Vitamin D Deficiency Despite Sun Exposure... by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!
Hi Steve,
I'm sorry to hear that, but it actually doesn't surprise me. Neither would it surprise a group of doctors/researchers who suspected that people getting sun exposure were still deficient. So they tested a bunch of people in Hawaii in this study entititled Low Vitamin D Status despite Abundant Sun Exposure and found that they, too, were still deficient despite being in their 20's and getting about 20 hours of sunlight a week.
So, there are several reasons for this, and for YOU in particular, please read the Vitamin D in Winter page because in PA, you get ZERO vitamin d between October and March, so you're bound to be deficient half the year and you're probably 'making it up' the rest of the summer.
Another problem is that you likely get smelly and sweaty when you golf, so you go home and take a shower- which washes off all the vitamin d that you just made!! Really!
This is because we make the vitamin d from sun exposure to the oils on our skin and then it slowly absorbs over the next day or two. Go home and wash those oils off, you wash off the freshly made vitamin d.
And even if you aren't wearing sunscreen, I watch golfers and they are generally covered up in a hat, short sleeved shirt and long pants- effectively limiting your exposure to your arms and neck. Even if you wear shorts, you still probably have only about 10% of your body exposed to the sun.
But YIPES, be sure to read my page on Prescription Vitamin D to see why a prescription is NOT the recommended way to get your vitamin d.
So, it's actually not surprising to me at all. So, you'll likely want to stay on vitamin d year round but please be sure to read my page on Magnesium and Vitamin D to see why you shouldn't take vitamin d without magnesium or you could cause some problems. Hope this helps....
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Immune System
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