Boost Your Vitamin D for Optimal Health: Part 2 Natural Sunlight

In our previous two articles, we covered the essential role of vitamin D for physical and behavioral health, and how to increase your vitamin D level through supplementation. You can read both articles at www.responderhealth.com/blog. 

Vitamin D is Critical for Your Overall Health

Previously, we learned that an optimal vitamin D level influences our health in many ways including cancer prevention/survival, cardiovascular health, immune function/infection prevention, bone and musculoskeletal health, neurological health and mental wellness, and sleep quality and avoiding fatigue.

Boosting Your Vitamin D blood level

Vitamin D levels are measured through a blood serum test for 25-hydroxyvitamin D. The measurement is expressed as “xx ng/mL”. The Linus Pauling Institute recommends adults have a minimum of 30 ng/mL and optimally between 30 ng/mL and 60 ng/mL. Excellent levels would be above 60 ng/mL.

There are three ways to increase your vitamin D level. Intake of food containing high amounts of vitamin D is good, although not likely to significantly increase your blood level due to the amount of food you would have to take in. Supplementation with quality vitamin D3 products when combined with other key nutrients that work hand in hand with vitamin D3 can be effective. People who work shift work and people who live at northern latitudes can benefit from supplementation at certain times of the year. The key nutrients that work with vitamin D3 for maximum benefit are vitamin K2, magnesium, and zinc. Vitamin D3 is fat soluble so it works best when taken with fat like butter, MCT oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil. If you take prescription medications, you should verify any potential interactions with vitamin D3 supplementation.

Exposure to sunlight is the best way to maximize your vitamin D levels. It’s free, and safe if you learn and follow scientific principles.

Sunlight Exposure for Optimal Vitamin D levels

The Science

When sunlight hits your bare skin, a form of cholesterol called 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is naturally present in your skin, absorbs the ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. These UVB rays have enough energy to break chemical bonds in the 7-dehydro cholesterol molecule, transforming it into previtamin D3.

Once previtamin D3 is formed, your body heat causes it to slowly rearrange its molecular structure, converting it into vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). This process happens in the layers of your skin.

Vitamin D3 then enters your bloodstream and travels to your liver, where it's converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This form travels to your kidneys, where it's transformed into the active form of vitamin D called calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D).

This active vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorus from your diet, which are essential for building and maintaining strong bones and supporting other important bodily functions. Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so it's stored in your body's fatty tissues and liver. These stores can supply your body with vitamin D for 1-2 months when sun exposure is limited.

When sunlight touches your skin, your body captures the red and near-infrared light and converts it into electrons. These electrons are used to feed the electron transport chain (ETC) in your mitochondria, which helps create adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - the cellular energy your body runs on.

The Implementation

Based on the above science, we can see that we are designed to have sunlight exposure for optimum health. Modern health “experts” and the pharmaceutical industry have attempted to scare people into avoiding sunlight, with detrimental consequences to our overall health. I’m providing the following information to you from a primal/ancestral health perspective which aligns with your body’s natural design.

1. Get outside as close to sunrise as possible for 10-20 minutes without glasses or contacts if you wear them. If it’s warm enough, wear as little clothing as possible to get sunlight exposure to your eyes and skin. Early morning sunlight exposure (from sunrise to about 10 AM) provides unique benefits for your health. This gentle, low-UV light signals your body to wake up by suppressing melatonin production while increasing cortisol, which helps synchronize your circadian rhythm for better sleep later. Morning light contains blue wavelengths that activate melanopsin receptors in your eyes and skin, signaling your brain's master clock to regulate hormone production, metabolism, and alertness throughout the day. This exposure also tells your cells that they need to protect your body from stronger UV rays later in the day. Morning sunlight also supports healthier mood regulation by promoting serotonin production, potentially reducing symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and depression. Regular morning sun exposure may improve energy levels, enhance cognitive function, strengthen immune response, and even help maintain healthy body weight by regulating metabolic processes. 

   
   

2. Solar noon is the time at your location where the sun is highest in the sky and that is when UVB rays are the strongest. That means your body can maximize the process described above for making vitamin D. If possible, go outside sometime around solar noon and again, expose your eyes and skin as much as possible to unfiltered sunlight. If you’re not used to this, start slow with only 15 minutes exposure and work up to longer.

   
   

3. The best tool I recommend is the free “dminder” app for your smartphone. Once downloaded, the app is set for your location and will advise you when you can obtain vitamin D from sun exposure. You personalize your settings for the amount of skin exposed, cloud cover, skin type, and time, then the app will give you an estimate of how many IU (International Units) of vitamin D you are producing and an estimate of your blood level in ng/mL. 

   
   

Other Considerations

1. If your diet contains processed food and fast food, you’re likely consuming industrial seed oils (canola/rapeseed, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, rice bran and peanut oil). These are garbage and you need to absolutely eliminate them from your diet, not just for sun exposure protocol. Seed oils are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). PUFAs are high in omega 6 linoleic acid. Too much linoleic acid in your cells can cause you to sunburn more easily. Once you stop eating industrial seed oils it can take 6 months or longer for it to get out of your system. 

   
   

2. Sunglasses interfere with your body’s natural defenses against strong UVB rays. We lived for millennia without sunglasses. Sunglasses were popularized by arctic explorers, 1930’s movie stars and WW2 aviators.

   
   

3. “Use sunscreen” has been pounded into everyone’s brain. Our skin is our largest organ and immediately absorbs what we put on it. In recent years analysts have uncovered that many popular sunscreen brands contained chemicals that are known hormone disruptors, and chemicals that have been linked to cancer. Sunscreen blocks UVB rays and interferes with the body’s ability to generate natural defenses against the UVB rays. The Environmental Working Group at ewg.org can point you toward clean sunscreens if you plan to be in the sun for extended periods of time.

   
   

4. Your ancestral heritage relates to how much sun exposure you need to generate adequate vitamin D levels through sun exposure. The more melanin you have (the darker your skin), the more natural defense you have against UVB rays. That means the darker your skin the longer you need to be exposed to sunlight to get increased levels of vitamin D.

My Personal Experience

I understand some of this information challenges the paradigm we all accepted from medical professionals and society at large. I used to always have sunglasses handy year round, and religiously applied sunscreen from April to October. I also had suboptimal vitamin D levels and suffered some of the negative effects described in these articles. Through learning and a careful approach to diet and sun exposure I have not used sunglasses or sunscreen for years and I can work outside in the summer sun in shorts only for an entire day and not burn. I do wear a hat after noon to protect my face and head. If I’m at a pool, lake or beach I use some very clean sunscreen on my nose and ears later in the day. I’ve been able to maximize my vitamin D levels using this natural approach, and I believe anyone can too. 

Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional. I am a certified health coach, and I provide information for your education. I encourage you to research these topics further for yourself in your journey to healing and health. If you have significant physical or behavioral health concerns, you should see a qualified medical provider and preferably one who specializes in holistic health or integrative medicine. Understand that traditional medicine is oriented toward pharmaceutical remedies that only fix symptoms of health issues that can be resolved through a natural approach. Do your own research. 

If you or a family member are having any issues with mental health or relationships, please reach out for help. Responder Health (responderhealth.com) is an organization that offers resources specifically for first responders and their families. Responder Health provides confidential and full-service solutions that support first responders through stress and traumatic events, and provides them with the education, resources, and community they need to live healthy, happy lives. Our peer advocate hotline (206)459-3020 offers a confidential 24-hour crisis referral service for all public safety employees, all emergency services personnel, and their family members nationwide.