[sschueller]

If you don't have an underlying condition it is way better to get the Vitamin D from the sun in 10-30min increments per day after which you are saturated for the day. Overdose is not possible via the sun (excluding sun burns of course).

> A single, optimal sun exposure session might produce the equivalent of 10,000 to 25,000 IU from a supplement, but it will not keep increasing with more time in the sun. That's your max per session.

[arethuza]

From NHS Scotland:

"In Scotland, we only get enough of the right kind of sunlight for our bodies to make vitamin D between April and September, mostly between 11am and 3pm."

https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/food-and-nutrition...

Personally I found that taking Vitamin D supplements made quite a bit of difference - and I spend a fair amount of time outside (~3 hours each day).

[matsemann]

And in Norway we often don't see the sun during certain months, due to it only being up for a few hours in the middle of the day (when we're working). And even if I was outside I would be covered in clothes.

We have a saying here to take cod liver oil all months ending with R (in Norwegian that's September to Februar) to get both omega 3 and the vitamin D.

[arethuza]

Indeed, I was going to add that Scotland isn't really that far North (or indeed South) so there will be lots of places where the problem is far worse!

[bflesch]

Your suggestion sounds a bit detached from reality of many people.

In many countries it is physically impossible to get enough vitamin D from the sun, even if you go out naked.

Also did you ever notice that the cheap apartments in many places are facing north and do not have a balcony, and of course do not have a private garden? Now you are reduced to going to a park which in the "cheap" areas is also not a good spot to chill for 30 minutes.

[mixedbit]

In winter, even on a sunny day, only tiny fraction of your skin is exposed to sun. 10-30 min of sun when you are wearing tshirt and shorts is much different from 10-30 min of sun when you are wearing long sleeves, gloves, and a scarf.

[pbhjpbhj]

It's not really the exposed skin that's the issue. At higher latitudes the ultraviolet (UVB) gets scattered by the longer path through the atmosphere and so even if you were naked you still wouldn't be getting enough.

[austinjp]

Check local/national advice. In many places it is officially advised to take vitamin D supplements, especially in winter or if you have a darker skin tone.

[RobotToaster]

> it is way better to get the Vitamin D from the sun in 10-30min increments per day

spoken like someone who has never lived in the UK

[theptip]

Don’t guess; just get your vitamin D levels tested. It’s $20, you can just buy it à la carte.

For some people even in sunny areas, 5000 IU might be needed to get you in-range. This is highly individual.

[theshrike79]

Yeaaah, in Finland the sun just fucks off for multiple months over the winter.

It's much cheaper to take a few pills than it is to travel 3000km south to see the sun for 30 minutes :D

We even put Vitamin D in milk by default just so that people would get some extra.

[francisofascii]

I would argue to do both in the winter, since sunlight has other benefits than just Vitamin D synthesis, like mitochondrial health and better circadian signaling for better sleep quality.

[nimonian]

Next time I get sunburn I'm calling it a vitamin D overdose

[INTPenis]

Agreed, but I live in Sweden so I take vitamin D supplements every winter.

During the spring, summer, fall months I barely need it since I'm outside so much with my dog.

[Ensorceled]

This is nonsense advice for pretty much anybody that is shovelling snow right now.

[bflesch]

Why don't you just travel to the south during winter? /s

[pjc50]

.. how do you calibrate this against a cloudy sky? It's pretty dark up here at 56 degrees north, and on top of that it's been overcast for days.

It also sucks a lot when it's dark before starting work, dark after leaving work, and during the day rather cold to be exposing skin to the sun.