Is There Something Wrong About How We Get Vitamin D From Sunlight? I Suspect We Do It In a Very Unnatural Way

[charlie]

I don't think it bases it on light intensity the way a lux meter does. To approximate vit D production, the app needs to use a UV sensor and meter. I only know of one phone- the Note 4- that does that. I should get a used one and play with it.

It does, just use the option "Use the light sensor".

 

[yerrag]

It does, just use the option "Use the light sensor".

I didn't know that. I'll try that now. Thanks a lot!

 

[yerrag]

It does, just use the option "Use the light sensor".

I can't find that under preferences

 

[charlie]

I can't find that under preferences

-Click on "start sun session"
-On the second row it should be the cloud cover, click on the number with the percentage
-Under the slider there is an option to toggle ""Use the light sensor"

If you do not see it, then either you probably do not have a phone camera, or, maybe need to update the app.

 

[yerrag]

-Click on "start sun session"
-On the second row it should be the cloud cover, click on the number with the percentage
-Under the slider there is an option to toggle ""Use the light sensor"

If you do not see it, then either you probably do not have a phone camera, or, maybe need to update the app.

So it's enabled before a session begins. Nice. I'll try that tomorrow as I can't start one in the evening. That would be interesting to try, especially in shade. Thanks Charlie!

 

[charlie]

Thanks Charlie!

 

[Missenger]

You have to expose your lower abdomen consistently to get any sort of absorption benefit from the sun, ie you have to take your shirt off since your liver and kidneys need direct contact.

 

[pauljacob]

Have you tried the Dminder App? It will tell you when you can get vit D and measure the amount of vit D you get. I doubt you will get any D near dusk.

Thank you yerrag, I'll get the Dminder App. Near dusk I'm not after D, but red light, as I've read here somewhere that there is beneficial natural red light from the sun at that time.

 

[nervepain2021]

At noontime, when the sun's out in full force, where there's not even a shadow as the sun is directly above, I would go out and get my fill of sunshine and the vitamin D benefits of it. This is usually where the UV index is highest, and where I get the most vitamin D produced in the shortest time. However, I feel alone in this. The koi in my pond wants little of it, as they prefer to be in the depths, sheltered from the harsh glare and trying to get protection with more algae shade protection the deeper it goes. My cats are nowhere to be found, and for most of the day, would rather be in the cooler shade. Even my aloe vera plants prefer to be facing south so that during summer it can hide under a shade as the sun shines from the north and spreads its rays of warmth to the periphery where the aloe vera lies. And during the cooler months, when the weaker sunlight hits the aloe vera directly, it is just as conducive to the growth of my aloe vera plants.

Even the trees know this. As during the heat of summer, it spreads its canopy with the lush growth of leaves, and during the cooler months, the canopy becomes exposed, as if to let more of the weak sun get through underneath.

As I spend most of the day inside the house, exposed to the sun in a very indirect way, inside a lanai that exposes me to the sun from three sides - thru screened windows and doors that lets in sun, unencumbered by glass, I would wonder all the time whether I am getting enough vitamin D. And this curiosity is never filled. Because I don't ever get to see a study ever made that addresses my curiosity. Always the studies are about direct sun exposure, and never about indirect sun exposure.

For surely, there is benefit to indirect sun exposure. For how come my aloe vera is thriving? How come my cats develop strong bones? So I would myself why do I need to see the full frontal assault from the sun? When I go to the fields where rice is planted in Vietnam, I would see that these farmers wear very wide brimmed hats, and they also don't get the full frontal.

I'm curious, why is there no study ever made that measures the effect of indirect sunlight? Why do the studies observe something that is to me unnatural?

Will some university or research institute come to their senses and please, please, do a study on the effect of indirect sun exposure and how much vitamin D can be generated this way? I am pretty sure it will be of use, right?

Nothing wrong about full frontal, as I suppose that is done in the serengeti of Africa by the many animals that roam there, but I'd like to know if we can be vitamin D healthy if we seek the comfort of shade and go about our day inside the comfort of that shade.

I would also love to see a study on benefits of indirect sunlight. I get a fair amt during the day myself, though I could be more intentional about it. This week I have been trying to use D meter thanks to your recommendation, and go outside during lunch and lay out with some skin exposed, piling blankets elsewhere to block the wind. I heat up and feel relaxed. I recall only doing indirect sunlight with both kids when they were babies, so i imagine it's a safe way to get vit D but never seen anything along the lines of a study. I am getting the full monte lab done later this week, is that version of vit D a good information point? Still ramping up on so much of this...

 

[yerrag]

Thank you yerrag, I'll get the Dminder App. Near dusk I'm not after D, but red light, as I've read here somewhere that there is beneficial natural red light from the sun at that time.

I read that comment/s about red light at dusk. I'm sure there is red light, but not sure how much there is. I remember marveling at the picturesque Nevada sky nearing dusk on the way back from Las. Vegas to LA, and I was told it's the LA pollution that gives the colorful effects. It made me appreciate it more rather than less, to see there is an upside to the LA smog.

I wonder though if the red light was there all along throughout the day, just that it isn't visible because the full spectrum of light made the red light invisible throughout the day.

 

[Nicole W.]

I read somewhere centuries ago that the optimal time to face the sun is at 2 p.m., when the sun rays enter the body at an angle. Usually my skin is white, but from the beginning of this month and during summer, my skin turns darker, just from getting exposed to the sun during daily routines like parking at Walmart, walking into the store, and then returning to my car. I live in Phoenix, and I suspect that everytime you're under the sun you get a big dose of it, regardless of how long you're exposed to it. And so I avoid the sun, mainly to avoid sun strokes and the dangers of Ozone which is serious in this state. What I usually do is go out half an hour before the sun sets, and bravely stare at the sun below the orb to get the benefits of Red light, which I know very little about, but have read here some who think it's very good.

I read somewhere years ago, that we can get Vitamin D through our eyes. This makes sense to me since throughout the ages people in the west and in Europe were mostly covered by clothing. How would they get a proper amount of Vitamin D unless the disrobed on a regular basis? However, if it’s too bright outside you can’t see without squinting. Maybe the key is to be out in the sun in the afternoon when the sun is starting to set. You can then open your eyes fully and take in the rays. It’s my preferred time to be out anyway, I do not like to be out at high noon unless the temperatures are pretty low.

 

[yerrag]

I would also love to see a study on benefits of indirect sunlight. I get a fair amt during the day myself, though I could be more intentional about it. This week I have been trying to use D meter thanks to your recommendation, and go outside during lunch and lay out with some skin exposed, piling blankets elsewhere to block the wind. I heat up and feel relaxed. I recall only doing indirect sunlight with both kids when they were babies, so i imagine it's a safe way to get vit D but never seen anything along the lines of a study. I am getting the full monte lab done later this week, is that version of vit D a good information point? Still ramping up on so much of this...

Yes, the total vitamin D test is useful. But remember that the form of vitamin D as a regulatory hormone is the active form, which requires the kidneys and liver to be doing their job of converting the stored form of vitamin D int the active form.

 

[nervepain2021]

Yes, the total vitamin D test is useful. But remember that the form of vitamin D as a regulatory hormone is the active form, which requires the kidneys and liver to be doing their job of converting the stored form of vitamin D int the active form.

Thanks and good point, i'm def not functioning optimally right now

 

[Lord Cola]

It feels pretty bad to get direct sun exposure around noon when there is a lot of blue light. It feels better to get lots of sun around sunset when the light is orange, and avoid direct exposure later in the morning and earlier in the afternoon.

 

[yerrag]

It feels pretty bad to get direct sun exposure around noon when there is a lot of blue light. It feels better to get lots of sun around sunset when the light is orange, and avoid direct exposure later in the morning and earlier in the afternoon.

Do you have references?

 

[Lord Cola]

Do you have references?

No, just talking about personal experiences.

 

[Dancer Don]

View: https://youtu.be/Kvh4D_osFXs


This is an interesting video from Dr. Paul Mason. He explains from 9:21 that it's nitric oxide release from UVA that causes an increase in longevity and other health benefits from sun exposure. Previously these benefits have been correlated with vitamin D levels, leading people to believe that vitamin D levels (and UVB exposure) are what cause increased longevity. New research has shown that the vitamin D (and therefore the UVB exposure) has nothing to do with this increase in longevity and it's all due to UVA.

If this holds that means you can avoid UVB as is natural and instinctive, by hiding from the midday sun, and just allow the UVA to hit you closer to sunrise and sunset. UVB is also what causes skin cancer and sunburn so it would be natural to hide from it.

 

[yerrag]

View: https://youtu.be/Kvh4D_osFXs


This is an interesting video from Dr. Paul Mason. He explains from 9:21 that it's nitric oxide release from UVA that causes an increase in longevity and other health benefits from sun exposure. Previously these benefits have been correlated with vitamin D levels, leading people to believe that vitamin D levels (and UVB exposure) are what cause increased longevity. New research has shown that the vitamin D (and therefore the UVB exposure) has nothing to do with this increase in longevity and it's all due to UVA.

If this holds that means you can avoid UVB as is natural and instinctive, by hiding from the midday sun, and just allow the UVA to hit you closer to sunrise and sunset. UVB is also what causes skin cancer and sunburn so it would be natural to hide from it.

It's interesting.

I wonder if nitric oxide itself is causing lower blood pressure, as we really don't need nitric oxide to lower blood pressure when having enough carbon dioxide already does that. Perhaps if one were low in CO2, nitric oxide can help lower blood pressure. But what if the increased nitric oxide from UVA is used by our immune system to make peroxynitrite ROS, and used to kill bacteria and reduce systemic bacterial infection. With lower bacterial infection, there would also be less oxidative stress, and this would lead to lower blood pressure as well. I should try this more actually, because last week I went sunbathing and saw my bp go down. At that time, I thought it was due to me taking methylene blue and being exposed to red light. Besides, nitric oxide as a bp lowering substance isn't a Peaty idea and more of a mainstream medical idea.

His interpretation of a vitamin D supplementation study showing no increased longevity benefit does nothng though to prove that UVB exposure offers no longevity benefits. He is using vitamin D supplementation as a proxy for endogenous vitamin D production from UVB exposure. Equating vitamin D supplementation to endogenous vitamin D production is just bad. Perhaps the conclusion should be that vitamin D supplementation is a bad idea?

I also don't give much credence to the study of omega-3 intake leading to better protection for the skin from sunburn. The study uses the skin coloration changing to a darker tone as the basis for sunburn, saying that because taking omega-3 causes the skin to withstand longer sun exposure in order to attain a certain darkness/redness, it means that omega3s protect from sunburn. But one can attain a deeper red and darker skin without experiencing sunburn. So I don't really buy his conclusion.

I'm not going to comment on the metformin study. I know if I think long and hard about it, I may also question his basis for his conclusion on metformin being of benefit.

 

[Amazoniac]

As I spend most of the day inside the house, exposed to the sun in a very indirect way, inside a lanai that exposes me to the sun from three sides - thru screened windows and doors that lets in sun, unencumbered by glass, I would wonder all the time whether I am getting enough vitamin D. And this curiosity is never filled. Because I don't ever get to see a study ever made that addresses my curiosity. Always the studies are about direct sun exposure, and never about indirect sun exposure.

Hello, yerrag.

I haven't read them, but they must contain something relevant for you:
- Quantification of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the shade and in direct sunlight
- Sun protection efficacy by shade
- Shade Provision for UV Minimization: A Review (references and citations)
- Types of Shade Vary in Protection Just Like Sunscreens
- Ultraviolet radiation reflection from building materials: characterisation, quantification and the resulting effects

 

[yerrag]

Hello, yerrag.

I haven't read them, but they must contain something relevant for you:
- Quantification of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the shade and in direct sunlight
- Sun protection efficacy by shade
- Shade Provision for UV Minimization: A Review (references and citations)
- Types of Shade Vary in Protection Just Like Sunscreens
- Ultraviolet radiation reflection from building materials: characterisation, quantification and the resulting effects

Awesome! Thanks a bunch! Amazing search prowess.