How to Get Vitamin D Without Skin Damage

Are you hoping to get more natural vitamin D in your life but fear you may face skin damage in the process? You don’t have to sacrifice the benefits to reduce your risks. Getting enough of the essential vitamin is actually pretty simple, and for many, supplements may still be avoidable if that's your choice.

Contrary to popular belief, most people can get plenty of vitamin D from sunlight, even with proper sunscreen use. Are you getting enough vitamin D? A deficiency can lead to soft or brittle bones, reduced muscle strength, heart disease, type 1 diabetes and possibly even fibromyalgia. We can get the vitamin D we need by spending time out in the sun, although the amount needed can vary depending on age, skin pigmentation and the level of SPF we use. Here's what we found about soaking in all the vitamin D we need without giving ourselves skin damage.

Vitamin D: The Basics

Vitamin D plays a role in skeletal health, but it does far more than help calcium bind to bones. Vitamin D improves muscle strength, is important to cardiovascular health, regulates the immune system and may reduce the chances of developing some forms of cancer. Deficiency, though, is a serious matter as it can lead to soft or brittle bones, increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes and heart disease. Some researchers suspect it may even be a cause of fibromyalgia.

People who are at the highest risk of becoming deficient are those who, due to lifestyle or reduced access to the outdoors, get very little sun exposure. People with darker skin pigments, as well as seniors, have a harder time processing sunlight into vitamin D, so these groups may need to spend even more time outdoors than the younger and lighter-skinned set if they want to get their fill naturally. So, if that's the case, how do we do that without damaging our skin?

Getting the Right Amount

We were surprised to learn that only 5 to 30 minutes of unprotected exposure, twice a week, is enough sunlight to give most people all they need. Even better? Contrary to popular belief, most people can soak up their weekly requirements even with the proper use of sunscreen. True, it reduces the amount of sunlight that penetrates the skin, but most SPFs don’t eliminate all exposure — and that’s the important distinction to pay attention to here.

For example, an SPF 30 will protect you from 97% of the sun’s rays. An SPF 50 will protect you from 98%. This still leaves some sunlight finding its way through, and a little UV radiation can go a long way. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends wearing sunscreen every time you expect to spend time out in the sun, with the assurance that you will still produce vitamin D.

For those who suspect they might not be getting enough vitamin D, a simple blood test can determine whether they’re deficient. For those who may fall into a group that has difficulties synthesizing vitamin D, or who aren’t able to get enough sunlight regularly, they may need to consider supplementing their diet.

We don’t have to risk premature aging and skin cancer to ensure we’re making the most of our sunlight exposure. Go ahead, get out there and enjoy the beautiful sunshine; it’ll still give you vitamin D. Just don’t forget the sunscreen, or you could be doing yourself more harm than good. 

Copyright 2019, Wellness.com