Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

6

Hi,

I'm wondering: from a Vitamin-D production point of view, is it the same to :

be exposed for 10 total minutes
be exposed 10 times for one minute each with some period of non-exposure in between

Thanks

edited Jan 1 2012 at 23:12

Dragonfly
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asked Jan 1 2012 at 21:09

sam
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2

You may want to reword this. Case 1: you are exposed for 10 total minutes. Case 2: you are exposed for at most one minute. I think you mean to say "be exposed 10 times for one minute each with some period of non-exposure in between" – pfw Jan 1 2012 at 21:21

A good interesting question to ask, especially if we want to maximise production – AlohaSpeck Jan 1 2012 at 21:32

Thanks for helping me to reword it. – sam Jan 1 2012 at 22:06

Beth-WeightMaven · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-01 22:23:03Z UTC

5

It depends. Are we talking near the equator? Or New York in January? At some point, the body maxes out on how much D3 can be synthesized, so if you were hitting the limit, then spreading out your exposure to the sun would be helpful. But if you aren't at the limit, it won't matter whether it's one 10-minute session or 10 1-minute sessions.

This PDF -- "Environmental factors that influence the cutaneous production of vitamin D" -- has some useful info. Or you can also check out the Norwegian Institute for Air Research's UV calculator for a specific recommendation for exposure.

answered Jan 1 2012 at 22:23

Beth-WeightMaven
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	They're really interesting Beth. Apparently, in summer where I live (NE England) if the sky is cloudless, I only need 4 minutes of sun exposure every other day... (I dunno if it's right, but it seems to be a lot less than what's bandied about!) – Efaitch Jan 1 2012 at 22:44
	Keep in mind that's their recommendation for 25 micrograms of vitamin D which is ~1000 IU. Those of us who don't live near the equator presumably want more in order to build up stores for the winter. – Beth-WeightMaven Jan 1 2012 at 22:54
	And don't forget the role of complexion. I am Type 4 on the Fitzpatrick Scale and hardly absorb any at all in 10 min. – Dragonfly Jan 1 2012 at 23:11
	Thanks Beth, PaleoHacks ever the useful resource. – AlohaSpeck Jan 2 2012 at 16:53
	Dragonfly: I also am a Type 4 skin. 10 minutes is also far from being enough for me. However, 10 minutes (each side) feels "OK" in front of my tanning booth. Do you have a similar experience with tanning booths ? – sam Jan 9 2012 at 22:39

Vitamin D production: 10 minutes of exposure, with and without periods of non-exposure

1 Answer