Apart from the positive effects of daily exercising in the daylight we also receive our vitamin D from the sun. This essential vitamin improves overall health, helps our bones & muscles, absorption of calcium, moods, learning, sleep, skin, reducing allergies, decreases abdominal fat and more studies are proving its help in immune support.
We need to spend time in the sun to produce vitamin D. The lower your vitamin D levels, the more impact on overall health. One of the reasons especially in Queensland we are finding so many deficiencies in test results is due to our avoidance of the sun, tinted windows and our regular slip slop slap Sunscreen use blocking vitamin D. In the seasons of summer and spring, 1000 IU vitamin D doses are synthesised in 10-15 min of sun exposure for adults. If the sun exposure produces slight pinkness, the amount of vitamin D produced in response to exposure of the full body is equivalent to ingesting 10,000-25,000 IU of vitamin D (this will vary on your skin type).
Of course, first priority is to please stay sun safe. If your levels are low and you aren’t spending time in the sun regularly you can now also get optimal vitamin D from supplementation drops or capsules. Otherwise, foods to increase our vitamin D include are the flesh of fatty fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, swordfish, and fish liver oils like cod liver oil. There are also smaller amounts found in egg yolks, cheese, and beef liver. At your next routine check please request your vitamin D levels to be tested.