hmmmm.... this doesn't work when you live where I live (69 degrees north) and you have to cover every square inch of your body to avoid frostbite. Any other ideas for Vitamin D?

foxfire235

Even just going outside for 5 minutes to see the "sun" is good for waking up and getting recharged. Leave the blinds open on any windows you have to try to get as much sunlight in as possible (not so much for Vit. D as for alertness/wakefulness). And full-spectrum lamps/light-boxes have been said to work wonders for SAD and I imagine are quite helpful regarding Vit. D as well.

I'm a Park Ranger, but I work in a historic house so I spend a lot of time inside. Walking to the local Subway for a sandwhich or eating outside (when it's nice enough) does wonders for me. I'm always stupidly surprised by how good and cheerful I feel after spending a day outside. Your mom was right in telling you that fresh air and sunshine were good for you.

Evelyn82C

Full spectrum lamps may be the answer, and making sure that you get light in key places. In 1998 there was a study that showed one of the best places to get direct full spectrum light is the back of the knees . . .

Here, found an article: [www.answers.com]

rlh82

You know, unless you live in pollen-and-pollution-stricken Atlanta, where going outside is a health risk.

JStrulleh

You can always eat Vit D-rich foods (salmon or fortified milk and OJ) or take a supplement. If you're not too embarrassed to be found on Oprah's website ;-), Dr. Oz has posted helpful recommendations based on gender and age to give you a sense of which to take and in what quantities: [www2.oprah.com]

Jeseekah

What if it's 115 F outside? you wanna get roasted?

VakeroRokero

This can also be applied to going to a tanning bed. I know in the winter in NYC when I get depressed I go to the tanning bed and just the brief exposure to the "sun" in the tanning bed helps....

kibbe

The sunscreen industry's lie that sun exposure causes cancer may well be marketing's most cynical and evil success story. In fact, skin (and other) cancers decrease as sun exposure increases (because more sun means more D3 in our blood, and D3 is a powerful cancer suppressant.)

Here's a great video explanation: [www.cbn.com]

If you supplement (and you probably should if you don't work outdoors), you want Vitamin D3. D2 is expensive and useless: [heartscanblog.blogspot.com]

That_Bastid

I have no problem spending time outside in the winter, but the summer is just too hot for me, its already 80F, thats 27C and its only 11:00 in APRIL.... Time to crank the A/C

daybringer

Well, it's tropical here (27-32C); overexposure is more of a problem than underexposure, really... unless you're gaming WoW 120hrs a week or only go out of the house at night.

kureshii

Well, it's tropical here (27-32C); overexposure is more of a problem than underexposure, really... unless you're gaming 120hrs a week or only go out of the house at night.

kureshii

There was an article on Digg a few days ago about mushrooms and vitamin D, essentially it said that dried and sun exposed shitake mushrooms absorbed and deliver a tremendous amount of vitamin D without you having to expose yourself to sunlight.

[www.drweil.com]

kepoma

Once you have kids, you HAVE to go outside with them if you are hoping to keep your sanity. It's easy enough to do here in Northern California, where we enjoy cool summers and mild winters.

vered

Getting outdoors is the only way I keep sane. Whether it's 10 degrees or 110 degrees, there is always a way to do something in the sunshine.

One way to enjoy the outdoors is through National Park Week - April 19-27, sponsored by the National Park Service. There are activities taking place in dozens of sites across the country - some in connection with Earth Day on April 22.

kwood07

Codliver Oil is high in Vitamin D and Omega-3s for those times when you can't get into the sun as much as you'd like.
Genetically some people have higher levels of melonin so suffer more than others from deficiencies.
Evidence has also been found that microbes (fungi?) in the Chernobyl nuclear reactor are actually feeding off the radioactive material via melonin and converting it into useful energy.

neuraxon77

Scares me to think that when we were kids that there was little concern for sunburning and it was almost fun to peel off the dead sunburned skin.

Frightens me even more today to see all the sun tanned college kids pulling a George Hamilton

ToMuse.com

VizionQuest

@vered: Indeed. Unless we take our kids (4 & 1) outside, regardless of sun, rain, sleet, snow, whatever, cabin fever sets in BIG TIME and we get wild beasts on our hands.

My favorite use of lunch time at the office is to take a walk, or read outside when it's warm enough.

onesix18