[definitelynotaliberal]

It’s ironic that vit. D insufficiency has been implicated in skin cancer. I think that in years to come, the American Dermatology Association is going to have much for which to apologize. Creating this panic about ‘incidental exposure’ is going to saddle us with many problems, especially once Obamacare kicks in. But I’m confident that it will be repealed and replaced.

[JudyinCanada]

Agreed, it is ironic. A little sunshine is far better than smearing your body with sunscreen. That’s not to say that roasting in the sun and cooking your skin like a chicken is good - just normal, healthy exposure. As in all things, moderation...

[MsLady]

The thing to do is just don't get a tan or burn. Get in the sun for 10-20 minutes everyday, in as little clothing as possible. The farther north you live, the less this will help in the winter time. I live very far north and my doctor says I could stand in the sun during winter months all day long and not get 1 IU of D.

Everyone is different. I take 5000 IU a day and have trouble keeping my D level in a good range. Some people might only need 2-4000 a day. The average person needs about 4000 IU from sun and vitamins a day, that's about how much your body uses. If you stayed in the sun for 30 minutes you would average 10,000 IU. Course the farther south you are the more you get, the farther north you are, the less D you'll get. Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin it's a hormone.