in the skin and is then taken to the liver and kidneys for further activation steps, so it can be used throughout the body.
What's more, the skin requires complete exposure to successfully produce vitamin D in the skin. This brings us to our second reason we shouldn't rely on the sun to achieve sufficient vitamin D status…This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.—e.g., wearing sunscreen, reapplying after getting wet, staying in the shade during high noon, wearing sunglasses and a hat to protect your eyes and face, etc.
And if you're thinking"Oh, that's fine, I only use a low SPF on my body, so I'm sure my skin will still produce vitamin D," think again: A 2016 scientific review fromThat's right, wearing sunscreen results in less than 10% vitamin D conversion in an already inefficient process operating at about 15% capacityany SPF protection. In other words? Getting adequate vitamin D from sunshine alone simply isn't practical.