New Study: Vitamin D supplements not enough, UV exposure needed

https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/new-study-9600-iu-%e2%80%98d%e2%80%99-needed/

Authors of a peer-reviewed study generated from the world’s largest database of vitamin D blood tests say that 9,600 IU of vitamin D — an amount only naturally consistent with vitamin D production from regular sun exposure — is needed daily to get virtually all of the population up to 40 ng/ml vitamin D blood levels – the level targeted by the world’s leading vitamin D researchers as minimal.




Published this week in the journal Anticancer Research, researchers from the University of California-San Diego, Creighton University and GrassRoots Health – a California-based public health organization that has collected vitamin D data since 2008 – point out that the level is well below levels found to present any risk of vitamin D toxicity and is naturally consistent with what outdoor workers get from UVB exposure to their skin.



“Although an order of magnitude higher than current recommended oral intakes, these calculated daily intakes are of the same magnitude as produced by a single, minimal erythemal dose of UVB radiation, such as would be obtained during a few minutes of solar UVB exposure near noon in midsummer, assuming nearly complete skin exposure,” the authors wrote.



Complete skin exposure – in a bathing suit – means 90 percent of skin surface is getting sunlight. It has been estimated that indoor tanners in most tanning equipment make around 1,000 IU of vitamin D per minute.



The authors believe this study is the first analysis of the relation of vitamin D status to vitamin D supplementation as practiced in the community. More than 3,600 subjects took part in the study.



While 9,600 IU is 16 times what the government – based solely on bone health – believes people need daily, vitamin D researchers point to thousands of studies showing that vitamin D regulates cell growth and other functions at levels significantly higher than what are needed for bone health. Grassroots Health recommends vitamin D blood levels between 40-60 ng/ml based on that belief and a worldwide consortium (D-Action) of 35 vitamin D scientists supports that conclusion.



Indoor tanning clients, according to independent research, have average vitamin D blood levels higher than 40 ng/ml — about 90 percent higher than levels found in the non-tanning population.



To read the Anticancer Research study click here.