Today known as the "sunshine vitamin," but in past years vitamin D was known as the "antirachitic vitamin," due to its use as a treatment for rickets (a disease causing bones to become soft and bendable, leading to bowed legs, knock knees and other bone malformations). These days the winter blahs and the longing for a sunny tropical vacation may be more modern indicators of a vitamin D deficiency

Sun block with an SPF of only 8, will inhibit more than 95% of vitamin D production in the skin. Clothing, smoke, fog, smog, and most glass screen out the UV light and interfere with vitamin D formation. Then there is the daily shower. By the time you get out of that hot, chlorine and detergent mix, all the oils on the surface of your skin have been washed away. Your moisturizer does not serve the same function, as far as the creation of vitamin D is concerned. Still, it is suggested that a Caucasian could generate enough vitamin D by exposing 50% of the skin to 15minutes of noontime sun on a clear day. Those with darker pigment would require closer to 25minutes under the same conditions.

The Canadian Cancer Society recommends Canadians take in 1,000 IU of vitamin D every day. During the spring and summer, that can be accomplished through normal daily exposure to the sun. In the fall and winter months, a vitamin D supplement may be necessary.