Seasonal Tip:
Your body uses UVB exposure from sunlight absorbed by your skin to make vitamin D. Experts recommend 5 to 30 minutes of sunlight exposure between 10 am and 3 pm, at least twice weekly. Multiple factors, however, affect your body’s ability to make vitamin D from sunlight:
• Complete cloud cover reduces UV rays by 50%.
• Shade cover reduces UV rays by 60%.
• Sun exposure through glass does not produce vitamin D.
• Sunscreen with SPF > 8 blocks most UV rays (although most people don’t apply enough to prevent partial exposure).
• The darker your skin, the less UVB it can absorb.
If many of the above factors apply to you, you may need to get more vitamin D from food to meet the 600 International Units (IU) recommended daily. Ask your doctor if you should also take a vitamin D supplement.
| Food | International Units | % Daily Value |
| Cod Liver Oil, 1 Tbs | 1,360 IU | 340% |
| Salmon (sockeye), 3 oz | 447 IU | 112% |
| Tuna packed in water, 3 oz | 154 IU | 39% |
| Orange Juice, fortified | 137 IU | 34% |
| Milk, 1 cup | 120 IU | 30% |
| Fortified margarine, 1 Tbs | 60 IU | 15% |
| Egg Yolk, 1 large | 41 IU | 10% |
