Vitamin D on 2/22/22: 44 ng/ml.
Trying to get sun and not taking vitamin D drops, 8/15/22: 27 ng/ml.
The problem is that I can never get into the sun. I get one time in the sun of a long duration, get burnt. Then I never get back into the sun (which most likely leads to getting burnt in the first place).
So, I’m back to taking vitamin D drops in my coffee (except for days I’m planning on fasting any length such as OMAD or 36 hours or longer).
When I moved into my new house, I deliberately made the sun room into my office so I’d be spending most of my time in the room with the most sunlight. I get the SADs quite badly.
I never used to have an issue with burning, but more recently I do actually start to crisp up quite quickly if I’m not careful.
I’ve not ever tried supplementing vit D, but I’ve always eaten a lot of oily fish and eggs simply because I love both.
I get vitamin D from my food but I have a decent amount of sunshine too even in summer when I try to avoid it…
I almost never get burned as I hate hot weather so much that I am just never outside long enough for that (and I walk in forests, mostly. Nowadays the nearby pond has lovely birds but I still find shadow half the time. The other half gave me a better tan than what I ever had).
Now I barely eat eggs for a while, I wonder about my vitamin D consumption… But it’s surely okay… It’s fat soluble anyway so my eggier times should help out the others.
burnt sucks. feel ya on that.
take the D that is required but what does it do for you?
ya feel WAY better on D supp?
are you one who requires life in nature and out and about and NEED weather to ‘suit you’ to be your best…believe me weather outside in full force on what a day is effects me massively…not probably some type of deficiency but a mental game of I REQUIRE this weather that suits me best.
interesting chat on it all. Do whatever you find works best for you.
for me, older age and retirement hitting, I AM outta here and moving to hot, sunny, all in best darn weather I can find that suits me cause I NEED it and want it, lol
I don’t D supp. I supp nothing ever in 5 yrs since I said I would drop all supps and fortunately I feel I don’t require anything back in supp form but I know I have ‘life issues with weather’ that effect outdoor activity and more.
burnt isn’t my thing. can be out all day and I just tan a bit. that burnt level of skin tone or loss of some pigment in the skin layer to help one tan or ‘burn’ more is something I never looked into or researched tho.
just a chat on it all…interesting to me on how it needs to go down for me and interesting to see others seeing changes or ?? they require.
I have found cold exposure helpful for boosting my metabolism, circulation and self confidence. I mainly get it by wearing minimal clothing year round, sandals no socks shorts and short sleeves or a tank top. And going for two or three brief brisk walks daily. I was surprised to find my tan lines fade but do not disappear in winter and when we get those first beautiful days in the spring and I carelessly get a full days sun I merely get a bit flushed for a day or two but no scorching or peeling.
If you can’t settle on a safe (i.e., non-burning) regimen for getting regular sunshine (which is rarely a viable year-round option for most of the world’s population) then Vit D supplementation is almost always a wise choice.
Based on the research I’ve come across, 27 ng/ml would be a test result that would clearly indicate more D is needed.
For vitamin D, I perceive there to be benefits in the literature for things like movement of calcium into bones instead of arteries and immunology improvements (some covid studies for instance). But you can also find negative studies too.
Unfortunately, the only way to “prove” this is having two of me, as vitamin D does not ostensibly provide any signs of improvement. (I did get a zero score on a CAC scan, but again I’d need two of me to figure out if vitamin D helped with that.)
I like the idea of cold exposure and do try to get some. But when it’s below freezing in CT where I live, it’s hard to go outside with few enough clothes on to get sun. And cold exposure itself is ok, as long as it’s not too long.
I am jogging in the morning, two days a week, but that must provide very little sun exposure. And soon it’ll be cold enough I’ll need a jacket, then it’ll be dark enough in the morning, I won’t be able to jog.
If I worked from home, it might be different. But I have a desk job, and never get out in the sun during the week. On weekends, I have so many other things to do, that getting in the sun never happens.
So, I’ve resigned myself to taking vitamin D drops.
27 is low. Even the test results say I should be 40 or so, and some pro-vitamin D people say that’s too low.
Edit: The first covid study that popped up:
Had a couple dermatologists tell me that the whole “get that initial tan to protect you from burns” thing is just an urban legend.
Truth is, we keep burning, but the damage we’ve already done to our skin masks the symptoms.
Edit: In short - us pasty white people are disadvantaged when it comes to the sun. More melatonin in your skin is natural protection that we just don’t have. 
So, in reality, we should be using sunscreen and avoiding burning entirely.
Me, I wouldn’t count on your time in the sun for getting your vitamin D - see if you can’t get enough in a good multivitamin or get a supplement.
Although even really dark skin is not absolute protection against sunburn, either, as I learned from one of my bosses years ago. I would have thought she couldn’t possibly burn, but I was wrong.
Well, sun exposure has vast benefits other than vitamin D. It helps with sleep, NO (nitric oxide) production, etc. See this for NO:
What does Viagra do? It’s a PDE5 inhibitor, meaning that it reduces the amount of NO absorbed, so there’s more in your body, thereby opening blood vessels and allowing more blood flow to the penis.
So, when you’re getting sun, you’re theoretically getting the possibility of a better erection.
Sun exposure and sleep:
And you don’t need a lot of exposure, 8-10 minutes a day if it’s the summer:
I just can’t get outside to get that time.
And I basically are solar powered… I need sunshine to get my lowish energy even if I can’t get a proper level… I am a total zombie in a bad mood without sunshine. I don’t need it all the time but quite often.
Once I survived a 3 week long fog in a November but I have no idea HOW. I start to feel bad after 2-3 days without sunshine… Or walking. At least I always get the latter. Hard in hot weather but doable.
