can be reduced by keeping exposure times short, while prevention of vitamin D deficiency requires frequent, regular exposure, so short daily exposures would be optimum.
Another factor to consider is the low vitamin D content of foods; fish, meat, eggs, and dairy are the best sources of vitamin D which resides in fat, so reduced-fat foods are also reduced in vitamin D.
1. Nutritional factors. 2. Sun exposure, but the time of exposure is depend on the color of the skin and the melanin concentration, sine it prevent UV. 3. Females spend more indoor time and uses sun blockers, therefore more-likely, to have VD deficiency. 4. Color of clothes, dark prevent UV. 5. Geographical, area of low UV.
Preprint Vitamin D homeostasis in obese and diabetic groups, potentia...
Diet ,diseases important causes for vitamin D deficiency
about 15 minutes exposure to sun 2-3 times/week can help
Sun induced vitamin D synthesis is greatly influenced by season, time of day, latitude, altitude, air pollution, skin pigmentation, sunscreen use, passing through glass and plastic, and aging.
Quite interestingly - during exposure to sunlight after previtamin D3 is produced it will absorb solar UVB radiation and isomerize into two major photoproducts, lumisterol3 and tachysterol3. Neither of these two photoproducts has any effect on calcium metabolism. Thus when the skin is exposed to sunlight it can only convert approximately 15% of 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3. Any further exposure will result in a photoequilibrium whereby previtamin D3 is converted into lumisterol3 and tachysterol3 as well as revert back to 7-dehydrocholesterol. In addition when vitamin D3 is made from previtamin D3 in the skin if it is exposed to solar UVB radiation it will absorb UVB radiation and be converted into several suprasterols and 5,6-trans-vitamin D3. In addition previtamin D3 can also be converted to several toxisterols. Therefore no matter how much sun a human is exposed to vitamin D intoxication will not occur because any excess previtamin D3 and vitamin D3 is photodegraded into products that have no calcemic activity.
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The perfect time of capturing Vitamin D from sun is between 11am to 1pm.
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For critically low vitamin d, please have it in the dose of 6Ok IU per week for 6 weeks.
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It is preferable to sit under the sun at any time from 11 am to 3 pm, as you can take the largest amount of vitamin at this time
Dietary sources of vitamin D. Food sources are very few, and they are: Fatty fish like salmon. yolk. Red meat. Live
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Now a days, the tendency to confine oneself within 4 walls is common and at times mandatory (home isolation for Covid 19). This is one of the prime reasons for Vit D deficiency, in addition to lack of appropriate food containing rich amounts of Vit D.
Vit D, otherwise known as sunshine vitamin, is synthesized by the body when exposure to sun takes place. The bone health is closely linked with Vit D, in addition to several other health benefits that Vit D provides to the human body. As the time (mid day < morning / evening) , type (pale skin quickly makes the Vit) and the amount (back, limbs when exposed together make good amt of Vit) are factors, ideal ways of getting Vit D would be to get the 'lighter' sun - morning ~ 7am / evening ~ 4 pm (tropical country). Caution is required to avoid stronger sun (typical mid day) as this can lead to skin cancers.
Sensible sun exposure - " to get exposed to an amount of sunlight that is about 50% of what it would take to cause a mild sunburn i.e., slight pinkness to the
skin 24 h later followed by good sun protection i.e., clothing, hat and or sunscreen" Dermato-Endocrinology 5:1, 2013: 51–108
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A deficiency in vitamin D can result from inadequate exposure to sunlight, inefficient production in the skin, not enough vitamin D in your diet, and health conditions that can affect it including, gastrointestinal disorders, renal diseases, and liver diseases
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A deficiency in vitamin D can result from inadequate exposure to sunlight, inefficient production in the skin, not enough vitamin D in your diet, and health conditions that can affect it including, gastrointestinal disorders, renal diseases, and liver diseases
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The issue of exposure to sunlight should be limited due to the ever weaker ozone layer in the atmosphere and the increased risk of melanoma, i.e. skin cancer, which is a malignant tumor. On the other hand, low vitamin D levels should be supplemented using an appropriate diet. Many studies show that the level of vitamin D has a large impact on the general state of the body's resistance to various infectious diseases caused by microorganisms (bacterial, viral, fungal). Higher levels of vitamin D in the body have been shown to reduce the likelihood of becoming severely ill with Covid-19.
Best regards,
Dariusz Prokopowicz
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326167
A nicely penned article on the issue
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I think vitamin D may decrease due to lack of exposure to the sun and poor diet in individuals
I think it is necessary to adjust the type of food eaten with exposure to the sun two hours before sunrise or sunset.
Note: It is necessary to expose as much of the surface area of the skin as possible to benefit from the sun's rays, Which helps produce Vitamin D
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What causes a vitamin D deficiency? A deficiency in vitamin D can result from inadequate exposure to sunlight, inefficient production in the skin, not enough vitamin D in your diet, and health conditions that can affect it including, gastrointestinal disorders, renal diseases, and liver diseases
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In Japan, it is said to take 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the season and location.
The US Government Comparative Toxicogenomics Database associates Fluoride with Vitamin D deficiency via the LRP2 gene, which provides instructions for making a protein called Megalin.
LRP2 mediates renal uptake of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in complex with the vitamin D3 transporter GC/DBP.
So Fluoride poisoned people will experience problems.
A useful reference
Yang D, Liu Y, Chu Y, Yang Q, Jiang W, Chen F, Li D, Qin M, Sun D, Yang Y, Gao Y. 2016. Association between vitamin D receptor gene FokI polymorphism and skeletal fluorosis of the brick tea type fluorosis: a cross sectional, case control study. BMJ Open 6:e011980. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011980
Respected dear Dr.Manal
About vit D deficiency may associate with low diet vit D intake, gastrointestinal absorption trouble, renal disorder, and the main factor cause of very low sun exposure as well as, to any concomitant of skin disturbances.
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10 - 30 minutes in mid-day sunlight -https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-from-sun#:~:text=Regular%20sun%20exposure%20is%20the,your%20skin%20is%20to%20sunlight.
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When our body is exposed to the sun, skin can manufacture its own vitamin D. “We each have vitamin D receptor cells that, through a chain of reactions starting with conversion of cholesterol in the skin, produce vitamin D.
What causes a vitamin D deficiency? A deficiency in vitamin D can result from inadequate exposure to sunlight, inefficient production in the skin, not enough vitamin D in your diet, and health conditions that can affect it including, gastrointestinal disorders, renal diseases, and liver diseases.
https://www.medicinenet.com/vitamin_d_deficiency/article.htm
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The optimal wavelength sunlight for vitamin D synthesis is ultraviolet-B (UVB) around 292 nm. UVB is the shortest wavelength reaching the Earth’s surface and falls by 3-4 orders of magnitude as the wavelength decreases from 315 to 280 nm. UVB is attenuated by air pollution. Therefore exposure to the optimal wavelength for vitamin D synthesis is unreliable, even when the sun is shining. Vitamin D synthesis can occur at longer wavelengths but in the absence of shorter wavelengths, individual factors such as skin pigmentation and clothing become inhibitory as they block the transmission of longer wavelengths. Sunlight around midday is most likely to include the shorter wavelengths required for vitamin D synthesis, but current advice is to avoid sunlight exposure at these times, and in some regions strong heat prevents exposure at this time of day. Risk of harm can be reduced by keeping the exposure time short, since longer exposure times can reduce quantum yield. Another factor is the low vitamin D content of foods. Fish, meat, eggs and dairy are the best sources of vitamin D, which is contained in fat, so reduced-fat foods are also reduced in vitamin D.
If you shun the sun, suffer from milk allergies, or adhere to a strict vegan diet, you may be at risk for vitamin D deficiency. Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced by the body in response to skin being exposed to sunlight. It is also occurs naturally in a few foods -- including some fish, fish liver oils, and egg yolks -- and in fortified dairy and grain products.
https://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/vitamin-d-deficiency#1
You need to expose a sufficient amount of skin to sunlight to maintain healthy vitamin D blood levels. Wearing a tank top and shorts for 10–30 minutes three times per week is sufficient for lighter-skinned people, while those with darker skin may need longer.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-from-sun#:~:text=You%20need%20to%20expose%20a,darker%20skin%20may%20need%20longer.
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Preprint Vitamin D homeostasis in obese and diabetic groups, potentia...
Data 3. Appendix 2-Vitamin D, an anti-infectious preventive and t...
Data 4.APPENDIX 3- The Vitamin D Retinoid X Receptors tandem as i...
Data 2. APENDIX 1 - Vitamin D in COVID-19 Pandemic Context Manole...
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Vitamin D Deficiency
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15050-vitamin-d--vitamin-d-deficiency
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Illnesses, genetics and the weather in the place you live (low exposure to sunlight).
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By far the most important cause of low vit D is too low or avoidance of exposure to sunshine. This includes office men / women that work at daytime, especialy when they do not spend their lunchtime or weekend hours outside.
Second is a diet low in vit D (most important are fatty fish and sun-exposed mushrooms).
Of course this lack of vit D production in the skin, or absorption from food can be compensated with vit D supplements. Taken al together (sun, food and supplements) an adult needs 1000 - 1500 iU per day to have a normal vit D status.
Dear Dr. Manal Hadi Kanaan ,
A deficiency in vitamin D can result from inadequate exposure to sunlight, inefficient production in the skin, not enough vitamin D in your diet, and health conditions that can affect it including, gastrointestinal disorders, renal diseases, and liver diseases.
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It takes a lot for a person's vitamin D to become critically low. The person would never be able to see the sun nor eat any fortified foods.
Manal Hadi Kanaan kindly go through below article
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318060#_noHeaderPrefixedContent
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