How to get enough vitamin D in winter

Vitamin D in winter: How to get the right supply

If you want strong bones and strong muscles, you need vitamin D - especially now in winter. Our body produces around 90 percent of our requirement itself when the sun shines on our skin. All we need is to expose around a quarter of our body surface (face, hands and arms) to the sun's rays for around ten to 30 minutes a day (depending on skin type, month and time of day) from April to September. However, sunburn should be avoided due to the risk of skin cancer.

via Sabrina

01/03/2017, 09:30

Wenn zu viel Hautfläche bedeckt ist, produziert der Körper nur wenig Vitamin D. — If too much skin is covered, the body produces little vitamin D.

Replenish vitamin D through diet

We get ten percent of the vitamin D we need from our diet. Good sources are salmon, herring, mackerel, but also eggs, mushrooms and avocados.

Vitamin D production decreases with age

Our body can even store the vitamin, so we can build up a supply for the dark season, so to speak. Opinions differ as to whether this lasts until spring or only for two or three months. Vitamin D deficiency can occur in people who hardly spend any time outdoors or who cover their bodies completely.

In addition, the body's ability to produce vitamin D from the sun decreases in older people. A vitamin D supplement may then be advisable (e.g. with "vitamin D-loges 5,600 I.U.", over-the-counter, pharmacy).