Nutrients, vitamins, and minerals all play different roles in our body for our optimum health. Specifically, vitamin D contributes largely to skin, bone, and mental health, and the lack of it can affect everything from your skin color to your mood.
According to Dr. Michael F. Holick, M.D., Ph.D., 80 to 90 percent of vitamin D comes from sun exposure. Dr. Holick, who is a professor of medicine, physiology, and biophysics at the Boston University Medical Center and has specialized on vitamin D research for decades, adds that the problem is that many individuals assume that having a healthy diet is enough to get all the necessary nutrients for the body to thrive. However, Dr. Holick points out that even the best dietary sources of vitamin D are not substantial enough to fill our vitamin D requirements.
A recommendation by the Institutes of Medicine suggest most children and adults under 70 years old to get 600 IUS of vitamin D each day. People over 70 should go for 800 IUS.
Dr. Holick adds that vitamin D deficiency in children may increase risk for rickets, a condition that softens bones. Meanwhile, adult vitamin deficiency may lead to greater osteoporosis risk as well as higher susceptibility to high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
There are warning signs that can help identify if a person has vitamin D deficiency, one of which is aching bones. This is prevalent in winter when there is minimal sun. Adults lacking the vitamin feel more pain in their muscles and bones.
Another sign is having darker skin. Several studies have found distinct demographic differences in vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency rates. Skin pigment is natural sunscreen, says Dr. Holick. An SPF 30 sunscreen minimizes the ability of the skin to make vitamin D by 97 percent. A person with very dark skin needs up to 10 times more sun exposure than a person with a pale complexion to make the same amount of vitamin D, says Dr. Holick.