What's the story with vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is synthesized by skin cells in the human body in response to sunlight exposure.  It has received a significant amount of attention recently regarding the health benefits it provides.  It is crucial for the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous, which are important in maintaining the integrity of our neuromuscular and skeletal systems.   It aids our immune system.  It regulates over 1,000 genes in our body.  It may even play a role in preventing asthma, multiple sclerosis and cancer. 

Optimizing your vitamin D levels may be one of the most important steps you can take in support of your long-term health.  The ideal way to do this is by exposing large amounts of your skin to sunlight during peak hours (10am to 3pm), specifically your face, arms, hands and back.  Fifteen to twenty minutes of sun exposure at least twice a week without sunscreen is required for your body to synthesize adequate amounts of vitamin D.  However, because our location of residence is far from the equator, our sunlight exposure is less during the late fall, winter and early spring months.  Therefore, supplementing with vitamin D during these months is recommended.  Animal-based food sources, such as fish, cod-liver oil, lard, egg yolks and butter also contain vitamin D.  As a generic guideline, adults need to take about 2,000 IU's per day when sunlight exposure is minimal, however more may be clinically warranted, depending on an individual's current health status and vitamin D level.